}}}}}Why did I really get laid off from Eldor Electric ....? In a nutshell : 1. A SUB foreman name Vinny; 2. The Eldor company degrading culture; 3. The union -- Local ( Electrical ) Union #3's unwillingness to put a leash on the electrical contractors underneath the union's umbrella.
] The scene :December 15, 2010 -- Wednesday : Its between 25-33 degrees out side. We are working near the river. We are 10-15 feet in dirt. We are working at the DEP plant in College point Queens, New York. It stinks everyday !!!
] You see, Vinny is a short balding subforeman who is literally less than a man. One day we, my partner and I - Danny, was running PVC pipes in 12 feet of dirt. Now in order to do that we had to install some shoe - basically, PVC pipe supports/seperators. I did not know how to install ( later on I found out that they had to be combined by tapping them together lightly sideways and later on tap them together top and bottom up with pipes in the middle - sandwhiched. ) the shoes for the pvc pipes. But guess what, Vinny, the genius Napoliane foreman, did not know that either i came to find out later on. Basically, the job took longer than expected. Much longer !!
] The next day, we continue the job. All of a sudden, Vinny is all in my face asking me -- really telling me -- "Are you okay ? " "Do you need anything ?". Fifteen minutes later, he again is in my face telling / asking me you might be getting laid-off -- ( No, he first tells me that , "Do you want to get laid off ?"; "Do you want your money ?" ). So, I respond to him, Yeah, with a reduction !!" ( "a Reduction" is the only good lay-off you can get in Local union #3. In this way, with a reduction 9 of the work force ) you can get your unemployment benefits and other union related benefits. He replys that he will NOT lay me off with a reduction. Basically, he is threatening me ( If you are following this story correctly ) with a BAD lay-off because we did not meet the General Forman's criteria / production goals. AND on top of all of this, I theorized that "my" sub foreman blamed me ( TOTALLY ) for this production / quota that was not met even though I had a partner with me. Hmmmmm......?
] As the story goes, via of my Shop Steward -- Bill, I was given a second and third chance to fail. But luckily - due to my intelligence and hard work ethnic - I can safely say that I did not fail. And yes, I was given the chance to fail by doing the exact same thing -- running pvc pipes in the freezing cold dirt !!!
] Now, I finally do get laid off - Thank GOD !!!! And yes, I get a good lay-off -- a reduction. BUT two things is very wrong with that / this. For starters, I was on a 17 week ticket from the union - a 17 week ticket is hard to explain here. It is almost like a quasi work contract. If I counted my weeks right, I got laid off in 16 weeks. I hope sincerely the Union ( Electrical ) knows this. I wrote them about this but as of today ( April 02, 2011 - Saturday ), I have not heard anything from them on the matter. I truly and honestly beleive in my heart that Vinny planned for me to get laid off -- and knowly -- in 16 weeks not 17 weeks just to screw me. Now, I believe this whole thing was personal.
]]] Secondly, Everyone who was sent to this job - at the same time that I was - was not laid off the day that I was. Even my partner, Danny, was not laid off even though he too was threaten to be laid off after he had a very big blow up with Vinny in February 2011. I was shocked. The Shop Steward intervened in that matter too.
]]]] I thought it would be a good idea to call the "Construction Desk" manager for help -- I just wanted him to get me out of this company / shop and this situation that I was in. He plainly said No he could not do it. I was very, very shocked !!!
]] I know this sounds crazy in these type of times but I'm glad that I got laid off. I did my cold miserable bid. Now I will be able to enjoy my time off in the spring and the summer. I just don't like how my lay-off went down. I think it is nasty and evil and so was my sub foreman. I'm sorry for the long story. I'm just very bitter about what took place from November 2010 -- March 2011 at the sewage treatment plant on 127 street in Queens, N.Y. Uing "RantRave", I plan to write more about my personal -- and very odd and crazy life -- experiences and about my negative job experiences working for Local #3 electrical contractors. So, stay tuned !!!
]]]] If anybody has any positive feedback or comments about what I just wrote please feel free to respind. Thank you !!!!!!!!!
]]]]]]]] NOTE -- in a few days, I will write a small diary/article on my experience with Five Star Electric at Shea / Citi field stadium. Its funny and seriously, your not going to beleive it !!!!!!!!