Yes, it's a rhetorical question ... sort of like "To be or not to be."
Big Daddy comes home from work yesterday with some distressing news. His company has said for some time they are going to have to consolidate crews until some more jobs come up. They are currently working on the Marsha Sharp Freeway project that runs east 'n west across town. It is in four phases, and they are winding up phase three. Phase four does not bid until June, so until then they have to do what they can to keep people working. We understand all that. But it was also said that this consolidation wouldn't affect your money. It did — in a big way. When a person is guaranteed to receive pay for 70 hours and is driving a company truck with a gas card, and you lose both the truck and the guarantee, then your paycheck is cut in about half.
Of course, he's stressing over it — both the loss of income and the way they presented it to him. There was no discussion, just 'this is it, take it or find something else.' He wasn't given the option of a rebuttal of any kind. AND on top of that, they wanted an answer right then and there. He told them they couldn't spend two days or more talking about what they were going to do, then expect him to answer without giving it some thought. We talked about it and discussed several options — (1) looking for another place to work [there are several options for him, but only a couple locally]; (2) refusing the offer and let them lay him off or let him go, then opting to file for unemployment ; (3) biting his tongue and hanging in there just to keep a job.
He called the EEOC officer and talked with him about it. He was able to get some things off his chest that they didn't allow him to in the meeting. That alone helped a great deal. He also addressed the issue that the meeting was supposed to be confidential, yet details were being told by someone and he felt that was unethical. Also, comments made within the morning meeting could also be creating a hostile work environment for him. The officer did say he would certainly address those issues with the Project Manager. He also suggested that now the emotion of the situation had leveled out, he call and ask to have a meeting with him to clear the air. We're not sure how that will be received. The PM is also a personal friend of Big Daddy, and they have always said business is business — one would not affect the other. But given some of the things the PM has done — or failed to do — in regard to certain situations, one would have to wonder can he truly keep them separate. Big Daddy hopes he can. I think not. I hope I'm wrong.
Big Daddy has a boat financed and he was talking about selling it to get out from under that payment. It and a signature loan I have are both financed at the company credit union. So I called to see what the balance was in each account, and on each loan. We also discussed options of possibly refinancing them. Then, we went to the bank and spoke with the VP about getting a second mortgage on the house: to pay off the first mortgage, and pay off the other two notes. That would free up some money, and changing the weekly deduction into the credit union will free up some more. The mortgage payment will only go up $60 a month which makes it very do-able.
Right now we wait for the app to be approved, then for the funding. Tomorrow he has to go in and start his "new" position. He said it's going to be more awkward for the person he works for than it will for him. I hope he's right. I hope he gets some sleep tonight. His mind should be a bit more at ease about the financial situation. I sure hope so. I hate to see Big Daddy worried.
Big Daddy comes home from work yesterday with some distressing news. His company has said for some time they are going to have to consolidate crews until some more jobs come up. They are currently working on the Marsha Sharp Freeway project that runs east 'n west across town. It is in four phases, and they are winding up phase three. Phase four does not bid until June, so until then they have to do what they can to keep people working. We understand all that. But it was also said that this consolidation wouldn't affect your money. It did — in a big way. When a person is guaranteed to receive pay for 70 hours and is driving a company truck with a gas card, and you lose both the truck and the guarantee, then your paycheck is cut in about half.
Of course, he's stressing over it — both the loss of income and the way they presented it to him. There was no discussion, just 'this is it, take it or find something else.' He wasn't given the option of a rebuttal of any kind. AND on top of that, they wanted an answer right then and there. He told them they couldn't spend two days or more talking about what they were going to do, then expect him to answer without giving it some thought. We talked about it and discussed several options — (1) looking for another place to work [there are several options for him, but only a couple locally]; (2) refusing the offer and let them lay him off or let him go, then opting to file for unemployment ; (3) biting his tongue and hanging in there just to keep a job.
He called the EEOC officer and talked with him about it. He was able to get some things off his chest that they didn't allow him to in the meeting. That alone helped a great deal. He also addressed the issue that the meeting was supposed to be confidential, yet details were being told by someone and he felt that was unethical. Also, comments made within the morning meeting could also be creating a hostile work environment for him. The officer did say he would certainly address those issues with the Project Manager. He also suggested that now the emotion of the situation had leveled out, he call and ask to have a meeting with him to clear the air. We're not sure how that will be received. The PM is also a personal friend of Big Daddy, and they have always said business is business — one would not affect the other. But given some of the things the PM has done — or failed to do — in regard to certain situations, one would have to wonder can he truly keep them separate. Big Daddy hopes he can. I think not. I hope I'm wrong.
Big Daddy has a boat financed and he was talking about selling it to get out from under that payment. It and a signature loan I have are both financed at the company credit union. So I called to see what the balance was in each account, and on each loan. We also discussed options of possibly refinancing them. Then, we went to the bank and spoke with the VP about getting a second mortgage on the house: to pay off the first mortgage, and pay off the other two notes. That would free up some money, and changing the weekly deduction into the credit union will free up some more. The mortgage payment will only go up $60 a month which makes it very do-able.
Right now we wait for the app to be approved, then for the funding. Tomorrow he has to go in and start his "new" position. He said it's going to be more awkward for the person he works for than it will for him. I hope he's right. I hope he gets some sleep tonight. His mind should be a bit more at ease about the financial situation. I sure hope so. I hate to see Big Daddy worried.
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