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WEll I went and talked to the owner of the plant I work in, there is nothing I can do about the issue now.
This is a very vindictive person and she has had a grudge on me for years. I very rarely talk to her and am always polite.
This was the "n" word, and I really did not mean to say it, it was more of a slurring of words that sounded like it. I have never said that word before so it was a total shock to me also. She overheard a conversation that did not involve her, yes she has her nose in everyones business. She also reads your lips to see what you are saying.
I guess in this hypersensitive world it doesn't matter---- you can apoligize but some people just don't care --- thsy will do there utmost to hurt you.
It is utterly disappointing that in the "land of the free" you have to be so politically correct on every level. We all say things we don't mean and in these hard economic times the very thought that you could lose your job over something like someone easedropping on your conversation is outragous. Everyone is so sensitive about everything, we are starting to look like a nation of crybabies. If you don't like what is on TV, radio, internet, turn it off. If you are invading my privaicy by easedropping that is harassment. I wish people would mind their own business, it seems years of service don't count for anything anymore. No wonder young people have no loyality. Good luck to you.
Sunny, you know...it's those hypervigilant types...just waiting to sink a knife in you...for all she knew, she didn't have the conversation right, but the real truth is...it wasn't her business.
She just knew this would rock the boat and ran with it.
Unless she tape recorded what you'd said, I would have said, "Oh really...someone said I said what?"
You see, it becomes hearsay...and she went and repeated a conversation to get you in trouble.
The fact she filled out paperwork against you shows some malice here. Is the word "union" banned where you work? Is Freedom of Speech not allowed?
Had she any proof that you were organizing a union there?
See...instead of fending off her accusations, I would have said, "Hey, what is going on here...why am I being attacked?"
You can't deal with insane people like that on reasonable terms, and you sound like a reasonable person. So you have to overstep them like road apples and tell the boss, "Gee, I don't have a clue what the problem is."
I would not admit to even using the word, 'union" because that would be twisted to make you look like a rabble rousing union-starting anti-corporate employee.
See how this works?
So, you go to the heart of the matter, and ask, instead of defending yourself, why someone, who wasn't part of the conversation, went and wrote you up, instead of asking what the conversation was about, and....why she was causing you problems. Because that is exactly what she was doing. She knew you weren't starting a union there. Come on.......
I had no problem standing up and saying what happened because I had nothing to hide. Yes, I did use the word "union", so what? I did ask her directly why she would fill out terminiation paperwork without even talking to me, or even talking to my supervisor. Especially in light of the fact I'd been there 3 years and the girl who was stirring up trouble only a few months.
She admitted that she had let her emotions get the best of her. Basically, she felt that she had spent a number of years building up the organization and I was tearing it all down. I assured her that my words were in jest. She asked me to apologize to her and implied that was how I could keep my job. I told her no way was I going to apologize because I had done nothing wrong, and I walked out. If she wanted to fire me, that was her choice and I didn't care. I did not lose my job. We talked the next morning, and "agreed to disagree" and I went back to work and moved on.
I too, hate the "PC" talk that everyone sticks to these days. People are so afraid to say anything. Now, I don't go around saying anything I please because my momma raised me better. But I certainly would rather stand up and say what I think, than work for a company and be stepped on my whole life.
I had no problem standing up and saying what happened because I had nothing to hide. Yes, I did use the word "union", so what? I did ask her directly why she would fill out terminiation paperwork without even talking to me, or even talking to my supervisor. Especially in light of the fact I'd been there 3 years and the girl who was stirring up trouble only a few months.
She admitted that she had let her emotions get the best of her. Basically, she felt that she had spent a number of years building up the organization and I was tearing it all down. I assured her that my words were in jest. She asked me to apologize to her and implied that was how I could keep my job. I told her no way was I going to apologize because I had done nothing wrong, and I walked out. If she wanted to fire me, that was her choice and I didn't care. I did not lose my job. We talked the next morning, and "agreed to disagree" and I went back to work and moved on.
I too, hate the "PC" talk that everyone sticks to these days. People are so afraid to say anything. Now, I don't go around saying anything I please because my momma raised me better. But I certainly would rather stand up and say what I think, than work for a company and be stepped on my whole life.
That offense and write up are trivial compared to the crap the management of my private ambulance company does. You make a mistake as moderate as that, learn from it and just move on. Don't sweat it out. It could have been a lot worse.
Imagine being suspended for three 24-hour shifts (72 hours' worth of pay) because you turned in paperwork that was missing a few lines of (not very critical) information - which could easily be obtained elsewise - because it "makes it hard on the office people." The field guys work sleepless 24-hour shifts (they're lucky to get 2 hours of interrupted sleep at night), put up with peoples' diseases, urine, blood and feces, deal with abusive people, work in all kinds of weather, drive long distances, work under constant stress and worry whether they're going to get sued for malpractice or lose their license (thus livelihood) over a mistake, be constantly hounded by dispatch as to where you are and to "hurry up" because calls have been stacked up, constantly lift and carry very heavy people, work in cramped spaces all day (the ambulance), can't leave work, go anywhere or conduct any personal business for the 24-hour shift, not allowed to take a nap at all until after 10pm, must be up and out of the station right from dead of sleep inside of 1.5 minutes from receipt of ANY call, including pre-scheduled transfer, put up with bosses that literally like to raise their voices and yell, put down employees in front of others, have to adhere to strict standards put forth by local, state and federal laws, maintain many hours of continuing medical education and testing just to stay certified by the state (and again by county government), etc. All at the great pay of anywhere between minimum wage to $13 an hour with little or no benefits. And that's after spending anywhere up to 4 months for EMT trainining and up to 1-2 years to become a Paramedic followed by testing at local and state level to get licensed.
No, I'm NOT talking about fire department folks. They have full unions, full benefits and more, earn wages that are usually twice to three times as much as us, their counterparts, even though they do the same stuff, ambulance-wise, they get all the glory and community support. GOOD private ambulance companies are far and few in between. This one particular company in Sacramento that I refer to is an absolute joke. All of the new people that just got started with us are already looking for new jobs. Everyone is looking for new jobs or some way to get out. Morale is low and it keeps getting worse because each day management reprimands people, makes up new rules and has draconian knee-jerk reactions to everything. Yet, for a lot of us, this is the only place we can work, for many legitimate reasons.
One crew was suspended FIVE 24-hour shifts without pay for sleeping through the telephone ringing at the station during night (they'd been running all day and night non-stop) due to sheer exhaustion and dispatch was trying to get them out the door for a pre-arranged non-emergency transfer taking someone home from the hospital. Supposedly dispatch was trying to get a hold of them for 10 minutes. They didn't need to be at the hospital for another 45 minutes (hospital 5 minutes away) but dispatch had, once again, over-booked itself. One EMT was fired on the spot because he was caught sitting in his ambulance with his eyes closed (again, that crew had been running solid for 12 hours with one break and they were exhausted), accused of sleeping. One Paramedic was fired because a surprise inspection found a box of band-aids expired by two weeks (yes, band-aids, not some medication or I.V. fluids) on his ambulance that he was supposed to check out thoroughly before going on a call. Two long-time people were given written warnings with new 6-month probation periods because they were using their cell phones at work (not on a call and not while driving). One person got chewed out for calling Human Resources while on duty (during down-time in between calls when nothing going on) to ask a question about how much PTO was available for him. Another person got a verbal warning for watching TV before 6pm though while at the station when no calls and all work was done (and management was already gone for the day...a supervisor had just popped in). One manager suspended a female employee in her late 40s who refused to climb on top of a 9' ambulance to wash its roof on his demand (we don't even have a ladder...he suggested she climb up from the top of his supervisor vehicle parked nex to the ambulance).
This company likes to put the fear of God into their people. They have used initimdation for a long time. The boss has been caught lying to people. The only people who get any kind of help or leeway are those who are members of the family that owns the company or are close friends with the family. I've been with them for ten years and I'm the ONLY person left from the folks that were there even two years ago. We have a saying at work "The beatings will continue until the morale improves." I've seen men and women cry and get sick from the stress and the abuse.
So, some of you think you really have it so bad. Please RE-THINK your circumstances. It COULD be worse!
Last edited by SacEMT; 09-06-2009 at 03:58 PM..
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