Working People: Aren't you (Goodyear) tired?

Joe
Somethings never change, but I still have hope as remembered from my labor union representative days.

BBB

Here is one of many prime reasons I have vowed to never vote Republican again. The fact that this leaves Democrats as the only viable alternative is disconcerting. Nevertheless, until and unless the crisis abates, I will vote Democrat. Should a truly responsive third party with a fighting chance arrive, look out both parties.

Wait, backup here. They let a WOMAN....be a MANAGER????

<slaps Slappy>

(finally figures out how he got his name)

Wait. Actually, it says she was a "supervisor," not a manager.
Perhaps she was only "supervising" other women?
Perhaps that accounted for the lower salary?

<slaps self>

Good post, Joe. I'm going to forward this to a few people.

I keep asking myself: How did we allow this country to get into a position like this? Are THAT many people taken in by the rhetoric, and don't pay any attention to what's actually being done?

Yes, sadly there are that many people. We have become the soundbite society. It's all part of the "no personal responsibility" thing that is going on. This is what happens when the people fall into the trap that government is the solution to every problem.

The people are the governement, except when they shirk their duty. Even then, government is what the people allow, whether they know it or not. Government can't do everything for people, but, it can damn sure protect their rights. All it takes is a fired up electorate to tell the elected representatives to do their job or they will get replaced by someone that will. And stay fired up until that happens.

I agree whole 100%. Unfortunately, the electorate has the attention span of a puppy. And many of the politicians love that fact, and owe their continued presence to the lack of oversight from the people.

I've been advocating voting against incumbents for the last 12 years but I seem to be in the minority.

Horsehockey! No one is falling into the trap that government is the solution to every problem.

What's right here is that someone take responsibility for stealing this worker's labor. How about that?

I'm sure that there was some puke in the front office who thought it was pretty funny that Goodyear could screw this one supervisor out of about $900 a month, not because they needed to do it, but because they could. Talk about disgraceful, unethical conduct, but I'll bet the bosses grinned.

And what other organ, tommrr, do you think is the proper engine to repair this problem if not government? I think someone ought to go to jail for violating the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act which was passed in 1963 and was completely passed over by this recent Supreme Court.

I ask you, how was Lily irresponsible? Should she have known that her bosses were a bunch of lying eggsucking bastards before she got that anonymous letter that proved that they were. She seems to have comported herself the way I would hope any other honest person would and her reward for that was to be denied her rightful AND LAWFUL salary.

And you say what? Who's personal responsibility got us here?

Joe(It wasn't Ms. Ledbetter.)Nation

Thats a great idea.

Not always, not always.


I agreed with Collins when I read it, glad you posted it, JoeNation.

Was she content with her pay up til the point she found out how much others were being paid?

At my first job they hired another guy to do the same exact job as me. I had 2 years seniorority and later I found out that he was getting paid nearly 10k more then me. I was naturally upset by that. Know what I did? I got a different job and I didn't sue anyone.

Why did you quit? Weren't you content wth the money you were making? You were in a good position to make a move, Ms. Ledbettor was on the verge of retiring after spending twenty years with the company.

Punks who steal always like it best when their victims don't complain.

Joe(and let them get away with it)Nation

Personal responsibilty Joe. I was hired at a certain rate. I accepted the job and received my paychecks. When I found out that my skills were not as appreciated as my fellow co-worker I decided I should find a new company that would better reward for my skills.

I don't see Ms. Ledbetter as a victim, at least not as she sees herself. She is a victim, but not for the reasons she claims. She accepted the position she was in... Did she ask for a raise? Was she denied annual increases of pay? Was she given bad evaluations for being a woman? I don't know, but I do know that instead of taking personal responsibility for her decision to stay with the company for 20 years and continue receiving a paycheck, she only victimized herself by staying.

Let's assume for the sake of discussion, she received good reviews and received her annual increases and bonus, what do you expect the Courts to do? We can not have the Courts being the HR department for every company in the country.

Equal pay for equal work.

Absolutely. It's reprehensible that in this day and age women are still being paid less than men for work of equal value. I found that article very disturbing in many respects.

I was in this situation-equivalent twice.

First time was in lab work.

I set up a lab, an early lab re any others in the US, for a group of research and clinical physicians. It was me alone, on salary, sometimes way over hours, and after a couple of years I could hire a helper. Of all the people applying, I picked an ex army tech who might have had problems getting hired elsewhere, as he was very heavy. I mean very. But I liked him and vice versa, and trained him.

I quit to go work in a clinical lab where I could do some hematology. That only lasted, say, eleven months.

I got another job in my past department for a returning doc, whom I knew, to set up a research lab. Did that for some years. Then I heard the guy in my old lab down the hall, doing the same old tests, was being paid a whole category higher. Grrrr.
I talked to my boss, who sympathized, said I could opt for category reconsideration, or whatever they called it, since I was at the top of my category, but suggested brushing it off. Where I got the gumption, I don't know, but I said I'd like to go for it. I was officially reconsidered and got category jumped.
So, no gripes. I probably would have stayed even if I didn't get the upgrade, but I'd have been more cynical.

Later, in another field, our tiny landscape architecture office hired a new helper. Let's say this person turned out over the years to be dumb as a doornail, but that wasn't the immediate issue, except that myself and another project manager colleague had multiple times more experience, getting out whole housing tract land design by hand (pre computer) by ourselves, as in whole different projects, with of course boss consultation, on schedule and new guy was slow at the simplest tasks. She found out he was being paid more than either of us and squawked to me and the boss. Let's say that was a strained conversation. The boss told us, he is a single young man, he needs the income.

This was a corporation, but only on the most elemental and hilarious terms. We both stayed. Kiddo got few raises and we got some more, over time. The company was always at the edge, and suing, even if we wanted to, would be an exercise in silly. There were compensatory good aspects to weigh.

The thing that really keeps bugging me about this story, or I guess the two things, are first, Lily's reaction when she found out she'd been had. What did she say? Was she pissed, did she start shrieking? No, she said she felt emotionally drained, emotionally drained like you would if you were an honest person who had just been mugged because that was what this was, a corporate theft of labor.

Second, the reaction of Goodyear when first asked to settle up the difference. Lily asked for $60,000. Does that seem like a lot to ask for after being underpaid (in violation of the law) for twenty years? $60,000 and Lily goes away, emotionally drained and betrayed by the company, but she goes away. Goodyear said no.

Want some perspective on this? Forbes CEO Compensation Goodyear

Robert J Keegan has been the CEO of Goodyear and he's worked there for five years. He has a '72 Graduate Degree from the Univ. of Rochester. He seems like a nice fellow, nice smile. Mr. Keegan makes $6,960,000.oo annually. How many days does it take Mr. Keegan to earn the $60,000 that his company stole from Lily?

About three.

If Goodyear didn't pay Mr. Keegan for three days, the company would have about $59,000 to make things right with Lily.

Twenty years made up in three days.

Joe(Maybe he could pick three of the twenty Fridays he takes off to play golf.)Nation