My Heart Goes Out

I have not the words 5
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

My Heart Goes Out...

Today, the hammer came down in the workplace. The outsourcing situation is now officially resovled/dissovled. Corporate came down, doled out severance and sentences, all under the watchful eye of a rent a cop. You know, just in case.. somebody went.. "priceline" after receiving their 'sentence'.

There were cordial goodbyes, friendly hugs, exchanges of contact information, biting rebuttals and many tears. The overall atmosphere of the day was.. morose.

Save for the sad parts, I was pretty removed from the atmosphere, I felt present as more of a witness than a victim (like the others). With the unwitting assistance from an incredible person, I managed to frequently remove myself from the situation, if only in mind and spirit. And secretley inside, I was harboring a glimmer of happiness. I was made an offer that I am having a hard time finding a reason to refuse.

Many (well, about 20, including myself) were offered continued employment at the neighboring facility, of course, at a pretty significant cut in salary. Those who were not offered these positions, were literally sent packing - forced to depart immediately. The rest will finish out the week before signing on to the other company. A select few were permited to work the remainder of their shift, knowing this would be their final day.
At least, in the state of Ohio.

Our company has outsourced about 80 percent of our operations to a place in a far away state. The changeover is not going as smoothly as planned; the new 'agents' are having difficulty adapting to 'our' procedures, and they guidance from seasoned agents.

In a passing conversation, I learned that I was considered 'seasoned'. An offer, fairly lucrative, was subsequently extended to me:

Get flown to the outsourcing place to train my replacements. "The Company" will cover airfare, rental car, hotel lodging for the duration of 30 days, and a daily cash allowance for necessities such as food. After 30 days, should things work out, the option to sign on as permanent fixture will be offered. Should I deny it, they pay the airfare back home as well.

Under 'normal' circumstances, I would be offended at such an idea, how demeaning to train the person that is accepting your wage.

"Excuse me, can you see the knife protruding from m back? yea,, you got it.. could you be a champ and forcefully give a few good sharp, violent twists? ahhhh.. yes, thank you."

But the underlying kicker to all this: "The Company" is located in the state I've been planning to relocate to.

Utah.

I couldn't have asked for or conconcted such a perfect escape, and I've been working on this for months.

So amongst the morose atmosphere, uncertainty and tears, I'm this little beacon of satisfaction in the middle of it all.

My heart goes out to all those people, who don't know what's going to happen next, the ones that worked there just to carry insurance for their families, worked it as a second job, and even those that choose to continue with company next door. None of them deserves what they're getting, especially in the manner it was handed to them. Everybody got duped, and how - for once, I came out on top - I'll never know. I wish them all the best.

But, as it turns out, I ended up with it...

thanks for stopping in :peace: