Friend lost job

[sleipnir]

A person, a good friend, that I work with was terminated recently for having the testicular fortitude to say "No" to management. He sincerely and professionally felt that what they wanted him to do was wrong. The company claims that our "employees are our greatest asset", yet when someone does not toe the party line, they do not work there very long. Honesty is not appreciated. Obedience and subservience are expected. This sucks. My friend has worked for the company for more that twenty years and the stress has ruined his health. Perhaps the change will be good for him personally, but I HATE that he is being forced out and that they lie to us every day when they say ours is an "open" workplace where opinions are respected.

They are all liars. It is all lies.

My only hope is that some day there is a reckoning for the bad things men do.

[Hank Ellis]

Here's one for ya.

Friend of mine was given a pink slip after 43 years with the local newspaper. Started there delivering papers in high school.

Here's the insults. Due to quirk in labor laws, if you layoff less than 50 employees you do not have to give a severance package. They laid off 49. He was given a pink slip, not laid off. Boom, out the door. When he got his pink slip he was given a box and escorted by a guard to his cubicle to gather his stuff. Not allowed at the computer get his personal files. So much for company loyalty.

What is a 61 year old guy supposed to do after working all his life at one place?

[The_Vigilante]

Maybe the gentleman laid off from the newspaper should see an attorney because of age discrimination which is all this is!!!

[mpolans]

Here's one for ya.

Friend of mine was given a pink slip after 43 years with the local newspaper. Started there delivering papers in high school.

Here's the insults. Due to quirk in labor laws, if you layoff less than 50 employees you do not have to give a severance package. They laid off 49. He was given a pink slip, not laid off. Boom, out the door. When he got his pink slip he was given a box and escorted by a guard to his cubicle to gather his stuff. Not allowed at the computer get his personal files. So much for company loyalty.

What is a 61 year old guy supposed to do after working all his life at one place?

See if a competing local paper or a local TV news station is interested in running a human interest segment on his story. In addition, depending on the circumstances, get a lawyer and research the possibility that age was a factor in the decision to fire him.

[Hank Ellis]

See if a competing local paper or a local TV news station is interested in running a human interest segment on his story. In addition, depending on the circumstances, get a lawyer and research the possibility that age was a factor in the decision to fire him.

The problem here is that the newspaper and the major TV station are owned by the same family. The newspaper and the TV station are the big dogs in the pound. There is no competing paper. The poop storm this will cause could get ugly. As the saying goes, Pick the mountains you want to die on carefully.

I've suggested to my wife who works for a labor attorney that age descrimination might be a viable route. She beat me to it and already talked to the barrister. Age discrimination is very hard to prove. Since 48 others were let go also pretty much makes it a non starter. I dunno. If I was on a jury with complaintant who has 40+ years with a company and age 60+ pretty much tells me all I want to know.

Knowing the guy he isn't one to get in a conflict. He'd rather take his lumps and move on.

[Canuck223]

A person, a good friend, that I work with was terminated recently for having the testicular fortitude to say "No" to management. He sincerely and professionally felt that what they wanted him to do was wrong. The company claims that our "employees are our greatest asset", yet when someone does not toe the party line, they do not work there very long. Honesty is not appreciated. Obedience and subservience are expected. This sucks. My friend has worked for the company for more that twenty years and the stress has ruined his health. Perhaps the change will be good for him personally, but I HATE that he is being forced out and that they lie to us every day when they say ours is an "open" workplace where opinions are respected.

They are all liars. It is all lies.

My only hope is that some day there is a reckoning for the bad things men do.

Some times, management make decisions for reasons that are hard to swallow. A good management team will listen to the feedback, but sometimes the decision, however unpalatable, must be followed.

The problem as your friend has found out, is there is an upper limit to how vigourously the staff can protest the direction management take.