"Culture Cypher Cypher Love is all I need/I'm petty, can't see the forest for the trees" - "Big Fish", Flavor From The Eastside Basement, 1991 demo tape
What up, Negroes? I'm trying to hold down the fort whilst being shot at with crossbows and having trojan horses left at my doorstep. To paraphase Dubya, playing "the man" is hard work.
The non-union people, my professional staff, are pissed. They want a raise across the board. What'll happen if they get one? Well, that means at least two of 'em will be laid off. Who squawks the loudest? The most expendable ones with the least seniority. Michigan has a high ass unemployment rate AND the City of Satan's Anus is about to double employee costs for health care, effectively giving everyone a pay cut. Good luck with that, jackholes.
For my union staff, calling them pissed is an understatement. We, the professional staff and managers, sit around in climate controlled offices while they go out and do the dirty work, which includes confrontations with property owners. They are underappreciated and underpaid, they contend. I say they don't realize how utterly replaceable they are. The union is also beefin' because of some discipline we handed out. You see, one of the staff made it a point to call a citizen an "idiot" because he added a component to his property that was some non-compliant with city codes. The staff person admitted he called him an "idiot" and was given a verbal reprimand. The union feels that the punishment was too harsh. Really? A verbal, not added to your written record, reprimand for calling one of our "bosses" an idiot is too harsh? I came from a heavily union family and these fuckers are making me hate them.
What up, Negroes? I'm trying to hold down the fort whilst being shot at with crossbows and having trojan horses left at my doorstep. To paraphase Dubya, playing "the man" is hard work.
The non-union people, my professional staff, are pissed. They want a raise across the board. What'll happen if they get one? Well, that means at least two of 'em will be laid off. Who squawks the loudest? The most expendable ones with the least seniority. Michigan has a high ass unemployment rate AND the City of Satan's Anus is about to double employee costs for health care, effectively giving everyone a pay cut. Good luck with that, jackholes.
For my union staff, calling them pissed is an understatement. We, the professional staff and managers, sit around in climate controlled offices while they go out and do the dirty work, which includes confrontations with property owners. They are underappreciated and underpaid, they contend. I say they don't realize how utterly replaceable they are. The union is also beefin' because of some discipline we handed out. You see, one of the staff made it a point to call a citizen an "idiot" because he added a component to his property that was some non-compliant with city codes. The staff person admitted he called him an "idiot" and was given a verbal reprimand. The union feels that the punishment was too harsh. Really? A verbal, not added to your written record, reprimand for calling one of our "bosses" an idiot is too harsh? I came from a heavily union family and these fuckers are making me hate them.
The real issue is that I'm here to be a Forest Man. The big picture is everything. The nature of people in general is to be Tree People, looking at the short term immediate needs of themselves. You can't reconcile this shit, it is what it is. I get what it is to be a Tree Person. Shit, essentially I am a Tree Person thrust into the role of Forest Man. I have to be more concerned about their jobs than they do. I have to make sure the work can be performed before the money runs out. I have to protect the city against money sapping lawsuits. They get to sit around and bitch about how it feels like management doesn't care about them and complain they we don't bring in donuts for them on Fridays. This shit would exhaust a young man, let alone my ass. That's why I need the weekend!
Peace,
KZ
Peace,
KZ
21 comments:
Sure you wanna go to the top? To much is given much is required.
Enjoy your weekend.
It sucks when you are the "Big Picture" person in charge of a bunch of "MiMi's" (Get it, Me-Me?).
That's one of the reasons I am looking forward to my new gig. No more managing this team of Diva/Divos. Good luck to you Zed.
Toss back a couple of Red Stripes this weekend.
I've been a tree person, and I've been a forest person. I prefer being a tree. And as long as I work on this plantation my goal is to stay a tree. A well paid, self centered, self absorbed tree!
Being a supervisor sucks!
@Chele
Can I give it back, so less is required of me?
@Sixy
Hooray beer!
@OneFrom
If I was well paid tree person, I never would have become a forest person, trust me. I had to get some more loot and the loot was in the forest.
KZ
I am working in a unionized environment as well and it is frustrating. Instead of being able to get rid of incompetent staff you are stuck with them. People just give no work and they suck of the government teats for life. Something about a unionized environment fostered dependency and a sense of entitlement. And this is from a bonified lefty.
@1969 I may be revoking your Trini card soon...we toss back Carib or Stag...maybe a Heineken, but never Red Stripe ;-)
@MizJJ
I feel you completely on that unionized stuff. Both my parents are 30+ year members of the United Auto Workers. I was a member of the UAW when I worked briefly at Chrysler. I believe in union protections against egregious management behavior and work for quality benefits. But some of the shit this union is pulling is ridiculous. And I'm a lefty like you, so it pains me politically to be down on them so much.
KZ
Mizz JJ....
Zed strikes me as a Red Stripe man somehow.
I am more of an Old Oak, Vat 19 drinker. Don't do beer....can I keep my card now?
i do not envy you! even though i'm not dealing with as much, being a supervisor can stink quite a bit. i spend more time puttinmg out fires than being in the lab (where i truly like to be)
just this morning i caught some shit that would have been a real mess-up. is this the life?
@Sixy
You and Miz JJ with all your island talk about various liquors and whatnot,y'all makin' my head hurt!
@Aqua
This is it. This is all we have. Enjoy that fat paycheck.
KZ
Anything that holds too much power (unions included) will be corrupt and/or make unreasonable demands.
@1969: you can definitely keep your card now that you've explained yourself.
Yea, you and Dubya doing the damn thang. Always hated that..."the damn thang"...who da fukc came up with that.
I digress...
Sounds like this is the weekend for a grilled cheese sandwich and a Carmel drink of some sort...hahahaha
HA!
@MizJJ
Judgin' by the product I see, that island must be a mutha!
@Blah
I hate that fuckin' saying too. "Doin' the damn thang" indeed.
Remember when we used to be friends? Ah...good times, good times.
KZ
So its cool to call people idiots and not expect any backlash? I'm glad my people aren't unionized. Its a long and hard enough to fire somebody without it. Everybody scared about lawsuits that people get away with murder sometimes.
@Cas
That's what happened. He called a citizen an "idiot" and got made that he was reprimanded. That's how bad entitlement is in the country.
I didn't even go into the fact that he was a young white employee calling an old black resident an idiot. Nor did I go into the fact that the union officer representing him is a black man. There's enough idiocy going around.
KZ
@Mack
Put down the Lupe, Mack. Nice and slow.
KZ
we've been talking about the four frames of an organization in one of my classes. which do you believe you fall into: systemic, human resource, political, or symbolic? in case you're interested, the book is called "reframing organizations" by bolman and deal.
@FA
I have that book, the second edition from when I was in grad school. I have a MPA from the University of Michigan, 1999. I wrote a paper that looked at my organization at the time through the different frames.
My org is very systemic.
KZ
i KNEW your ass was syetemic! just wanted to give you the options without sounding too presumptuous. that's what we "human resourcers" do! university of michigan, huh? you are high-brow...! ;-)
@FA
U of M sucks dick. My undergrad is from Michigan State. I wish my grad was too!
You about to be an HR pro? Oh lord!
*shakinghead*
KZ
Hope you're having a great weekend.
@Honest
My weekend has been pure, unadulterated hell.
KZ
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