Antiwork

Wanted to share my story to see if anyone else can commiserate with good whack-job owner stories. Here’s my story: For background, I’m a fairly seasoned manager (10+ years). I took a seasonal position with a family-owned business because it sounded fun and challenging, but still within my wheelhouse. It was an eleven week gig. The first 7 went great, but the last 4 were miserable. To start, I felt like things were going great! I got along well with all of the employees and actually enjoyed the job. One of the owners even texted me one evening to tell me I was doing a great job. I had only gotten positive feedback and had no indication there was anything that needed improving; I was super excited to finish the season on a good note. Fast forward to four weeks before the end of our season….the owners blindsided me with…

So I’ve been working for a Denver based tech company for about 3 months. I was guaranteed in writing that I would be paid all full commission on the 15th. I finally get paid and 2k is missing from my check.! I ask HR and they won’t respond about the missing commissions payment. My manager then hops on a call and blames it on a “system error” and that I would get the rest in TWO WEEKS! Like no, this needs to be paid now! How can companies keep lying and cheating employees!!?!

I graduated from college about 5 years ago. Which saying that just makes me want to cry. Ever since I’ve graduated, I have never made more than $15 an hour. Right now, I work for the state government and make that much. I’ve been looking for a new job for two years now. Can’t find anything that pays decent. I tried to go on a lease assistance program, since they keep raising renting, but not pay. Well, most decent places won’t accept lease assistance (because of the “undesirable people who need lease assistance), so you can only get it if you live in a dump, in my state at least. I’m about to start donating my plasma so I can make extra money to offset the cost. I might even make too much to go on food stamps. Which is asinine. I can’t make a dent in my student loan…

Normally our panels are made with 2 layers of thin aluminum, but recently one side has become this weird kind of fiber reinforced plastic. There was NO information about this new material, none of our machine's dust collector filter bags were updated or replaced. I've noticed I've been having these weird wheezing cough bouts lately. I might be mildly asthmatic tho, but I'm still worried. We have a union, but our boss blocks anything they try in any way he can, it's a small company. I'm also not in the US btw. Is it possible to test the air here myself? I've read that this kind of dust can cause something called silicosis, which is fucking terrifying!