FUCK sheer luck
I've neglected to mention that I've moved. Kurt, Brandy, Cheese and I rented a house and we moved in a few weeks ago. So long as we don't step on each other's toes it's a substantial upgrade in living space while cutting down costs. I didn't mention this before because I've been playing too much WoW.
In much, much less pleasant news things have again changed at the IT poker room, and not for the best. We've continued to be very slow, and we had a meeting this afternoon. Sunday we had 24 full-time dealers and 6 or 8 part-time. The good news is no one lost their job. The bad news is that 15 dealers, almost two-thirds, lost their full-time shift and starting next Monday their benefits, including health coverage. The selection was not based on anyone's performance or abilities but simple seniority.
Two dealers had been with the company before the room opened. Two were hired 4 months after we opened. The remaining twenty were on staff the day we opened. Our official hire dates were two weeks apart depending on how quickly our background checks came through. Nine dealers were in that first group of which I was one by sheer luck.
Nine full-time spots were left, seven after the two senior employees and we had nine more with equal seniority. So we had a drawing to see who got to keep their full-time status. Absolute sheer luck. We pulled numbers 1 through 9 out of a bucket. 8 or 9 meant you were out. I drew number 5 by sheer luck. Which is much better than drawing number 6, which two people drew.
Yeah, the 6 and the 9 were indistinguishable. Good job guys, as if making us draw for our jobs wasn't bad enough you have to botch it and drag the process out and make it a heads-up affair, one guy wins the other loses his health care. After that we worked out the schedule and I'm working the 7pm shift with Monday/Tuesday off.
I hate what happened even though it worked out ok for me... for now. I hate that it came down to some random draw and some random hire date. Why it had to be that way rather than some kind of merit-based system. I know it's hard to quantify that but I feel like I deserve this job. I've worked hard at this and I'm a very good dealer. It annoys me that no one appreciates it. Players only appreciate pots going their way and management only notices if you're screwing up. There's a big difference between being a good dealer and just not screwing up.
I feel bad because I know some of the dealers who lost their benefits need them more than I do. Mostly the medical coverage, which is very expensive out of pocket. It is atrocious that something so important came down to a lottery. But that's what happens if you leave healthcare up to employers who just want to make a profit. And if the large cost of medical coverage was not placed on the employer it's possible they wouldn't care as much about cutting back full-time staff. I think you should have the right to the healthcare you need not because it makes economic sense for your employer but because you're a human being, or at least as a citizen of the "greatest nation on earth." Certainly not because you drew the right number out of a hat. Sheer luck.
In much, much less pleasant news things have again changed at the IT poker room, and not for the best. We've continued to be very slow, and we had a meeting this afternoon. Sunday we had 24 full-time dealers and 6 or 8 part-time. The good news is no one lost their job. The bad news is that 15 dealers, almost two-thirds, lost their full-time shift and starting next Monday their benefits, including health coverage. The selection was not based on anyone's performance or abilities but simple seniority.
Two dealers had been with the company before the room opened. Two were hired 4 months after we opened. The remaining twenty were on staff the day we opened. Our official hire dates were two weeks apart depending on how quickly our background checks came through. Nine dealers were in that first group of which I was one by sheer luck.
Nine full-time spots were left, seven after the two senior employees and we had nine more with equal seniority. So we had a drawing to see who got to keep their full-time status. Absolute sheer luck. We pulled numbers 1 through 9 out of a bucket. 8 or 9 meant you were out. I drew number 5 by sheer luck. Which is much better than drawing number 6, which two people drew.
Yeah, the 6 and the 9 were indistinguishable. Good job guys, as if making us draw for our jobs wasn't bad enough you have to botch it and drag the process out and make it a heads-up affair, one guy wins the other loses his health care. After that we worked out the schedule and I'm working the 7pm shift with Monday/Tuesday off.
I hate what happened even though it worked out ok for me... for now. I hate that it came down to some random draw and some random hire date. Why it had to be that way rather than some kind of merit-based system. I know it's hard to quantify that but I feel like I deserve this job. I've worked hard at this and I'm a very good dealer. It annoys me that no one appreciates it. Players only appreciate pots going their way and management only notices if you're screwing up. There's a big difference between being a good dealer and just not screwing up.
I feel bad because I know some of the dealers who lost their benefits need them more than I do. Mostly the medical coverage, which is very expensive out of pocket. It is atrocious that something so important came down to a lottery. But that's what happens if you leave healthcare up to employers who just want to make a profit. And if the large cost of medical coverage was not placed on the employer it's possible they wouldn't care as much about cutting back full-time staff. I think you should have the right to the healthcare you need not because it makes economic sense for your employer but because you're a human being, or at least as a citizen of the "greatest nation on earth." Certainly not because you drew the right number out of a hat. Sheer luck.