Having a cr@ptastic week!!!!

Hey all,

I'm sorry upfront for being a downer, but I just need to rant.



I have had a steady supply of scrap from ongoing construction projects at my workplace. Along with the waste generated from the construction, there has been an ample supply of scrap from my employer as well. I had been collecting this waste in the evenings with the blessing of a construction supervisor with full knowledge I was collecting not just what he set aside, but what I garnered from the construction dumpster.

Well, I was making a scrap run to my buyer on my off-day and decided to stop by work to see what might be there. Sure enough, as soon as I closed the doors on the dumpster I finished pilfering, the head construction manager pulls up and grills me on why I was doing this. He sent a note to my director and cc'ed my company's engineering manager. I get a email saying I can't scrap any longer from any dumpster now (even though many of the plant maintenance and EVS staff are taking scrap).

It get even better.....

I found out this evening in an "all support staff" meeting that due to decreased customer load, my primary position at work and a coworker's are being eliminated. I have a rather specialized job function but my primary position designation is the same as two other coworker's who have about 1 month seniority on me. I have been at this company for 7 years and I am the go-to guy for the professional staff. My supervisors use me for coverage in all the other service areas, but the two people with my same job designation are not tapped to do the same. I have a secondary position at this company, but I haven't been required to use it for timekeeping in about 5 years due to their reliance on me for my primary position. They never eliminated the secondary designation b/c the other two people I mentioned could not possibly fulfill the physical requirements required of that designation. Now, I am being used to fill the lower-paid position and at likely reduced hours.

I guess I now get to feel a little of my my father went through whn he was down-sized by his company in his 30th year on the job. Company loyalty is dead.

Sorry to hear about your situation. Maybe another similar company may value your skills more. Sometimes change sucks but it provides you with the ability to adapt and overcome those hurdles and land in greener pastures.

Sorry to hear about your treatment by the company. That's just not fair. The way you describe it, it sounds like it has the reek of some high level politics used to stomp on you, too.

I went through a similar thing-worked for 20+ years for a company, they got sold, the new company didn't use engineers, I hit the dirt. Gee, thanks. Now, remind me why I spent all those evenings and weekends at the plant helping fix and improve stuff at no extra pay? (supposed to take time off for time worked) Yeah, to make someone else's retirement!!

Now I'm working for myself. Should have done it 20 years sooner.

Keep your chin up. I've found that you have to treat it as a life learning experience. If you've been scrapping, you already have some of the savvy you need to keep going. Here's one to ponder: "If you're a scrapper, you're a scrapper."

Jon.

that is a s..ty thing and sorry to hear it but maybe this can be your chance to push hard and work full time scrapping in the mean time and still look for other work as well see how it goes but wish ya well though

Good luck with it SOS, never can know what tomorrow will bring, hopefully it'll be looking up for ya

Thank you all for your kindness. The company I work for is going through the same belt-tightening as many others across the country and the industry it is in is being affected before most others due to current legislation.

I was moving A LOT of scrap. I definitely think revenue was a driving factor in why they put the brakes on me. Since I was forced to stop, I have seen a lot less scrap going to the dump than before I was scrapping it. I found out even the construction company is collecting and going to cut checks to my employer. They parked a nice, big metal collection bin on the property.

Their perrogative.....

Here's one to ponder: "If you're a scrapper, you're a scrapper."

Jon, you should enter that in the Rusty T-Shirt contest.