Looks like I'm about to get laid off. AT&T slated to lay off 1300 people.

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SMRTSS1

SMRTSS1

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  • #1
    We got the news yesterday that AT&T whom I've worked for for over ten years is about to lay off 1300 people. Seeing as how I'm 372 from the bottom of the list in my division (cable splicing, construction) my fate is all but sealed. The shock and fear hasn't quite hit me yet that the job I love (and company I now detest) and want to retire from is letting people go that have 20 years or fewer. Roughly 30% of the local work force mainly in Illinois will be unemployed, looking for work and the way the company will word the release could possibly make us unable to receive unemployment benefits. Our so called union IBEW local 21 had allowed AT&T to harass and bully us around thru their blatant negligence and misrepresentation and not securing jobs for our senior members. There is a very likely chance that someone with 3 years will be allowed to keep their jobs in their separate division while people with 10 to 20 years will lose their jobs IN A UNION RUN INDUSTRY. In a REAL union company the rule is the last one in the door is the first one out. Basic seniority right? WRONG!!! Our so called union that had become a patsy for AT&T is allowing them to lay us off by area and job title, basically screwing over thousand of members and allowing people much lower in seniority to retain their jobs and will most likely allow the company to backfill the positions of those laid off once we're gone. We're most likely going to get the National Labor Board involved in this due to the gross negligence, conflict of interests and misrepresentation by our unions head people and I'm planning on going after IBEW 21 in a potential class action law suit for those same reasons as well as a list of other things that I can't post here.

    As I said earlier it hasn't fully hit me yet and it seems a little surreal but I'm going to have to start looking for work and I know I won't be getting paid anything near what I make now so if anyone knows of someone that's looking for a hard working 37 year old in the NW Chicago suburbs that can do construction, has a class A CDL (auto and straight trucks only), operate small to medium equipment, used to be a body shop estimator and parts manager 10 years ago and worked a parts department at a dealership please let me know.


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  • #4
    That sucks man, i hope you find something equally as rewarding. I remember when someone got laid off, or fired not so long ago, was able to find a job in 2-3 weeks. :picard: I hate this jobless shit. Something has to be done. IDK what, but something.
     
    TonzKnock-G

    TonzKnock-G

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  • #7
    Sorry to hear, the whole floor below my department is totally gone in 60 days, techs and management. Its going to affect mainly outside guys and switch techs. It was bound to happen since there is so much redundancy in the company(switch guys). Our building at one point was filled with tech's and rep's, now its empty on most floors. Good luck!!
     
    Smokinhot

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  • #13
    best of luck!! I have narrowly escaped several times at my job. I've been with my job for 6 years, and when I started we were booming and had about 100 employees and now we may have 20-30 (went from 30 shop guys to 6 now) they just laid 4 more off on tuesday. I believe their next step is to close the doors
     
    SMRTSS1

    SMRTSS1

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  • #14
    SilentShado said:
    That sucks dude. Is this why they had a hiring push a few months back. I know a guy that started there a few months back installing uverse shit. Is this what you do?
    Click to expand...

    Those are the guys that'll keep their jobs. Meanwhile the people that've been there for 20 years or less that make three times what they make and make the Uverse jobs possible will be losing their jobs.

    I've been there for 10 years, friends with 19 years are at risk of losing their jobs yet a U-verse tech that makes $13 an hour and gets treated like shit that's been there for maybe a year can keep their job. Sound like misrepresentation by our union?
     
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    98GTPDriva

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  • #16
    10secsomeday said:
    That sucks man, i hope you find something equally as rewarding. I remember when someone got laid off, or fired not so long ago, was able to find a job in 2-3 weeks. :picard: I hate this jobless shit. Something has to be done. IDK what, but something.
    Click to expand...

    You're probably referring to me... I was laid-off and I found a better position a few weeks later.


    To the OP, sucks to hear about your situation. I don't know about the unemployment thing, you should be able to draw if you are laid-off and you follow the necessary steps. I don't know how AT&T could word it so you do not get it. And with the NLRB, it could be many years before there is any type of resolution, so I definitely would not bank on anything there... that is a lot of litigation.
     
    M@

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  • #18
    This goes to the core of the problem with many unions, they push for scheduled raises based on seniority, and when the companies that employ these guys can no longer afford to pay the salaries of senior union guys, and the union refuses to accept pay cuts in order for guys to keep their jobs, the employer has no choice but to keep the largest workforce they can afford. The newer guys are cheap, they can't cut their workforce below X number of people, but only have Y dollars, the guys who make the big bucks go, or the company goes under.

    Simple arithmetic that many unions fail to acknowledge, at the expense of the dudes they're supposedly there to "protect."
    Plenty of non-union workers all across the company were forced to take pay cuts to retain their jobs in a down economy the past few years, but unions refuse to accept this, and people with perceived seniority end up looking for a new gig.

    Look on the bright side though, there's already 2 people above who have lost their jobs in the past couple years of recession, and ended up in new jobs they liked better. I'll go ahead and be the third. Lost my job last spring, and was out of work for a good 5 months. I ended up with a better job, with better pay, working with better people, in a better industry, back close to home again. I couldn't be happier with how things worked out. It's scary as hell, but things will work out in the end, best of luck, dude.
     
    THEHKP7M13

    THEHKP7M13

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  • #19
    AlmightyBirdman said:
    Sorry to hear man. Fuck AT&T.
    Click to expand...
    :werd:
    95TBirdLX said:
    x2
    Click to expand...
    :werd:
    SMRTSS1 said:
    Those are the guys that'll keep their jobs. Meanwhile the people that've been there for 20 years or less that make three times what they make and make the Uverse jobs possible will be losing their jobs.

    I've been there for 10 years, friends with 19 years are at risk of losing their jobs yet a U-verse tech that makes $13 an hour and gets treated like shit that's been there for maybe a year can keep their job. Sound like misrepresentation by our union?
    Click to expand...

    :werd:...I'll be looking to dump my AT&T interenet and landline and go with Clear. Biggest part of the reason I was paying more for AT&T was I figured they at least paid their people a living wage. So screw them.

    M@ said:
    This goes to the core of the problem with many unions, they push for scheduled raises based on seniority, and when the companies that employ these guys can no longer afford to pay the salaries of senior union guys, and the union refuses to accept pay cuts in order for guys to keep their jobs, the employer has no choice but to keep the largest workforce they can afford. The newer guys are cheap, they can't cut their workforce below X number of people, but only have Y dollars, the guys who make the big bucks go, or the company goes under.

    Simple arithmetic that many unions fail to acknowledge, at the expense of the dudes they're supposedly there to "protect."
    Plenty of non-union workers all across the company were forced to take pay cuts to retain their jobs in a down economy the past few years, but unions refuse to accept this, and people with perceived seniority end up looking for a new gig....
    Click to expand...

    HAVE YOU LOOKED AT AT&T PROFITS?????
    THEY AREN'T LOOSING MONEY!!!!!!!
    HOW MUCH DID THEY "DONATE" TO POLITICIANS AND LOBBYISTS OVER THE LAST YEAR????
    You just sound like a non-union guy who is envious of those of us in a union. I hear it all the time from people who have sour grapes over UAW workers. Their only pissed at them because their envious.
     
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    98GTPDriva

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  • #22
    K J said:
    lol @ the thought of poeple being envious of people being in unions...
    Click to expand...

    X2... and I might be a little biased seeing that I am a HR Manager in a non-union manufacturing facility. However, I have worked in a union for 7 years (high school/college) and been a HR Manager in both a union (1.25 years) and non-union (3 years) manufacturing facility, so I have been a part of all three sides.

    Here is my take on the situation. Unions were a good idea long ago when there were no laws in enacted to protect employees against discrimination (i.e. Title VII - Civil Rights Act of 1964) and to promote equality. The purpose of a union long ago wasn't to make sure companies offered a prevailing wage, but an equal wage (male vs. female, whites vs., blacks, etc.) for doing the same job, etc.

    Over the last 30+ years, unions have become greedy businesses themselves, just like what the rest of Corporate America is about. In today's world, a union's #1 goal is profitability and then to help those they represent. How do union representatives (i.e. stewards, chairpeople, VPs, presidents, etc.) get paid... through union dues. And does anyone know what union representatives make on an annual basis... a large majority of the full-time staff make $75,000+ up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hmm... sounds just like a normal business trying to make a profit to me. Unions are no longer necessary in today's world with the amount of laws in place to protect the employee and organizations like the EEOC and DOL to file charges if there is an issue. Filing a grievance for discrimination in a union is the same as filing one with the EEOC, DOL, etc. Also, if unions are such a good thing, why is their overall existence shrinking at a fast rate... unions represented 12.8% of workers in 2006 and as of 2010, which has shrunk to ~10.7%?

    In my experience, being in a union did NOTHING for me. I lost ~2.5 hours of pay each week. I did not receive any extraordinary training and my pay was not bad for the first 5 years of my employment and then it sucked after that, receiving only a 10 cent increase in my final two years. Seniority meant nothing, I was guaranteed a specific amount of hours and shift preference (based on the union contract) and I got ignored on both parts, by the employer and the union.

    Now, when I was in a HR Manager in a union manufacturing plant, ~3 hours of pay was taken out of each employee's paycheck on a weekly basis. The only thing I saw here were the same old poor performers getting disciplined/terminated and the union filing grievances all-the-time. Hell, I had a person file a grievance that we needed a second janitor and that it is discrimination because he ran out of toilet paper while he was in the bathroom. Give me a break... The other observation is the complete lack of teamwork. No one would help each other out and it was always "That's his job" or "That's her job." We're all in this together, pick up the damn wrench and help out!

    Now, I am currently a HR Manager for a 500+ employee non-union manufacturing facility. My goal is to have my facility be one of the top 100 employers in the state of Indiana... I would really like to see us be in the top 20. I live for my career and to make the lives of others better. I will do anything for anyone to help them out. Teamwork is key and we all need to work together if we want the business to succeed and be profitable. And it shows that we have teamwork for the most part (still working to improve it further). Employees work together here and come in to work and leave with smiles. We schedule shift preference by length of service, employees are paid competitive wages based on their position. Those that are below the average hourly rate, we are evaluating to make adjustments. We have an outstanding benefits plan that is very low cost. Through the recession over the past few years, employees have been receiving 2%-3% wage increases and annual bonuses EACH YEAR (no contract needed). Hell, for 2010, some employee received two bonuses based on their length of service. The management team works to communicate our financial position and recent performance on at least a quarterly basis. We are improving our training program on a daily basis with training guides, SOPs and having new employees work with mentors for weeks-to-months based on the position (what we do is not rocket science). I also do a lot of other activities to get employees involved with improvement teams (safety, culture, 5S and training), luncheons, health fairs, games to win prizes, community involvement, etc.

    I agree, there are a lot of businesses out there that do not know how to build a successful business and they don't know how to treat their employees right. These are the ones that need to be closely monitored at all times. However, in my current situation, I do everything I can to provide the best environment for all of my employees both hourly and salaried. My door is open to everyone, I am available to all shifts and I even hand out my cell phone number.

    I think that is it for my two cents right now. I think 918 words is enough for a Saturday morning… off to install some HIDs.
     
    M@

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  • #23
    THEHKP7M13 said:
    Happened more then once standing in line for phesant hunting. People saying screw the UAW because they make too much. Thats pure envy. I'd rather be in a union then be at whim of my employer.
    Click to expand...

    :rollpicard:

    There is a clear difference between envy and common sense.
    When an industry is struggling mightily, and non-skilled laborers are being paid better than 60k/yr to turn a wrench in an assembly line, most individuals with a modicum of common sense will see a clear issue.
     
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