As a machinist, a skilled worker, Bader received better pay than some. He recalled the working conditions at E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.

More than the hard work, Bader felt the ever-present danger, and recalled the explosions and deaths during his time there. His brother-in-law was burned terribly in one explosion, and Bader had close calls himself. Once, he was working to fix the machine that compressed the gunpowder, and the pellets occasionally exploded when hit by the force of the machine. An extra 150 pound-supply of powder was kept in the press building and the Superintendent asked Bader if he thought that was dangerous. "I told him I considered anything dangerous where powder was." Two weeks later, two men were killed in the same building. "It killed both of those men outright, and it was just a one-story building…it blew those four walls down just as clean as a whistle and left the machine sanding there on the floor." Although he worked at the mill for over 30 years, Bader managed to escape without being injured.