Day: February 28, 2023

So the forecast calls for another ten inches possibly in the next 24 hours.

Wonderful!

The winds are kicking up too, so being outside is truly miserable. The dog walked outside, stood on the deck for a moment then turned around and came in. Even he’s over all this now. 

I was able to take yesterday off which is a good thing. My knees were starting to complain a lot.

I’ve got food so I’m not going to starve but I think it’s going to take a long time to be able to get the car out.. 

I don’t have to be anywhere thankfully.

One of my neighbors is super pissed off at his employer of 19 years. They’re bitching at him to come to work. He pointed out that the roads are closed and have been for almost a week. He directed them to the CHP and CalTrans both of whom say there are closures and travel restrictions. 

His employer’s response…

No you can’t use your vacation days. No, you can’t take the time unpaid, You chose to live there. So your job is now in jeopardy.

WTF? 

That’s like telling someone after an earthquake or mudslide, “Well you chose to live in California.” Or telling someone who lives near the coast, “You chose to live near the ocean, so missing work due to a tsunami is your fault.”

This is why employees typically, and justifiably hate their employers. It’s not necessarily your boss. It’s the HR and Executives dogmatically and heartlessly following a set of rules, policies and procedures. 

I’ve been though what my neighbor is going through now, with some of my previous employers. It truly sucks and stresses you out in addition to dealing with the shit you’re facing.  It also places people at risk.

Years ago, I spun out on icy roads and trashed my vehicle due to threat of losing my job. When I got back to work in a rental car a day or two later. HR demanded to see the CHP accident report. I gave them a copy of the report and then told the HR director to go fuck herself while I was being “counseled” for my unexcused absence. She was truly surprised that I quit on the spot. I didn’t need to clean out my desk and didn’t. I grabbed my backpack and walked out. She called security trying to have them stop me from leaving. Yeah, it was that important to her to have the last word. The security guy waved me through the door with a big grin. He whispered, “Fuck that cunt,” as I walked out.

I’m hoping now that San Bernardino has declared an emergency that the neighbor gets his employer off his back. 

I understand the concept of employers being about making profit and that employees facilitate that profit. I’m good with it.

However, blaming someone for where they live is out of bounds. This storm is an unusual event and storms like this happen only once in ten to fifteen years. You’d think that an employer could look at the situation with heart not just through the lens of rules and regulations.

I’ll note that none of the employers in my history EVER once said, “Thank you for staying in a hotel so you can be here during a major storm at your home.“

They were very quick to berate me when something unforeseen prevented me from being at work.

Employers will happily fuck over every employee with bullshit rules about gender equity and trans rights so they can virtue signal. But be a “Normal” person who’s shown up, & done your job, for years… Oh you’re disposable.

It’s not nice, but I really hope my neighbor’s boss and his union representative have the roads to their homes inundated by a mud slide. I think that it might be funny for them to have a taste of their own medicine. 

If I was my neighbor, I’d be waiting to tell my boss and the union rep, “Well you chose to live in that area…”