Hey Working Class, You're Fuq'd!

I was working for a Leading Roadside corporation and had to attend a seminar called "Who moved my Cheese", Have you heard of it?

"Who moved my Cheese?" Is a self help tome about adapting to sudden and sometimes extreme change in Life and specifically in the workplace. Now, if I had grabbed the book in Borders or Barnes and Noble I could have used the book for the good it was intended but I quickly learned it was my company's lame way of letting me and others know that we were about to get Eff'd!

We were told we needed to adapt to sudden change. We would NOT be getting raises, we would BE expected to do more work for the SAME or LESS money and do it well.  The Claims department was downsizing a large portion of it's staff, and now we would have to learn to file claims. Well, at least the grunt work of it.  The New Membership staff had been ELIMINATED so WE had to now process the new members all while still taking calls from disabled motorists, dispatching calls to local towing and emergency agencies.

Would we get a slight pay bump for learning new skills? Hell NO! We'd get to KEEP our jobs and make the SAME money.  "Who moved my Cheese?" Would help us adapt and accept the changes that were happening in our lives. 

Evil Bastards!

Has this happened to you?  Come on????? Tell Uncle Mista Jaycee! Yeah, it's happened to you!

1. Are you making more money than five years ago or less?  Sub Question. Are you employed?

2. How many people have gotten laid off, downsized, rightsized or fired in the last five years?

3. Can you buy a home, car, pay tuition and save with your salary?

4. If you have a post graduate degree has it helped you or hurt you in today's job market?

Ask yourself these questions. 

My Mom got a job right out of high school and could work that job til she retired, buying a house, a couple of new cars and support the Family.  Can you or I?

Can you buy a house off your salary now?  Will you work your job for more than five years?
Can you accrue sick time? What are your benefits like? Do you have any benefits?

See the pattern here? You and I are making less, working multiple jobs in two to five year increments, without any of the benefits that our PARENTS had. Some of us are working now without the benefits that are older Brothers and Sisters had.

This is the enviorment that we are living in and trying to talk politics.  It infects everything.  Now, listen carefully to the NFL and NBA lockouts cause you are going to hear what's affecting YOU now. 

In the NFL the owners want the Players to play an 18 game schedule instead of a 16 game schedule including Pre season games, and camp. So you want me to work more without more money and risk even more injury in a dangerous profession?  The NFL is a Multi BILLION dollar industry and BILLIONAIRE OWNERS want Labor to do MORE and take less. Remember, not all these players make a million dollars a year and incur injuries that require lifetime medical treatment. Same with the NBA alot of the LABOR does not make Multi million dollars, just a few do. KOBE does, LEBRON does and now what the Owners want  is to cap the cost of a RASHARD LEWIS who made 19 Million last year but DID nothing basketball wise, the GREG ODEN's who signed a 100 Million dollar deal but has played on about 49 games in three seasons.  Most players make far less.  It's about the owners PROFIT margin.

Now, I know it seems like your salary and labor struggle are light years apart from a MILLIONAIRE ATHLETE but it's really NOT! The amount of salary separates you but that's all the STRUGGLE IS the same.  Greedy owners or shareholders want an even larger piece of an already profitable pie and want LABOR to take less, work harder and longer without any additional benefits. 

We can't go on like this. 

BE Prayerful! BE Mindful! BE Careful!
Jaycee