Well, well, well... I've made the big leap. Here's hoping it's a successful one. After much thought and contemplation, I've decided to bid to another job. The reasons are myriad -- too many years spent on night shift which have left me sleep-deprived, too much time wasted in a job I don't really like just so I could work for a supervisor I love and respect. Believe me -- this latter reason counts for more than you'll ever know, because decent managers/supervisors are few and far between. Those that actually care about and listen to their employees... Hmmm.... I've been with the Federal hell-hole for 21 years, and this is only the second supervisor I've EVER had who I pledged my undying loyalty to. So why am I bidding out, you might ask? The ultimate driving force behind my decision is the fact that I am fed up with the latest happenings at my facility. Without boring you with the particulars, suffice it to say there has been some poop-slinging going on, and I had the unfortunate bad luck to get caught in the cross-fire. So as I sit here, proverbial poop dripping off my face, I've come to the realization I'M NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE. I tried reasoning with our facility manager (to no avail); I availed myself of union representation -- those results were far short of spectacular. In fact, our local union is directly responsible for firing the first poop volley in this little shit-storm. A local rep (who shall remain nameless to protect the oh-so guilty) took a statement from a 7 month employee who was unhappy she was having to work so damn hard during Christmas and ran with it. Poor baby... mwah, mwah, mwah. Try stepping into MY shoes. I worked 14 hour days for a month, part of which time was spent straightening out messes made by this little employee with a whopping seven months of experience. There's nothing quite like the exhaustion of going in at 11 p.m. and getting off at 1:30 the next afternoon. The first week was survivable -- body held up ok, just never enough sleep. By the middle of the second week, my feet were hurting half-way through the night, despite wearing the latest Nike Shox (which look like moon-walking boots on springs). Weeks 3 and 4 brought such excruciating pain, I'm still not sure I didn't form the beginnings of stress fractures in both feet. Pain was instantaneous the moment I rolled out of bed following a short winter's nap and my feet touched the floor.
But back to our little resident trouble-maker and her fait accompli. This wench has been trouble since the first day she walked through the door. She is abrasive, moody, ill-tempered, and a COMPLETE know -it-all. Once partially trained for a job, she thinks she knows everything there is to know about the position. She does not listen. You can be explaining something to her and she anticipates (99% of the time incorrectly) what you are going to say next. So more time is wasted trying to undo the 5 thoughts that have popped into her pea-sized skull than if she had just SHUT UP AND LISTENED IN THE FIRST PLACE. Can you tell I'm more than a little fed up? Well, she got it in her head that she was being discriminated against by having to do the job she was assigned through Christmas. Wake up and smell the napalm: this has absolutely NOTHING to do with the color of your skin and absolutely EVERYTHING to do with the fact that you have SEVEN MONTHS on the job and the rest of us have anywhere from 12 to 21 YEARS. DEAL WITH IT. We work in a job where duty assignments are dictated by seniority. Or so I mistakenly thought...
Back to the little union rep... My gripes with him are 3-fold: 1. he took a statement from an employee he doesn't represent (he is assigned to an entirely different work area and our little lady in question bypassed her own representatives to go to someone she felt would be more ... amenable to her "plight") 2. he did not properly investigate to see if her claims were correct, ask questions of the parties involved, or address the issue with the supervisor 3. he took the issue all the way to the TOP of the local labor/management chain, instead of starting at step one as local protocol dictates. Let's just say the resident bozos in labor/management have their heads planted so far up their own arses, they haven't seen how the REAL world works in YEARS. Past practice has always been that the senior clerk had to be OFFERED higher level work if the position was available, but had the option to pass that position down to someone with lesser seniority. Only logical, n'cest pais? Well, bear in mind, logic plays NO PART in most decisions by the powers that be, and this is no exception. Our local labor/management brainiacs have decided that "past practice" is incorrect and that we've actually been violating the contract for 21 or more years. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?
So what this all boils down to is this: because I am the senior qualified clerk on my shift, I am being FORCED to fill in high level positions whenever the primary jobholders are out (which is QUITE often) even though there are other qualified clerks who WANT to do the jobs and who are quite capable of doing them and doing them well. I brought it to my manager's attention that, FOR THE GOOD OF THE COMPANY, I have put myself in a lower-paying position that ultimately has had more bearing on our overall success. He appreciated the argument, smiled in my face, and then stabbed me in the back.
So... I. BID. OUT. I may regret it. I may get stuck in a sucky job for several months or even more, but -- unlike most of the people I work for and with -- I have principles. I'm sticking to mine, and I'm bidding out based on them. If I don't like what I get, new jobs are posted every month. And they're awarded BASED ON SENIORITY. At least it still counts for SOMETHING...
But back to our little resident trouble-maker and her fait accompli. This wench has been trouble since the first day she walked through the door. She is abrasive, moody, ill-tempered, and a COMPLETE know -it-all. Once partially trained for a job, she thinks she knows everything there is to know about the position. She does not listen. You can be explaining something to her and she anticipates (99% of the time incorrectly) what you are going to say next. So more time is wasted trying to undo the 5 thoughts that have popped into her pea-sized skull than if she had just SHUT UP AND LISTENED IN THE FIRST PLACE. Can you tell I'm more than a little fed up? Well, she got it in her head that she was being discriminated against by having to do the job she was assigned through Christmas. Wake up and smell the napalm: this has absolutely NOTHING to do with the color of your skin and absolutely EVERYTHING to do with the fact that you have SEVEN MONTHS on the job and the rest of us have anywhere from 12 to 21 YEARS. DEAL WITH IT. We work in a job where duty assignments are dictated by seniority. Or so I mistakenly thought...
Back to the little union rep... My gripes with him are 3-fold: 1. he took a statement from an employee he doesn't represent (he is assigned to an entirely different work area and our little lady in question bypassed her own representatives to go to someone she felt would be more ... amenable to her "plight") 2. he did not properly investigate to see if her claims were correct, ask questions of the parties involved, or address the issue with the supervisor 3. he took the issue all the way to the TOP of the local labor/management chain, instead of starting at step one as local protocol dictates. Let's just say the resident bozos in labor/management have their heads planted so far up their own arses, they haven't seen how the REAL world works in YEARS. Past practice has always been that the senior clerk had to be OFFERED higher level work if the position was available, but had the option to pass that position down to someone with lesser seniority. Only logical, n'cest pais? Well, bear in mind, logic plays NO PART in most decisions by the powers that be, and this is no exception. Our local labor/management brainiacs have decided that "past practice" is incorrect and that we've actually been violating the contract for 21 or more years. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?
So what this all boils down to is this: because I am the senior qualified clerk on my shift, I am being FORCED to fill in high level positions whenever the primary jobholders are out (which is QUITE often) even though there are other qualified clerks who WANT to do the jobs and who are quite capable of doing them and doing them well. I brought it to my manager's attention that, FOR THE GOOD OF THE COMPANY, I have put myself in a lower-paying position that ultimately has had more bearing on our overall success. He appreciated the argument, smiled in my face, and then stabbed me in the back.
So... I. BID. OUT. I may regret it. I may get stuck in a sucky job for several months or even more, but -- unlike most of the people I work for and with -- I have principles. I'm sticking to mine, and I'm bidding out based on them. If I don't like what I get, new jobs are posted every month. And they're awarded BASED ON SENIORITY. At least it still counts for SOMETHING...
1 comment:
I hope you get a great new schedule!!!!! Maybe then we'll get to see you more often!
Cheers!
Lisa
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