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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTwo Weeks Since I Lost My Job.... An Interesting Revelation
Two weeks ago today I was laid off from a job that I was only at for 7 months. I had to use up much of my savings to relocate from Seattle to McMinnville Oregon in the process of which I will never get back as my company did not offer relocation monies.
My wife and I had to break a 1 year lease so we could relocate back to Seattle and yes it was not a cheap move back but had to be done as the Yamhill county/McMinnville area is depressed. Our landlord was gracious with us and allowed us out of the lease without any further expense, we left his rental in better shape than when we moved in and he gave us a statement stating he was vacating the lease due to the situation.
During the closing out of our affairs I found out some interesting revelations about my company and the owner. McMinville/Yamhill county has a population of about 200k people. The company failed to pay the employees on time for 3 months until the local paper did a SHAME piece of their state of financial affairs, it painted a dismal picture of the company. But their bleak financial affairs are not limited to just the domestic and international theater, they are the same locally adding to the local areas depression. The company is severely in debt from a limited amount of research I did in the neighborhood of a million $$ this is to hotels,public storage, utility company's, print shops,office supply, and contractors, there are more. A MILLION $$$ in a community of 30K is a hell of a lot of money.
The revelation
The owner during the elections had the front lawn decorated with local and national republican candidates signs. It was then I realized just what kind of a company I worked for. The way this company handles its affairs is much like the republicans handle affairs nationally,they just kick it down the road and force someone else to pay for it,namely the little guy
Again I used up most of my savings in the relocation. One month into my employment I saw the first signs of financial distress when the company was being denied credit for large amounts of fuel because of failure to pay,shortly there after finding out the company's financial affairs were very deep.This has led me to think that since the company wants to know how I handle my affairs shouldn't we have a level playing field and be able to see how the prospective employer handles theirs?? I am planning meeting with my local state lawmakers and Rep. Adam Smith and begin pushing for two way disclosure. Had I known the company was in the crapper financially I likely would have not taken the position. I think this is only fair.
I would encourage each member of DU to consider pushing your local and national elected leaders to do the same thing. This is one way we can take back our power and end needless irrelevant intrusiveness into our lives.
I am actually relieved to have been laid off,it was like the Titanic being lifted off my shoulders and a breathe of fresh air.
samsingh
(17,598 posts)hedgehog
(36,286 posts)I worked at a place that I only found out later was well known as being a hell hole!
physioex
(6,890 posts)I usually use a site called Indeed.com, and there are reviews posted about the work environment. Do get involved and post your experiences......
MattSh
(3,714 posts)16 U.S. Navy 2,556 reviews 10,000+ 152 open jobs
17 Google 97 reviews 10,000+ 505 open jobs
18 U.S. Army 4,820 reviews 10,000+ 216 open jobs
Well what do you know! Google ranks right between the Navy and the Army.
http://www.indeed.com/Best-Places-to-Work
JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)canuckledragger
(1,641 posts)eggplant
(3,911 posts)XanaDUer
(12,939 posts)I see some super positive stuff on there I know to be fslse... I can see them putting up a buncha BS since they already have a hard time getting and keeping good folks.
MineralMan
(146,309 posts)before committing to a move to go to work for it seems like a good idea to me.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)I survived the hellhole of a social services agency for 2 years before I quit.
The place is known all over the West Coast, and very connected to state and city officials.
Toxic people from the leadership on down plus I discovered really iffy use of funding.
After I left, the CEO killed himself when he learned he was being investigated for fraud,
mis-approppriation of funds, etc.
Huge internal shuffle of staff, the smart higher ups ducked out and got other jobs.
Agency is STILL going full tilt, all these years later.
Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)If an employer can look at our facebook accounts, we should be able to look at their bank statements.
hopemountain
(3,919 posts)same as they conduct credit and background checks on us - we should also be able to investigate the company's leadership/management.
Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)Especially in a volatile job market. What ever it takes to help people feel more secure is a good thing.
Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)I hope you find another job quickly and one that isn't run by RW nuts.
patrice
(47,992 posts)less.
In IT you almost never go to an interview in which they do not make it clear that you'd better be ready to work LESS hours or MORE than 40 hours on demand. Many engineers are on call at all hours.
You can give everything and get nothing but whatever the banksters have decided the coded 0s and 1s in your "paycheck" are currently "worth".
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)Indeed, one might even say leftist.
blackspade
(10,056 posts)Lydia Leftcoast
(48,217 posts)but I've sent you a PM to make sure.
Yavin4
(35,438 posts)If companies require credit histories and background checks on prospective employees, then you should get access to the same information about them. Every job has either a real contract or an implied one.
Warpy
(111,261 posts)because the companies were rotting from the heads down. Collecting while I looked for a better job was a way of life in the early 70s.
I'm sorry you had to take a financial hit, but I know where you're coming from. I'm just glad your landlord was a mensch about the whole thing, but many landlords are, preferring to have a well maintained place to show rather than a place where depressed people with no money couldn't afford to keep things up.
Companies never tell you when they're in the shitter and nothing is quite as hilarious as the glossy magazines they send out to stockholders every single year, just before they send the proxy votes. They're all solvent and engaged in public good works, you know.
What I go on is how they treat employees and customers. Once they start going downhill, the complaints from both groups start to escalate. Stock prices might spike if there are big layoffs, but the company is still ready to go down the pan.
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)The laws are heavily skewed against workers and those charged with enforcing the very few protections for workers that do exist refuse to do their jobs.
The "liberal" 1/50th of Work Camp America.
citizen blues
(570 posts)We are an "at will" state, which means you can get fired, any time, for any reason, no questions asked. Our workman's comp was privatized years ago and is now a joke.
We have the town with the highest non-vaccination rate in the country and are at epidemic rates of whooping cough. We have more young men incarcerated than in university, yet have the worst laws in the country for protecting children from religious-based medical neglect and abuse.
Yeah, we've got some work to do here.
duffyduff
(3,251 posts)That is what "at-will" employment means. That is also not what "right-to-work" is, and Oregon is NOT one of those.
By the way, employers cannot simply fire anybody for anything if that person is in a protected class.
AmyDeLune
(1,846 posts)Oregon tends to run Red.
Canoe52
(2,948 posts)In your job search - here's hoping you find a great job very soon!
ohiosmith
(24,262 posts)skill we taught our clients. Two of the best resources are Dun and Bradstreet, and Hoovers.
MinneapolisMatt
(1,550 posts)Since I'm self-employed, I've never had to even think about this. But in case I ever go work for 'the man'...thank you!
ohiosmith
(24,262 posts)Hekate
(90,690 posts)Have you considered sending an Op-Ed piece to the same newspaper that did the original "shame piece"? You write well, and with only a bit of tweaking this would make a fine piece for them to run as a follow-up.
Best of luck to you and you wife back in Seattle.
Hekate
bluemarkers
(536 posts)ObamaScare! It's the employee's fault we aren't doing well!! (they are making too much money) blah blah blah
It was bad investments and bad decisions!! But the romoney supporting owner and prez take no responsibility for their actions..../typical
Good luck with your search.
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)We need to change it. Employees need a program that lends money to employees who want to take over and manage their company and who can show that they have the expertise and organization to do it.
Also, we need to require employers to inform employees about what is going on in the company with regard to plans to expand or outsource or move or lay people off or borrow more money or sell more stock, etc. It would be nice to give workers in large companies some of the seats on the board of directors, but that would probably be too shocking for a lot of Americans even though it has worked quite well in Germany.
Employers and employees should be partners and not foes. On neither side should there be sneaky business.
All too often, in our workplaces, it is an employee who never missed a day and is utterly reliable and does good work who gets "written up" and laid off.
Sometimes I think the bosses do these things just to remind employees who powerful and merciless they can be.
orglib
(1 post)I work in a neighboring county...any chance you would like to reveal the company?
SheilaT
(23,156 posts)What a good landlord.
But I want to ask, if you don't mind, about one of your comments. You said "the company wants to know how I handle my affairs".
What in the world did they ask of you? I do keep on hearing or reading that companies want a prospective employer's facebook password and crap like that. I actually have a FB account, mainly so I can stay in touch with various other people. I almost never post anything myself. I am the only person out there with my particular first and last name, so I'm easy to find, although I know that lots of people have more common names. Anyway, if a prospective employer can't just google me or find me on FB already, too bad. They should be mainly concerned with my experience for the job and references, not anything about my personal life.
But your point about you wish you could have known is totally valid.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)n2doc
(47,953 posts)He stiffed his staff and suppliers also. http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/romney-staff-credit-cards-110812