And now the weather...
Today - cloudy and windy. Light flurries, with a high of 32. Winds at 24 miles per hour, occasionally gusting up to 29 miles per hour. Tonight - Cold. And I really hate the fucking cold.
So I'm sitting here finishing up my breakfast and shitty coffee, when I get a phone call. It's Zach. Turns out he's the head mechanic at the shop now. They fired Dave, who has been there for over 3 years. Yeah.. Dave's a bit of a challenge, but you don't fire your only technician if you plan on keeping a shop alive. Don't get me wrong, Zach is good at his job. There is just a lot of shit that is outside the realm of his qualifications, experience, or problem solving. So.. This week they are down to 2 mechanics. Zach and Brian (who is about as helpful as bashing your head against the wall repetitively while shitting yourself). Luke gets back next week from alignment school and Jake, who is only available part time, should be back next week, as well. And you know.. I shouldn't care too much about any of this. I don't work there anymore. However, I hate seeing these guys get screwed over. They work really hard and don't get much for it at the end of the day. As of late, they have been working 9 to 11 hour shifts with no lunch break and the average pay there is 9 bucks an hour.
This is where I got involved in regards to the state labor laws. I printed up copies of the One Day Rest in Seven act. Said act essentially states that in a regular work week an employee has to be scheduled off one day and can only work if they volunteer for an extra shift on said day. It goes further, and here is where it's more applicable to the situation there, to state that employers are required to give a minimum of a 20 minute break per 7 1/2 hours of continuously scheduled work. There are some fields of occupation where this act does not entirely apply, but for the most part it is standard. For each offense of the act, an employer can receive a 25 to 100 dollar fine.
At any rate - I printed up a copy of the act, as well as printing up a copy of the complaint form for each employee. Presenting them with 3 options; showing the manager the documentation and hoping for appropriate action, filling out the confidential complaint forms (not that it would be all that confidential if they all filled them out, but eh) and having legal action taken, or just going about things they way they have been. Miserable, tired, and dreading the next day of work. If he chooses the last one.. well.. I'll go nuts. Not only because of the situation itself, but.. I have to hear him complain each day when he gets home. I have to see him too tired to shower or change out of his work cloths.. and see how he doesn't see the point. He just has to go back all day the next day. I have to see how he's smiling less. Getting more and more agitated. I watch as a man that already has way too much going on in his head, essentially struggles to keep it together. His morals are being pushed further into the background.. And quite frankly - I don't like it.
Alright.. so my question at the end of all this is - Should I be contacting someone at the department of labor or should I just ride out the storm with him?
So I'm sitting here finishing up my breakfast and shitty coffee, when I get a phone call. It's Zach. Turns out he's the head mechanic at the shop now. They fired Dave, who has been there for over 3 years. Yeah.. Dave's a bit of a challenge, but you don't fire your only technician if you plan on keeping a shop alive. Don't get me wrong, Zach is good at his job. There is just a lot of shit that is outside the realm of his qualifications, experience, or problem solving. So.. This week they are down to 2 mechanics. Zach and Brian (who is about as helpful as bashing your head against the wall repetitively while shitting yourself). Luke gets back next week from alignment school and Jake, who is only available part time, should be back next week, as well. And you know.. I shouldn't care too much about any of this. I don't work there anymore. However, I hate seeing these guys get screwed over. They work really hard and don't get much for it at the end of the day. As of late, they have been working 9 to 11 hour shifts with no lunch break and the average pay there is 9 bucks an hour.
This is where I got involved in regards to the state labor laws. I printed up copies of the One Day Rest in Seven act. Said act essentially states that in a regular work week an employee has to be scheduled off one day and can only work if they volunteer for an extra shift on said day. It goes further, and here is where it's more applicable to the situation there, to state that employers are required to give a minimum of a 20 minute break per 7 1/2 hours of continuously scheduled work. There are some fields of occupation where this act does not entirely apply, but for the most part it is standard. For each offense of the act, an employer can receive a 25 to 100 dollar fine.
At any rate - I printed up a copy of the act, as well as printing up a copy of the complaint form for each employee. Presenting them with 3 options; showing the manager the documentation and hoping for appropriate action, filling out the confidential complaint forms (not that it would be all that confidential if they all filled them out, but eh) and having legal action taken, or just going about things they way they have been. Miserable, tired, and dreading the next day of work. If he chooses the last one.. well.. I'll go nuts. Not only because of the situation itself, but.. I have to hear him complain each day when he gets home. I have to see him too tired to shower or change out of his work cloths.. and see how he doesn't see the point. He just has to go back all day the next day. I have to see how he's smiling less. Getting more and more agitated. I watch as a man that already has way too much going on in his head, essentially struggles to keep it together. His morals are being pushed further into the background.. And quite frankly - I don't like it.
Alright.. so my question at the end of all this is - Should I be contacting someone at the department of labor or should I just ride out the storm with him?