Rage Against the Machine: Part IV

This is the final in a four-part series of buzzes that recounts my experiences as a maverick manager working within the constraints of corporate America. You'll laugh, you'll cry and, perhaps, get an idea of how the country ended up with throngs of voters backing Donald Trump for president

My circumstances had greatly improved. I'd settled into my new role and everything was running smoothly.

However, even with my assistance, our management structure was becoming taxed. We had grown the business to where four additional routes were needed. The logistics were a nightmare..

 In response, the company doubled our management team from four to eight. For me, it would have an astounding impact.

The additional four would operate in the field. The others would remain in house.

I wasn't interested in having anymore numbers attached to my ass, so I decided to remain in my current position, instead of taking one of the four new positions.

However, soon after implementing the changes, I was called into the general manager's office for a little conference. 

Corporate had noticed I was still on the books, which put us over the allotted number of managers for my pay grade. 

The general manager told me his hands were tied. We had to make a change.

Instead of laying me off or terminating me, they offered me a lower-level position, which put me back into the union.

My duties and perks remained the same, although I took a pay cut. I was also limited to 40 hours a week, which was about 20 less than what I had been working. I didn't mind that.

 It was an controversial combination. I was a member of the union, but I performed a management function. None of the team members, who were now my union brothers, filed any grievances. Even union management looked the other way,

What made it even more interesting was the fact the union contract had recently expired and negotiations weren't going well.The contract covered all three facilities in our major metropolitan area. It impacted about 100 union employees.

Like a good union brother, I attended every update meeting and vote at the union hall on Saturday mornings, even though the hall was nearly two hours from my home. Most never even made an appearance until they were told there would be a final vote. 

Some were leery of my involvement, although it was business as usual at my facility. I wasn't treated any differently than before the changes.

It took three votes to ratify a new agreement, but I ended up getting a raise. I would have received back pay, for the time it took to reach a new agreement, but I hadn't been in the union long enough. 

We resumed our normal activities.

The Phone Call

I was sitting at my desk one morning when the phone rang. It was my father. 

He said someone had called and told him someone had died, but he couldn't remember who that someone was. I found out it was his best friend, they'd known each other 50 years.

To make a long story short, he was suffering from dementia, just like my mother before him. He needed my help.

I knew what I had to do. I am an only child. 

Reluctantly, I resigned from my position, giving the traditional two-week notice. 

My union brothers threw me a going-away party at the local watering hole. The general manager made an appearance, which is uncharateristic. So did the rest of the management team, sales department, and dock workers.

Even the truck mechanics I'd contracted joined the party, as well as our receptionist and human resources representative.

They demonstrated that there doesn't have to be a wall between union and management or any other department.

Mutual respect and friendship can cross borders. I was proud to have played a part in allowing that to happen.

They still contact me to let me know when someone I worked with is leaving the company or retiring. I get an occasional text from some who just want to say hello and ask how I'm doing. It makes everything I went through worth it.

I moved back home and spent the next year and a half caring for my father. He now lives in the same nursing home as my mother, but she no longer recognizes him. They're both currently in hospice care, the end is near.

So, just like that, my career as a maverick manager was over. Instead of going out with a bang, I went out with a whimper.

Looking Back

As I look back, there are a lot of things that corporate America has forgotten, which has led to throngs of voters backing Donald Trump for president.

It's not a cry for help, it's a blood-curdling scream. Politicians and corporate America have conspired to shift the wealth from the many to the few. It's led to numerous wars and the catastrophic disruption of life worldwide.

Employees aren't just numbers, like the ones I've discussed in this series.They're living, breathing, human beings who aren't afraid to work hard for a living, as long as they're compensated accordingly.

But, first, we need to get more of them back to work in their own neighborhoods.

The government's numbers indicating that employment levels are increasing are a joke. While I was caring for my father, I wasn't counted. Neither were the ones who have abandoned hope of regaining employment after losing their jobs to downsizing or having their jobs transferred outside of the country. They've been out of the workforce too long.

The government and corporate America wants us to believe those numbers are representative, because they're the ones who approved and executed those moves.

The economy is not a game, like the one I discussed in this series. It impacts society in many ways. It determines the levels of poverty, crime, homelessness, and despair. Ignoring those resulting issues has led to increased racial tension and extreme violence.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for capitalism. It made this country great. But capitalism and democracy need to unite for the greater good or face the fiery wrath or total downfall of society.

My experiences as a maverick manager proves that we can overcome adversity and unite those who appear to be fundamentally at odds. 

I now believe that the borders within borders, such as management vs. unions, employers vs. workers and republicans vs. democrats, can be crossed without torturous repercussions.

Unfortunately, because many cannot see that happening, the current rage against the machine is set to take on epic proportions. 

Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on this series and may God help us all.