Saturday, August 13, 2011

Now that labor is dead and dying...

What should we rename the weekend of September 5th to?
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16 comments:

OrbsCorbs said...

Class Warfare Day Weekend.

August 13, 2011 at 1:55 PM
Toad said...

Huck, The only HONEST thing that could be done, would be to allow ALL employers that employ NON-UNION people to recind the day off they receive, and mandate that ONLY union members have labor day off. I truly mean this. UNION WORKERS created the day, and should be allowed to take It away.

August 13, 2011 at 2:25 PM
Huck Finn said...

Oh Toad, you speak poetry!

August 13, 2011 at 3:41 PM
SER said...

It needs to be left alone!

The day is for ALL working people whether union or non-union.

Union and non-union fight enough during the year at least they can play nice one day a year!

Sorry Toad.......

August 13, 2011 at 3:44 PM
Huck Finn said...

Yeah, kind of like Xmas then, isn't it.

August 13, 2011 at 4:11 PM
Toad said...

SER, No problem. I completely understand It Is for, or should I say Is NOW understood to be for all workers, which Is nice. It's particualrly nice for the people that consistantly pee and moan about Unions, but ALWAY'S forget about this day off that ONLY came to be partially from the death of Union Workers that were struggling for their rights, In the late 1800s. I admit that an awful lot of service workers, retail workers, etc. don't get this day off, but even In some of those cases, they are given some sort of perk In exchange. It will ALWAY'S be a fact that UNION'S built this country, and to bad mouth them Is taboo In my opinion.

August 13, 2011 at 4:14 PM
Toad said...

Huck, Now THAT was a profound statement. That Is one that never occured to me.

August 13, 2011 at 4:15 PM
kkdither said...

Personally, I'm wearing black and mourning the loss of my job. Thanks to shortsightedness and greed, our leaders gave our district the "tools" (aka $80 million cut to education) to remove bodies and put less qualified people in jobs.

August 13, 2011 at 4:45 PM
Why Not? said...

I'm so sorry to hear you lost your job KK.. =( this whole thing breaks my heart, and I'm not even really affected by it..

August 14, 2011 at 12:04 AM
kkdither said...

Thanks, whynot? I am lucky enough to still be employed, but I will no longer be able to share the knowledge and expertise I have, as my new job will not offer that opportunity. The person who will be doing my job will be less effective, due to lack of knowledge and years of experience.

The final head count isn't in yet of body eliminations. Don't believe what you read and hear from news reports that all is well in the schools. I believe safety has also been severely compromised.

There are HUNDREDS of people displaced in Unified this year: from administrators to educational assistants, to superintendents and management positions. The union director left his job as well. The ship is sinking.

There will be chaos as many will be "learning" a new job without anyone to train them. This is a huge challenge to the education process. This is a huge shakeup to the kids who are accustomed to getting services and help from these adults.

AS you can tell, I'm very sad about the whole thing.

August 14, 2011 at 10:50 AM
lizardmom said...

well put Toad :)

August 14, 2011 at 6:11 PM
Toad said...

Dearest KK, With the knowledge of Unions and how they work, I can only say, the person replacing you MUST be fully capable of performing the job they BUMPED to. That MUST take place In a specified period of time. Should that person NOT perform the job to the stringent requirements of the Job Description, they SHALL be removed, and the QUALIFIED person that previously held the job shall return to that job. IF someone else wants to BUMP and take their chances at a FULL lay-off, GOOD LUCK. That Is how It Is supposed to work, and If your contract says different, they were NOT taking care of their members. Unions are required to support ALL of their members, but because a person has seniority does NOT guarantee that they cannot be subject to lay-off, If during the course of a reduction, they use the bumping option. Management will ALWAYS have the right to have the BEST person In the job. I wish you all the luck In the world In this struggle your going through, and just KNOW It will work out for you. You (I suspect) always land on your feet.

August 14, 2011 at 7:43 PM
kkdither said...

Toad, I truly wish it was as you said. It didn't go down that way. Seniority was the factor in the decision making process and there will be no going back if someone doesn't "work out."

I have so much more that I could add, but this public forum is not the place to debate something this personal. If we ever get a chance to talk, I'll fill you in on the details. It was ugly, and I'll just say that the kids will be the ones who suffer in this the most.

August 14, 2011 at 10:04 PM
kkdither said...

Oh, ya... I do land on my feet. I am a survivor and I will figure out something. I am also a mostly positive person. I just may have to go back to the public sector to seek some sanity.

August 14, 2011 at 10:06 PM
Huck Finn said...

There is no sanity in the private sector.

August 15, 2011 at 10:11 AM
OrbsCorbs said...

There is no sanity, period.

August 16, 2011 at 2:41 AM

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