So I was suspended from work
PerfectionsFlaw
Join Date: 2003-02-14 Member: 13555Members
Join Date: 2003-02-14 Member: 13555Members
<div class="IPBDescription">For doing something, I didn't do</div>Okay, I've been working at Simmon's Bedding Company as a boxspring upholsterer for about three years and two months. Yah, long time. Lotta blood, sweat and tears litterally on all counts. I've been through ups and downs of any production facility. I've covered my ass by moving from upholstry to pack out as a prelude to a house cleaning where a buncha people got fired.
About six or seven months ago we went from building up work, or having work in progress, to lean manufacturing. You make one piece at a time, no WIP. This, was stressful. Not to mention with that change they also combined three jobs. Framing, topoff and upholstry. Called it Boxspring Finish. Prior to this all associates were told that the more jobs they learned the more they could make. My co-worker learned to do all three jobs before they were combined and never received his raise. He was later shuffled from top off to upholstry as my partner. We've worked together for like a year and a half now.
Trainees. Who ever said hell is other people must have been referring to trainee's. We had two girls come in to train for upholstry. Sonya and Rhonda. Sonya was this cute little country girl who actually very little. I mean if I wanted to I could pick her up with one hand, but that's sexual harassment. She showed initiative from the beginning doing whatever our team leader told her to. She was shaping up pretty good. Then there's Rhonda. Picture, if you will, an albino manatee that sprouted legs and is now walking among you. Her attitude, from the beginning, was poor. She would call in, take sick days, personal time and ran her points up near to the limit in less than two months. Sonya ran her's out faster though, bye little country girl. Rhonda is at the brink and holding steadfast.
Okay.. So Upholstry. You take the boxspring which top off makes from wood and wire and you put a cover on it. I use high speed staple guns to tack the cover on and semi-auto's for corner guards. So you need guns right? Right, but out of twelve guns only five work perfectly. Tuesday, I come in and the gun I've been using for a month straight is in the possession of this hideous albino manatee AKA; Swamp thing, Mimi (Drew Carey Show), Rhinocerous woman. At this point I'd like to admit I am highly superficial. Ugly people frighten me. Ever since I was in kindergarden and this ugly girl with red hair, freckles and a compressed face tried to kiss me. I punched her in the nose by the way. I digress. The rest of the week I come in twenty to thirty minutes early, grab my guns and hide them. Friday, Today, I come in grab them and leave them in plain sight. She's learned her lesson right? No. Immediately after I leave they were removed from the table which I had already plugged them into and sitting neatly in a pile, by the swamp thing.
Conversation went as follows;
Me: "Those are my guns."
Swamp thing: "They weren't at your table."
Me: "Yes, they were don't lie to me."
Swamp thing: "I got these guns from the gun rack."
Me: "No, you got them off my table."
Swamp thing: "Stop acting like a ###### two year old."
This point, I'm ###### mad like homicidal rampage mad, like I'm still thinking about hiddeous ways to murder her using only the top of a ravioli can and a carpet knife. So, I walk away knowing that full way any further attempt to retrieve my guns will be met by blind stupidity or verbal insults. I am mentally unstable and cannot properly function under bombardment of idiocy and lies.
Back to the past again, while Sonya was still working with us I had used foul language around her. Mind you, it was not directed toward her or any other woman in the workplace. I simply curse like a sailor, I blame Beavis and Butthead. So this one time I was pulled into HR for usin the word '######' ah, that's one of my favorites simply because of it's diversity. I am told as such not to use the word, which I hold dear. Please cut my ###### thumbs off because I need them less than I need this word. Our HR manager tells me, "The next time we have this conversation it will be shorter." She wasn't lying.
Present (try to stick with me here I'm jumping back and forth on the timeline); Rhonda looks at me from her table whilst I'm speaking to my partner Brad. She holds her hands in fists against her eyes and rubs them. I'm whining? My retort.
I hold up my middle finger and holler back "Sit on it and rotate you fat ###### rhinocerous!"
This is the point where I admit to sticking up my middle finger. So I did actually flip her off. Later I'm told by my partner Brad that the rhino went to our boss and told him of this and the prior incident. Of course removing any part in the story which may incriminate her. So, at lunch I went to him and told my version which had any part that may incriminate me removed. Even later I am pulled into the HR office.
Jan (HR Lady); "Do you know why you are here?"
Me: "It has to do with the incident with a co-worker this morning."
Jan (HR Lady); "Wanna tell me what happened?"
I tell her what happened...
Jan (HR Lady); "Did you flip off Rhonda?"
Me: "No."
Jan (HR Lady); "What would you say if I said there was a witness to you flipping her off?"
Me: "I wouldn't believe you."
<i>In my head. No one I know on that floor would give me away. Except the new guy Johnny, who she gives a ride to work EVERYDAY. Or this could possibly be a ploy to draw me into her evil web. She doesn't have a witness and is bluffing.</i>
Jan (HR Lady); "Do you have anything else to say?"
Me: "It would be prudent of you to talk to her partner Tiny (This dude is ###### huge) and Marquis. Both of them can tell you her work habits. Like how she goes to the bathroom every hour because she is angry or tired to sit there in a stall for ten to twenty minutes. Or Marquis can tell you about that time that she sexually harassed him."
Jan (HR Lady); "Anything else to add?"
Me: "Nope."
Jan (HR Lady); "Okay, then. Let's see, it's Friday and the day's almost over so I'm going to suspend you and call you on Monday between eight and twelve. I feel that I can better investigate this matter with you not here."
<i>Is she getting suspended to? I asked Brad later, and no she was not suspended with me.</i>
So now, I'm chain-smoking and wondering if I get let go should I;
A: Draw unemployment if a court finds me suitable
B: Join a branch of the armed forces immediately so that I may kill some one
C: Get drunk, watch porn and continute chain-smoking
D: If I am fired go back to work and firebomb Rhonda's car
E: If I am lifted of the suspension and am allowed to come back, should I immediately transfer to a different department
That's basically it.
About six or seven months ago we went from building up work, or having work in progress, to lean manufacturing. You make one piece at a time, no WIP. This, was stressful. Not to mention with that change they also combined three jobs. Framing, topoff and upholstry. Called it Boxspring Finish. Prior to this all associates were told that the more jobs they learned the more they could make. My co-worker learned to do all three jobs before they were combined and never received his raise. He was later shuffled from top off to upholstry as my partner. We've worked together for like a year and a half now.
Trainees. Who ever said hell is other people must have been referring to trainee's. We had two girls come in to train for upholstry. Sonya and Rhonda. Sonya was this cute little country girl who actually very little. I mean if I wanted to I could pick her up with one hand, but that's sexual harassment. She showed initiative from the beginning doing whatever our team leader told her to. She was shaping up pretty good. Then there's Rhonda. Picture, if you will, an albino manatee that sprouted legs and is now walking among you. Her attitude, from the beginning, was poor. She would call in, take sick days, personal time and ran her points up near to the limit in less than two months. Sonya ran her's out faster though, bye little country girl. Rhonda is at the brink and holding steadfast.
Okay.. So Upholstry. You take the boxspring which top off makes from wood and wire and you put a cover on it. I use high speed staple guns to tack the cover on and semi-auto's for corner guards. So you need guns right? Right, but out of twelve guns only five work perfectly. Tuesday, I come in and the gun I've been using for a month straight is in the possession of this hideous albino manatee AKA; Swamp thing, Mimi (Drew Carey Show), Rhinocerous woman. At this point I'd like to admit I am highly superficial. Ugly people frighten me. Ever since I was in kindergarden and this ugly girl with red hair, freckles and a compressed face tried to kiss me. I punched her in the nose by the way. I digress. The rest of the week I come in twenty to thirty minutes early, grab my guns and hide them. Friday, Today, I come in grab them and leave them in plain sight. She's learned her lesson right? No. Immediately after I leave they were removed from the table which I had already plugged them into and sitting neatly in a pile, by the swamp thing.
Conversation went as follows;
Me: "Those are my guns."
Swamp thing: "They weren't at your table."
Me: "Yes, they were don't lie to me."
Swamp thing: "I got these guns from the gun rack."
Me: "No, you got them off my table."
Swamp thing: "Stop acting like a ###### two year old."
This point, I'm ###### mad like homicidal rampage mad, like I'm still thinking about hiddeous ways to murder her using only the top of a ravioli can and a carpet knife. So, I walk away knowing that full way any further attempt to retrieve my guns will be met by blind stupidity or verbal insults. I am mentally unstable and cannot properly function under bombardment of idiocy and lies.
Back to the past again, while Sonya was still working with us I had used foul language around her. Mind you, it was not directed toward her or any other woman in the workplace. I simply curse like a sailor, I blame Beavis and Butthead. So this one time I was pulled into HR for usin the word '######' ah, that's one of my favorites simply because of it's diversity. I am told as such not to use the word, which I hold dear. Please cut my ###### thumbs off because I need them less than I need this word. Our HR manager tells me, "The next time we have this conversation it will be shorter." She wasn't lying.
Present (try to stick with me here I'm jumping back and forth on the timeline); Rhonda looks at me from her table whilst I'm speaking to my partner Brad. She holds her hands in fists against her eyes and rubs them. I'm whining? My retort.
I hold up my middle finger and holler back "Sit on it and rotate you fat ###### rhinocerous!"
This is the point where I admit to sticking up my middle finger. So I did actually flip her off. Later I'm told by my partner Brad that the rhino went to our boss and told him of this and the prior incident. Of course removing any part in the story which may incriminate her. So, at lunch I went to him and told my version which had any part that may incriminate me removed. Even later I am pulled into the HR office.
Jan (HR Lady); "Do you know why you are here?"
Me: "It has to do with the incident with a co-worker this morning."
Jan (HR Lady); "Wanna tell me what happened?"
I tell her what happened...
Jan (HR Lady); "Did you flip off Rhonda?"
Me: "No."
Jan (HR Lady); "What would you say if I said there was a witness to you flipping her off?"
Me: "I wouldn't believe you."
<i>In my head. No one I know on that floor would give me away. Except the new guy Johnny, who she gives a ride to work EVERYDAY. Or this could possibly be a ploy to draw me into her evil web. She doesn't have a witness and is bluffing.</i>
Jan (HR Lady); "Do you have anything else to say?"
Me: "It would be prudent of you to talk to her partner Tiny (This dude is ###### huge) and Marquis. Both of them can tell you her work habits. Like how she goes to the bathroom every hour because she is angry or tired to sit there in a stall for ten to twenty minutes. Or Marquis can tell you about that time that she sexually harassed him."
Jan (HR Lady); "Anything else to add?"
Me: "Nope."
Jan (HR Lady); "Okay, then. Let's see, it's Friday and the day's almost over so I'm going to suspend you and call you on Monday between eight and twelve. I feel that I can better investigate this matter with you not here."
<i>Is she getting suspended to? I asked Brad later, and no she was not suspended with me.</i>
So now, I'm chain-smoking and wondering if I get let go should I;
A: Draw unemployment if a court finds me suitable
B: Join a branch of the armed forces immediately so that I may kill some one
C: Get drunk, watch porn and continute chain-smoking
D: If I am fired go back to work and firebomb Rhonda's car
E: If I am lifted of the suspension and am allowed to come back, should I immediately transfer to a different department
That's basically it.
Comments
and stop chainsmoking fiendsticks
E, as you admit you have a temper and are likely to blow up at said cow orker again (you know, first time I have seen a proper usage for that term).
A Depending on your state laws on unemployment, and if you fit em.
meh, good luck.
Firebombing her car would be awesome but so, so stupid. (It'd be obvious who did it <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" /> )
yes, E is the best choice. Whatever the case you need to calm down before you go killing anyone. Stupid bctih or no, it's not worth getting more trouble over.
Are you interested at all in weightlifting? I can see a lot of anger.. and we can use that. Powerlifting needs angry, bitter, implosive mfers like you. All you have to do is turn that anger outwards - on heavy pieces of iron.
Also just smoke, get drunk, watch porn. On Monday they'll probably do nothing so enjoy your disgusting weekend! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
Women always seem to get favoured in work rows, it's why I quit my last job.
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Yeah, but the joke's on them. They get paid less! Suckers. That's what you get for being born sans-schlong.
I don't follow.
He flipped off and cussed out an annoying, pointless hog who needs to get what's coming to her. If anything that warrants a promotion.
I don't follow.
He flipped off and cussed out an annoying, pointless hog who needs to get what's coming to her. If anything that warrants a promotion.
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Thank you Zig. One thing you must all understand is that the truth shall not set you free, it binds you to shackles. Ask yourself if you could go your entire life without lying once, big or small. It's impossible, in this case I was lying to save my ass. Because she, more than likely lied about what I had said.
Okay, so I did do what I said I didn't. It's a dual-sided argument kinda thingamajigger. On one side, yes I did give her the one finger salute and am damned proud of the fact that I did. On the other, my job is on the line, witness or no I didn't flip her off. Cause I did mention that I was in HR for using my favorite word before. Which would mean that if I admitted to any profanity, I would be damning myself and any prior argument I put to HR. It doesn't matter that she's lying, just that I'm cursing. The truth doesn't matter here, just whether or not I was profane. That was the underlined question in the office. That was the job-saving/losing response. So, no. I was not profane.
As for being biased, why shouldn't it be? It's my post. She probably can't work those sausage fingers around a keyboard anyway. I can take bull###### from any co-worker. Men whom I've worked along side of thick and thin for three ###### years. What I cannot take is a woman who has never made two hundred boxes in one day. Our quota is 227 per table in eight hours. She's been there six to seven months when the job takes 6-10 weeks to get to 75% and two months to get on the bead. There are other women in the workplace, our sewers. Karen and Dinessa. Dinessa came in on the same hire group as me. Karen use to upholster for about two years til she went to sewing. We've had our spats, but she never went to HR in an attempt to get me booted. She has a problem with cursing so how did she go about dealing with it.... SHE ASKED ME NOT TO. How adult of her. I don't talk like a sailor around her anymore.
If someone cannot deal with profanity, they should wear a sign that says "I'm ignorant of the world and shall hear no evil."
BTW that quota I mentioned earlier little info. Lately I've been running say 80-100% so between 180-227 a day. I have prior to lean manufacturing been able to peak at 125% at around 250 pieces. So the question here, fire me for flipping off a slacker or put her on notice for filing an illegitiment complaint and sexually harassing Marquis. I work she doesn't. She mocks all working people there by not even trying.
<i>A little more history.</i>
A month ago Brad, my co-worker, had to deal with selling his house and buying a new one. Brad never takes a day off work, perfect attendance dude even though he's often very late for work. I've been telling all of my associates if they wind up on the table with her that they need to work her to death. "Make her sweat!" Anyway, he takes off at around 9am to go deal with said prior buisness engagement. I told him before he left that I was gonna drive her ass into the ground. So she picks up her guns, comes to my table, and works at what felt like 90-100% to me. Needless to say I was ###### distraught, so I speed up a bit more. About an hour goes by and she takes one of her 'bathroom' breaks to rest. We all go to break and come back, back to upholstering with her again. I'm not leaving out any conversation or dialouge, when I work I ###### work I don't goddamn ###### lolligag and yabber on I ###### WORK. We work two more hours, when she stops and says,
Rhonda: "My chest hurts I'm going upfront."
Me: "......okay"
I was told a few minutes later that they called an ambulance to come pick her up. Since you can't see me right now you will never know the glow in my eyes when I say this. I put her in the hospital, literally. My boss actually said,
Bossman: "What happened? Why are you working her so hard? Slow down Eric."
<i>Dude.... you've been busting our balls to speed up for the last two months and when I try to get the slackers to slack less you tell me to slow down? She's in the ###### hospital and I'm proud of the fact that I made this turn of events possibly simply by making her DO HER MFING JOB!</i>
Me: "I dunno I was just working and she was keeping up pretty good. I was impressed, then she said her chest hurt and here we are."
Anyway, that was just a little bit of history. I gloated about this fact because it wasn't the first slacker I put into the hospital by making them work, but that is a different story.
Only she's a woman.
*dancedance*
As to your situation: Wait, so you're surrounded by staple guns, and you instead flip her off? Comon. You're smarter than that. You don't 'accidentally' flip someone off. You DO 'accidentally' shoot someone with a staple gun in the kidneys.
Okay, so I did do what I said I didn't. It's a dual-sided argument kinda thingamajigger. On one side, yes I did give her the one finger salute and am damned proud of the fact that I did. On the other, my job is on the line, witness or no I didn't flip her off. Cause I did mention that I was in HR for using my favorite word before. Which would mean that if I admitted to any profanity, I would be damning myself and any prior argument I put to HR. It doesn't matter that she's lying, just that I'm cursing. The truth doesn't matter here, just whether or not I was profane. That was the underlined question in the office. That was the job-saving/losing response. So, no. I was not profane.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This argument is fascinating and scary in equal measure. So basically what you're saying is that actually you were profane, but you said you wouldn't be, and because it would be really really bad for you if you actually were profane, then you definitely weren't. Anything you actually truthfully did couldn't possibly have happened if it has negative consequences for your work.
Now I'm not saying don't cover your arse on this. It sounds like you're a hard worker and that she's got it in for you, is behaving badly towards you, and slacking off. You shouldn't have lost your temper to quite that extent, but I can see why you did, given how infuriating that must have been.
So do all you need to do to get this sorted for yourself, but given that you're here to complain and ask for advice there's no need to claim that you didn't do something that you actually did on the grounds that it would be better for you if you didn't.
Anyway, I hope this all works out for you. Watching slackers flaunt their insufficiency is infuriating. But remember that you've been there much, much longer than she has and it sounds like you have some friends there. Hopefully they'll have your back.
Give a certain group of people her phone number, name and address. Helps if you have a pic too.
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Put it in the toilets of your local supermarket/train/subway.
But i can feel your pain. I used to work in a supermarket for 3 years. My boss knew from day one that i was a bright spark who didnt need this job, but wanted some cash, so he knew that if i was happy id work well, and i did for most of those 3 years. Every so often wed get new people who for the life of them were unable to do simple things like take products going out of date off the shelve, or get rid of cardboard. Only 1 person ever tried to get me in trouble, got disiplined for it, mainly because when i argued about it they had my word, vs a supervisors word.
I dunno about over in the US, but here in the UK, id start looking at employment tribunerals. Wonderfull little thigns they are, basicly if mangement treat an incident one way with a member of staff they have to treat them all like that (in terms of suspension, firing etc).<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
He has a case already in which he was suspended for unknown reason and the other person involved wasn't suspended.
on the other hand, it sounds like this sort of thing happens all the time where you work, so they probably won't fire you - they're probably used to it.
You have to think about the cards you hold in your hand. You've obviously been there a long time and you're multi-skilled (I almost used the word multi-disciplined there but we know that's not true, you need to control your impulses and act sensibly). So you have a lot to offer for the company, if they lose you they're losing X amounts of months'/years' training, and unless as a person you're disruptive to other people working there, they won't want to lose that.
On the other hand there's this rhinosaurus byatch who sounds like she's stupid and a poor worker and who hasn't learnt how to do as many things as you have. As a commodity to your business she is less valuable.
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Your first move should have been to approach your line manager after the conversation. You simply state that she is impeding your workflow by moving around your tools and wasting the company time and money. You don't need to make any comment that will make this statement look emotionally or prejudicially motivated, or he won't look at the facts, he'll think your motivation for this is influenced by a personal grudge.
You still have an opportunity to bring this across in your next meeting. Apologise for any insulting language you used and tell the manager it was because you were angry and frustrated, and you should have stayed calm, but it was difficult. Also apologise for not going directly to the manager when you could see there was a recurring problem. Then just reinforce the fact that this co-worker is unprofessional and she's stopping you from doing your job properly and wasting company time.
The more you emphasise the damage this is doing to the company instead of focusing on how it affects you, the more the manager should see sense. Remember the manager gets his/her balls busted for not hitting targets and running his section smoothly, his/her main priority isn't to make sure nobody is employed who gets on your nerves. You need to appeal to your manager's needs.
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Now, if your manager still fires you you're better off finding a new job. If he doesn't take any major action against her just bide your time and wait for her to bait you again, then do the smart thing and report it. The more your manager hears her name cropping up the quicker he/she'll come to the conclusion that it's her, not you, who needs to go.
And that's about how simple it is.
Good lord man. You have to calm down a bit. Have you tried reasoning with the Rhino? It seemed to be you're hellbent on making her enemy. Her attitude that I can understand. But the argument over equipments? Lousy workers as she is, why can't she pick a good one for her use?
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Because she sucks at working. Why give the good tools to the person who slacks off every day and basically makes a assfaced nuisance of themselves all day?
Good lord man. You have to calm down a bit. Have you tried reasoning with the Rhino? It seemed to be you're hellbent on making her enemy. Her attitude that I can understand. But the argument over equipments? Lousy workers as she is, why can't she pick a good one for her use?
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There are other good guns as I've said. Five automatic guns that work perfect and seven that are ######. Out of the five, I only need two autos, one for me one for Brad. There are eight corner guard guns and since they're semi-auto they rarely ever experience any problems so one is as good as the other. After taking my guns (2 autos and 2 semis) there were a remaining three good automatics and six semis. So... the question is, why didn't she try them for the day instead of swiping mine?
Answer....................................... I have no ###### clue why she would be such a pain.
P.S.
Haze hit the nail on the head.