Miscellany..
This is gonna be short and sweet.
I've blogged about a couple of things blowing in the wind recently,and thought this would be a good time to bring them up to date.
Possible layoffs at work,and The Lizzard King's custody woes regarding Little Newt.
Well,LK and his ex went through the mediation process,and it turns out Miss Thang is getting her one weekend a month...BUT!..Be of good cheer.LK gets to have him overnights,and into the next day on the Sundays that Newt is here,and this actually will amount to more total hours per month.
LK is pleased!
I don't care how his ex feels...
Bad news,Good news at work today.
It's been known for the last few weeks that layoffs were inevitable.This time of year,and other economic factors means that jobs have very nearly ground to a halt.
We also knew that 2 people were getting laid off,and those people knew who they were.
So,they called us all into the office at quitting time today,and announced that they were,unfortunately,obliged to lay off FOUR of us!..It didn't take me long to do the seniority math,and deduce that I was exactly fourth from the bottom...Ratz.
Only when Mrs. K announced the names of those getting a final paycheck,none of them were me!
One of the fellas that has been there longer than I have was chosen instead.
He has a wife,and three kids.
Needless to say,I felt relief on the one hand,and no small amount of grief for James and his lovely family on the other...I felt like a total bastard.
The simple fact of the matter is,that I possess a wider variety of skills than he does.
Business will be business.
Still,I'm absolutely certain this was not an easy decision for The K's to arrive at.
Everyone affected is guaranteed their unemployment insurance,and when Spring and Summer bring the expected turnaround,they will naturally be the first to be called back should they desire.
That pretty much wraps things up for now kids!
I'll be dropping by my friends in Bloggertown directly.
Labels: Whiplash
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25 Comments:
Totally sucky. I thought unemployment was way down and layoffs were very rare. I haven't heard of layoffs around here. Are you a harbinger of bad?
that sucks bites and blows...but glad it wasn't you that got the ax...and good news for little newt...
jan- I build cabinets. It's all wrapped around the slump in the new housing market,and the general decline in construction that occurs during the Winter months.We're a small shop,and we have work coming in,just not enough to keep everyone busy.We are now down to 3 of us,plus Mr. K,and his son.
yellowdog G.- I do have to be happy for myself.I mean,..Duh!
I'll not sleep well tonight thinking of the difficult times ahead for my work buddies,but I'll get over it.
whew! i'm glad you dodged the bullet.
I am glad you made it through the layoffs. It is crappy to see workmates get let go. When I started working at my job, there were 40000 plus, now we have 4000 left in Long Beach. So I have seen a lot of people go, it sucks...
sounds pretty easy to me, keep the renaissance man with superior skills. it'll make the company stronger in the long run to hire more people in the future.
it's nice to see superior skills and work ethic rewarded. a company can never have too many bicycle riders.
I'm glad things worked out for the Lizzard King, and for you.
BTW, I'm going to get rich and hire Mr. K's company to redo all my cabinets and I'm going to even pay for the air fare for the craftsmen to do the install themselves plus I tip. And make applesauce cake.
They - the ones who know these things - say it's the people left who actually suffer the most psychologically by firings and layoffs. This true? (It makes sense, but we freelancey people, we don't know stuff like this.)
Wow Sling, that stuff is hard to deal with. Thank goodness our Presidunce just announced his package to ease our economic woes. Ironically it IS his package, anally violating the middle class yet again. He wants a permanent repeal of the tax cuts he provided for the wealthiest Americans. I'm sure the trickledown will eventually reach us after they drop some more cash in Europe while on their vacations, or perhaps in the housing market in Aspen and the UES of Manhattan. Congress will fight this package, relief will stall, the shrub will blame it on congress, and we will still be FUCKED.
I am glad you are still employed! I'm happy to hear about LK's good fortune. My country scares the crap out of me.
My son-in-law just lost his job. It is a scary thing when you have a family to support. I'm sure he will find something soon, but it no fun right now. I am glad that you still have your job.
I'm glad the King is going to have time with Newt. Kids need their dad.
Hooya for the King...Little Newt will be all the better with more time with his daddy.
As for the job. You know, the owners have a business to run and keeping the most qualified workers is a sound business decision. We had a business. We had to sell it. We were losing our asses. We were looked on as bad people for possibly putting our employees out of a job. Our house was attached to the financing of that business. Let's see, keep the business until it goes under and we lose our house and no one has a job or sell the business and hope some the employees are kept by the new owner and we keep our home where we are raising 7 kids...Not a hard decision at all.
The fact that you feel for the folks that had to go makes it clear to see why the K's adore you. Oh and your mad carpentry skillz. But mostly cuz of how awesome you are, I'm sure of it.
Everytime we have layoffs around here I get sick to my stomach, even after finding out that I survived again. Firing people who deserve to be fired is one thing, but taking a hard-working man's (or woman's) job away is something else.
I'm sad that the market has been hard on your business. I blame George W. Bush.
monica- Me too!
sageweb- It does suck.
These are people that want to work,and are displaced through no fault of their own.
billy pilgrim- I know it's easy for me to say,but it really does make sense.
lorraine- Now we just need to make you rich.
Hey!..We could open a bar!
I drink enough to make us both rich!
booda baby- We talked about this very thing this morning.
We are all experiencing "survivor's guilt".
tater- It's probably sorely naive of me,but I think that our economy is self correcting.Right now,the housing slump is having a direct affect on what I do,but I've been up and down in life,and things always seem to level off.
mom- So sorry about the SIL.I know your heart must ache for your family.
rosemary- I know for a fact that Mr. K has not taken a paycheck for himself in weeks.I also know that,even now,he is bothered by having to lay people off.
On a brighter note!..It is cool that LK and Newt wil get to spend just a little more time together. :)
Hat- Thank you Sunshine..yer so sweet!
Here is my hopeful estimation.
We really do have a solid core of people left to carry us through 'till things pick up,and the fellas can come back to work,should they desire.
JP- Once again,you've crystallized my thoughts eloquently!
That is rough, on both ends. Of course you know in your head the boss made the best decision, the one he had to make, but that sure doesn't make it an easy decision. I feel for all involved, including the boss man. I hope they get called back soon.
I'm very happy for LK and especially the Newtster. So much better for the kids to have both parents. Good news.
Bummer. Merry freaking Post-Christmas Mr. James and family--just as the first post-season Visa card statement comes in the mail.
Man...ouch. 5 months, no jobs here.
It is self correcting when there are not obstacles to a level playing field. Corporatism marches on however, and disparity continues to grow, as the middle class slowly disappears. The Bush administration has aided and abetted them at every turn. Perhaps the balance will be self correcting, but I think it will be through severe hardship and unrest, something which could and should be avoided.
Lay offs suck. Even when you are not chosen to be laid off, it sucks to come back and have some of your fellow workers missing.
But I'm glad you were not of the four.
Pleased for your mate and his boy, pleased you still have a job, but how hard is it to all be called in together like that... like a lottery... I hope James finds something soon...
Glad things are a bit more reasonable for LK and the little Newt man..
Sorry about the work issues, but in lean times the broader range of skills is going to win out. Practical choice. And your boss seems like quite a good guy, so no doubt the shop will be back as it was come spring.
And Tate- the balance will self correct, but mark my words I suspect it's not going to be pretty.
YOu would not be human if you didnot feel intense relief that you were not on the lay-off list. What makes you the opposite of a bastard is that you also felt grief for the man who was cut.
More reasons I love reading your blog, your real, your human and your darn good at what you do!
More reasons I love reading your blog, your real, your human and your darn good at what you do!
Glad to hear you weren't on the list. From a company standpoint it only makes sense - sadly in these sort of things sentiment takes second place. Let's hope the turnaround happens sooner rather than later.
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