Hi M,
Margie decided to terminate me yesterday with no explanation, except “going in a different direction”.
Hopefully the direction is a different one than losing 3 more greenhouse staff managers in less than 6 months.
[Context: the last two both quit in pretty short order, one after the other before me. Everyone else at the business that has covered for that job absolutely hates it. It's being a staff manager, taking care of every single plant that comes in, quality control, pest control, ordering wholesale, pricing everything, cashiering, managing purchase orders and inventory, helping customers with plants, and a splash of IT. I actually really loved it but it was definitely very stressful and the pay was barely enough. The owner is very possessive over the house plant department, since she financed the greenhouse after buying the business, even though she rarely works in it.]
I can only theorize. I kept doing pesky things like discussing wages and asking for baristas[we had a coffee bar] to be able to get their tips(legally theirs), asking for better training and accommodation as a socially/intellectually disabled worker(which I was extremely open about) and putting up with other managers sending me abusive, swearing texts on my days off for mistakes that easily could have been avoided with what I asked. I tried really hard to believe eventually things would get better, if I kept asking. I was really hoping to stay for a long time, but I'm not giving the satisfaction of the narrative of why I'm gone to Margie. I've never, in my entire professional life been refused feedback or even the simplest reason for dismissal.
I hope you can find someone else to teach classes.
I'll miss all the other employees in the garden center and learning from their knowledge, but this is a bridge worth burning to me.
I deserved better than that, and everyone knows it. I'm excluding Elene[the general manager for readers]from my criticisms. She works very hard and I appreciate her attempts to be an advocate for me and modernize the company, even if it wasn't perfect, and some things were out of her control.
Tell Margie to split the next week of my severance she said she'd give me, and divy it up between the rest of the greenhouse staff. If she doesn't, I will.
I don't need the money, and my coworkers were the reason I loved my job. I wouldn't have that privilege without other people helping me when I was down. They are younger than me. They have rent, credit card bills, car payments, school debt, and medical bills to pay in the worst economy in living memory. I'm sure she can figure that out.
I wish you all the best. You can delete this email from your server, I won't be viewing it or responding again. I will mail any gear or uniforms I can find and launder so they can be used by other staff.
Best wishes,
L