Blindsight is 20/20

Due to the wide, wide audience of Co-op employees the Live Journal gets, here's a couple of things you should all find very interesting.

Co-op is closed a total of 3 days out of a normal year. Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day. This year, we are open on Boxing Day for what Head Office describes as "experimental reasons". Bulls*it.

You want to know why we're open this year? Through my many numerous and hooked up sources, here it is, people.

Head office tried to keep it quiet, but it is a very little-known fact that last year, on Boxing Day, a Gas Bar Supervisor had nothing to do so he went and opened up the Gas Bar for business. Without approval, without reason, without brains, without anything. Seriously, who does this?

Anyways, not too many Gas Bars in the city are open, so it did decent business. Of course, they found out what the employee did and he was reprimanded and disciplned... but then (unbenknownst to even the dimwit who opened his Gas Bar) they saw the numbers that the Gas Bar did and we're impressed.

So now, because of this moron, we're open on Boxing Day this year. Thanks, a**hole. Now we all have to work Boxing Day, including those of us that do have lives. F*ckin' smooth. I wouldn't give out the name even if I had it, which I don't, but yeah... "experimental reasons", my ass. Now you know.

One name who I will give out is the name of a Meat Cutter. Without going into too much detail, I'll give you the quick story. His name is Emery, he is a well-known Union Rep who openly opposes management. He also has been accused of sexual harassment 11 times (that we know of) and therefore has been moved from store to store. He gets away with it and lots of other BS because he's a Union rep and they are, sadly, for the most part, untouchable.

I teach Orientation Phase II for Human Resources twice a month, and the Union comes in and does a presentation. He went off on an anti-mangement, anti-security, anti-head office, pro-union tirade that I felt, was not suitable for employees who have been working for Co-op no longer than 3 weeks. So I banned him from teaching at Orientations for 2 years. He knew it was me, he then tried to get me banned from teaching. When that didn't work, he claimed to anyone who would listen that it was just another example of Head Office not being able to deal with "the truth".

So, hm, you've been convicted of sexual harassment several times, no manager can stand to work with you because you make every day a political nightmare, you've alienated the entire Meat Dept world at Co-op (every one at my store cringed when they heard he was coming to my store for a 3 month stay where, once convicted of sexual harassment, was moved again), and you've basically gotten away with everything scott-free.

What else can you possibly do to make noise and get attention? Better start stealing meat. Oops, but this time, you got caught, and not even the union can save you this time.

The fact that you stole doesn't piss me off at all, I could honestly care less. I find it amusing more than anything else. What pisses me off is that I listened to you talk in my class about how Co-op has a "zero tolerance" theft policy at least 50 times, while you we're stealing, and then you have the sack to tell everyone that I can't handle the truth? If you weren't such a f*cking chore to look at, I'd tell you to look in the mirror. One of us can handle the truth... and it isn't you.

Emery's fired, he's gone. Hilarious. And the Union is saying he left to "pursue other options", and I call bulls*it again, because what I told you above, that is the truth. The best part is that he will never get another meat cutting job anywhere again, because there's an alliance or something for that career, and they know about it, therefore he's been blackballed. Deservedly so. Go get yourself a job at McDicks, and get me a Big Mac. And no pickles.

These types of Union reps are all over the place... because sadly, the ones who stay in it are the ones who know all the ways to abuse the system. You protect us from the "evils of management"? (Not my wording.) Again, bulls*it.

The union does s*it for anyone but themselves. I can think of a thousand anti-union stories, and although none of them involve myself, a lot of them do involve my friends. The most noteable one comes from my friend and training colleague Jenn, but out of respect for her, I won't go into it.

Management takes better care of us... they are by no means perfect, hence the Gas Bar situation above, but I would take Management's side over the Union's every chance I got.

B.A.D

Quote Of The Day: "When I die, my friend... I will leave you all of my wine."
-Peter