I started this blog 41 days ago because I was frustrated and feeling helpless. I had already spent over a month trying to talk to the company and my union but both tried to dismiss me as too insignificant to bother with. My life may not matter to a lot of people but it's pretty important to me and I believe there have to be many others who have found themselves in a similar situation and are not as lucky as I am. We need a voice and hopefully I can play some small part helping improve the lot of the little guy. I honestly believe the collective we are at a turning point in history and that life as I've known it is about to undergo a dramatic change.
In my view, our economy is in shambles and life will get worse before it gets better. Colorado typically fares better than some parts of the country but as of February 9th, 2008 (the day before my 62nd birthday :-), Colorado's unemployment rate was 7.2% and the nation as a whole was at 8.1%. At the same time, I am amazed at the ease with which anyone can gather and disseminate information simply because we have the Internet. I was in the information business for a long time and I firmly believe information may be the most valuable commodity in the world.
I'm not special but the way I was treated sucks and perhaps my story will serve as an example to others who find themselves abandoned and out in the cold so to speak. I need no one's sympathy or money but I do ask for support in trying to get my message out. I will use any legal means available to insure that I'm heard by as many people as possible for as long as I have the ability to peck at a keyboard. Batten down folks, it's going to be a long bumpy ride.
Looking back, I think it's ironic because it didn't have to be this way. I'm a pretty simple, easy going guy and all I wanted was a job that paid enough money to make it to 66 and be able to go fishing. Driving a bus 50 or 60 hours a week wasn't my ideal but it paid the bills and I was satisfied.
I did not ask to get sick! It was not my idea of a good time to get gutted and spend 9 days in a coma with the docs telling my family I didn't stand a good chance of living. It was not my idea of a good time to lay in bed for over three weeks praying for enough dope to knock me out so the pain wouldn't drive me crazy. It was not my idea of a good time to wake up one morning and have a belly full of pus and have to spend almost 5 months with a plastic tube in my body so I could administer IV antibiotics to keep myself alive. It was not my idea of a good time to have the doc cut on me for a second time and not know if it was the last time and it is certainly not my idea of a good time to know there is perhaps a 30% chance the infection could return.
It's been 72 days since I was fired and I'm getting impatient. After all I've been through, I'm ready to see if we can put the First Amendment to a test. Mr's Carter, Alton, Rivera, Trujillo and Ms. Mitchell-Robson: Do you really think you've done the job you were paid to do? I don't and I don't think I could sleep at night if I were as bad at my job as you seem to be.
I was never contacted by my union and it took 5 months for HR to contact me. Forget the law, wouldn't you agree that perhaps a part of your job was to find out if an employee and union member was at least alive? Perhaps it might have been important to ask what my prognosis and plans were. Perhaps I just expect too much and should be satisfied with reality. Is "NOT" as an answer still being used by the kids?
Do you not understand that the first letter I received from HR was a major screw up and that no matter how often you try and wish it away, it still exists? Is the concept of "fiduciary duty" hard to understand? Personal? You bet it's personal, it's my life we're talking about.
I want to again thank everyone who tried to help me. I don't have the words to express my gratitude and I hope you'll understand how much it meant.
So, how do we tie it all up in a neat little ball and explain how my last few posts relate? I see FMLA violations as a given, CBA violations as a probable and Age Discrimination/ADA violations as possible. Nor can I neglect my union, LM-2's are very interesting.
How much of your work do I have to do for you?
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