Saturday, December 19, 2009

Going to Work in Snow/Ice/Sleet/Cruddy Winter Weather

Since there's an impending blizzard heading straight for NYC, it seems appropriate for me to go on this little rant.

I was talking to my parents yesterday. They live in NC & if you've been following the news, it was snowy/icy & sleeting there last night. My mom works at UPS and they have traditionally expected people to show up for work regardless of if Godzilla starts attacking the city, roads are covered in ice, the state has a blackout or any other unusual catastrophe strikes. Apparently, she tried going to work but had to come home b/c the roads were that bad & this was BEFORE starting her evening shift. She calls her boss, who has the gall to get mad at people for NOT risking their lives for a soulless corporation & hangs up on her. Oh, and she's NOT a UPS driver.

Let's just get one thing straight right now: NO ONE'S job is worth their LIFE. I'm not driving a car on snow and ice to go to work. This goes double if A) it is a dead end position, B) I am not an appreciated member of the company (no managerial recognition, raises, time off, etc.) or C) my job is not essential to life & death like being a doctor, EMT worker, nurse, police officer, etc. My mom is none of the things in category C. Nor is ANYONE that I know. I know what those kinds of jobs would entail & choose not to do them. Employers need to back off in those situations.

Lucky for me, every single employer I had would say "Stay home. Your life is not worth it." Even my boss at a courier service told me this back in college & driving was essential to that one. I'm sure some of the employers I know wouldn't even risk THEIR lives to drive to the office. This is called RESPONSIBLE. This is called RATIONAL. Finally, it is FAIR.

I'm worried my husband, another worker w/a non-essential job, is going to be snowbound or harmed in some way b/c his employer refuses to give a damn about the welfare of its workers or making sure they don't die on icy roads/die walking in the elements to their homes because public transit stopped running. Furthermore, the people making major decisions have not bothered recognizing his abilities & have proven they don't appreciate him by not giving him the supervisory position + increased pay that he richly deserves, particularly compared to some incompetents who ARE getting these things (at least, this is how I see it).

I was visiting the law school I attended in CT back in December 2003 when there was a blizzard from DC to CT (I lived in Atlanta at the time & family lived in NC); thankfully my father, a former truck driver, was driving. Prayer & his skill saved us from falling into the water below a massive bridge in Delaware or being side-swiped by other cars considering I felt the car turn & stop sideways. It's not an experience I want to relive, thank you. Nor would I wish it on most people; it's also the main reason you won't catch me driving in snowfall & an employer asking me to would get told off.

Remember, I'm not a cop, nurse, EMT worker or someone who's job is essential at all time periods. No one NEEDS the services of retail clerks, office staff, lawyers, restaurant workers and other types badly enough to force those people to drive around in snow/ice/sleet! And if you'd dare to fire these types b/c they didn't risk their lives in a blizzard, YOU should be stuck driving in a blizzard sometime. THEN you can talk to me about whether these people should have to do it. If you think it's some grand, easy thing YOU can go pick up everyone who can't drive in it; if you're not willing to do that, STFU!

2 comments:

  1. Law school in CT? Are you a Yale grad?

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  2. Oh, lord no. Quinnipiac. It's not really a "shitty" law school per se, more like unknown. No one's ever chuckled when I said I went there & people who HAVE heard of it always say something complimentary or mention that it's hard (the grading at one time was incredibly tough & everyone had lower GPAs than the Yalies).

    Funny part is I went to the same type of undergrad, down to a name people mispronounce.

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