General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI've been working at a new job for 9 weeks and tonight
I've just witnessed a third person getting fired. These were nurses with small children and families to take care of. For each firing it happened all the same - they came into work their shift and before they could clock in the Admin Nurse said I need to talk to you and the next thing you see is her walking them out the door. And for what? I do not know - no one talks about it. I have never seen so much incivility from a nurse admin in all my years, and I'm 59. I come home from work and I can't open the wine bottle fast enough. (No I'm not a heavy drinker). I took off a year and half and moved to England after my partner died and this is what I came back to. Is this a precedent?
Response to Seedersandleechers (Original post)
Tuesday Afternoon This message was self-deleted by its author.
Seedersandleechers
(3,044 posts)cattle and waiting in line to be slaughtered.
Response to Seedersandleechers (Reply #4)
Tuesday Afternoon This message was self-deleted by its author.
BlueToTheBone
(3,747 posts)the back of the herd! Escape! Good luck!
physioex
(6,890 posts)Health care providers, teachers, and public service employees should be some of the most cherished members of society.
SoDesuKa
(3,173 posts)Unusually draconian personnel measures may mean they're trying to get rid of people to lighten the payroll and make the deal more attractive to potential buyers. You wouldn't be told what's going on, but if senior people are being replaced by people with lighter paychecks, it could also mean there's a new controller.
Is the business making money?
Seedersandleechers
(3,044 posts)who could be cast as a jail matron in a 1940's movie.
msongs
(67,436 posts)Seedersandleechers
(3,044 posts)southernyankeebelle
(11,304 posts)forward. I know people who live and are from these countries of Italy, Canada and Germany that would not trade their health care for ours. I even had my Italian cousin who was a nurse and I have seen her at work. I don't see any differences in their health care.
FarPoint
(12,430 posts)That company manages many jail-medical department in the USA. They are run by an bunch of good olde boys from Alabama....awful reputation.
Seedersandleechers
(3,044 posts)I never think in terms of color but it has just dawned on me. All the nurses were African American except for one and he was African from Ethiopia. I think I need another drink or another job. This is sick in so many ways.
rfranklin
(13,200 posts)A lot of Africans have an attitude about black Americans.
Seedersandleechers
(3,044 posts)underseasurveyor
(6,428 posts)There seems to be this new era of young people that have been turned into unquestioning corporate drones. Yes Master, yes Master, what ever you say Master, your wish is my privilege.
And those of us that are a bit older that do not subscribe to unquestionably bending over for the almighty corporation are the ones being fired for petty reasons. I have also seen 3 long time co-workers get fired in as many months.
They've been working real hard to get me out the door by trying to get me to quit by making my work life miserable with impossible work loads and that hasn't been working so they suspended me for a week (pending termination) for some trumped up BS reasons but I think they know that I KNOW my rights, the discrimination laws and the labor laws and they know they're wrong and now they have done pissed off the wrong bitch. I'm still there, barely, but there. Document, Document, Document everything.
The ass-kissing drones get very much favorable treatment and hours. And for every person that's fired there are plenty of applicants waiting to fill the void.
Seedersandleechers
(3,044 posts)is what I am experiencing for the first time in all my years of being a nurse. Only the Admin Nurse is not a young one and being there are a lot of nursing schools in my city the new ones are hungry to get hired.
Selatius
(20,441 posts)Seedersandleechers
(3,044 posts)I live in Missouri but work in KANSAS! Maybe that was my first mistake.
cecilfirefox
(784 posts)Dyedinthewoolliberal
(15,586 posts)Or in a union?
Seedersandleechers
(3,044 posts)Not in Kansas.
Dyedinthewoolliberal
(15,586 posts)go to this website and see if they can give you any ideas.....
http://www.seiu.org/seiuhealthcare/
FarPoint
(12,430 posts)Then, Nurses would be the most powerful group in America.
Nursing should be a union target nationally. That is where I would put my money today. The Nurse unions are our future.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)Every employer acts like they just tolerate even having a work force. There's absolutely no respect for the time you have been there and everyone let go is treated like they are a trespasser even if it's been their home away from home for 30 years. Some places won't even let them go back to their desk/workzone to get their coat when it's raining. They say they'll mail you your things and they will call security if someone begs for an explanation over what they did wrong. (It's nothing they did, it's just business)
And America wonders why we have people showing up at former employers with guns....
The latest trend is Right Wing bosses purging Liberals.
Got an Obama bumper sticker?
Goodbye.
Skip Intro
(19,768 posts)Some type of rule-breaking that would justify the firings?
Seedersandleechers
(3,044 posts)Maybe they didn't kiss ass? They were good nurses.
Skip Intro
(19,768 posts)From the OP it seemed the reason they were dismissed was a mystery.
Was some evil admin just getting its kicks, or was there a valid reason?
Seems like a logical question to me.
But I don't pretend to know what happened.
I evidently missed that they were black, but, unless you're alleging they were fired because they're black, I don't see the relevance.
Seedersandleechers
(3,044 posts)Something just doesn't smell right but it's only speculation on my part.
Nay
(12,051 posts)Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)It's certainly possible that something nefarious is going on, but there are other possibilities as well. If you don't have a union, management can fire you for any reason that doesn't violate labor laws. However, firing people in skilled positions for no good reason is generally not a good business practice as it costs money to replace them.
People are generally fired for one of two reasons. Either they are fired for performance, or they are fired for disciplinary reasons. If they were good nurses like you say, that means they probably weren't fired for performance, which leaves disciplinary reasons. They might have been stealing drugs or other items. They might have been violating attendance or other policies. It sounds like there is some type of investigation or crackdown that is running its course. I wouldn't expect management to say much about it if it's for disciplinary reasons. There could also be criminal charges involved.
IamK
(956 posts)Enrique
(27,461 posts)lots of people getting fired.
The OP didn't say whether they are hiring replacements, maybe they will ask the OP pick up the slack. For no extra money of course.
Warpy
(111,332 posts)It's what that asinine "customer service model" that hospital administration is currently in love with is all about. Those young, pretty, peppy new nurses are always going to be rated more highly than the older nurse who's been in the trenches for 30 years and knows what's really going on. It's transparent and it's sickening. Instead of looking at patient outcomes, they're turning the job into a beauty contest.
They used to try to retain experienced nurses but no more. They get a new grad in through the door, an older nurse gets the axe because her ratings aren't high enough.
The new grads are thrown to the wolves without the more experienced nurses around to show them the ropes and transition them into the real world so they can do the job without killing themselves or the patients.
Your job environment sounds incredibly toxic but I know how hard it is for a 59 year old nurse who's holding on by her fingernails, been there and done that. It becomes an endurance contest, trying to hold out so you won't outlive your savings before you qualify for Social Security.
riverwalker
(8,694 posts)hospitals want perky/smiley/nurses, who are evaluated by their best Walmart-greeter imitations, unfortunately clinical skills and experience are low on the list. I see it happening everyday. When my loved one is ill, I want the old, crabby, limping nurse with 30 years under her belt, who can smell a crisis before it happens, whose instincts alone can alert an MD and save someone from a life threatening event. Who has the confidence to tell a non-responsive doc "I think his kidneys are failing and if you don't do anything I will call someone who will".
I want perky/smiley when I go to Starbucks for a latte.
XanaDUer
(12,939 posts)Yes, (not a nurse, but a former medical librarian working closely with nurses, esp older ones who tend to not put up with shyte)- and I see this "customer service" model making its way into hospitals, well, into all facets of working life. Which is hilarious to me, since customer service in the United States is, pretty much, a frigging joke. I think it IS just a way to get rid of older workers.
LiberalEsto
(22,845 posts)and lower starting salaries.
They get rid of the older ones because they have too many benefits and are accustomed to earning a decent wage.
Warpy
(111,332 posts)It's all money. Never mind a green new nurse is not going to be making good decisions. Never mind there will be occasional lawsuits, it's easier to budget for those than pay a seasoned nurse.
It happens in the corporate world, too. If there's no place to move up into management, you're out at 55. You're making too much money and starting to cost the insurance plan a few bucks, better to get a green kid right out of college and lose money on him for a few years while he learns the job. It saves money in the long run.
However, the way they're getting rid of older nurses is obscene.
meaculpa2011
(918 posts)implies some sort of serious infraction. I've never been let go, but I've been laid off several times. I always got my notice and worked the next two weeks before heading to the unemployment office. On every occasion I was called back, once after nearly a year. That last time I declined the re-invitation.
When I went from a union job to Fortune 500 Land, people that were let go would usually be given plenty of notice. In one instance a co-worker was kept on for eight months until she found another position.
The exceptions: Serious infractions. That's when they got perp walked to the door by security carrying their personal effects.
XanaDUer
(12,939 posts)*everyone* , who got laid off, to the door. Older workers, loyal, who had been there for years and years, during one of the personnel-purges the million-dollar-a-year new CEO implemented to improve the bottom line.
Minus me. I got up and walked out so fast when I got the news that I, a female with a master's was being unloaded, that they didn't have time. It was fine if they did- the security guards knew a lot of dirt on the place and knew what an Evil Empire the hospital was.
I didn't do anything more than be a middle-aged female making a decent salary in a red state, and in a very sexist and racist hospital.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)RIFFed, once by Fortune 500 company, once by a start-up. In neither case had I committed a serious infraction or even a minor one. In both cases, I was 'perp-walked' to the door and handed a box with my shit already boxed up.
So when's the last time you got laid off? Obviously not in this millennium.
meaculpa2011
(918 posts)and have been free-lancing since. My experiences are most probably ancient history. My last lay-off was in 1975.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)'farewell' to colleagues (although in the 2004 Fortune 500 case, everyone in my unit got the axe at the same time).
XanaDUer
(12,939 posts)I was not the only one. I was there, mostly, for the salary, so, while PO'd, I knew I could get another job, and I did, though at less money. I got another one a year after that one, for a better salary, still in my field.
Greetings, fellow 2010 RIFer!
I didn't worry too much about "saying goodbye" to anyone, since the place was a RW nutfarm.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)decisions from a white-collar career perspective and I suspect fate does not have a pretty future in store for me.
XanaDUer
(12,939 posts)coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)height of the bubble. My wife and I thought we were being so smart because we bought when prices had dropped by 50%. Little did we know that they had another 15% to drop (from 2009-12). Result is that I'm in an underwater mortgage and firmly yoked to the LA job market. All well and good, except that California's unemployment rate is roughly 11%, high enough to make finding a new job very difficult for the over-50 cohort but not so high that it continues to qualify for the FED-ED UI extension which ended suddenly without much advance warning on May 12.
My wife and I have lived very frugally and we have some money set aside in retirement accounts and various other places, but I've learned a couple lessons: 1) don't buy a house when you're working for a shitty employer and 2) place hands over ears and go "La-La-La" when realtors tell you it's cheaper to buy than to rent. Still, I blame myself as much as I blame anyone else - I've never really paid much attention to capitalism nor had much use for it, so it's little wonder that capitalism isn't paying much attention to me nor showing much use for me.
XanaDUer
(12,939 posts)It's NOT your fault. It's time we took care of each other, and that starts with ending the blame game towards average prople. I hope things improve for both of you soon.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)outside the home and basically entrusts all the fianncial shit to me. But I do blame myself for thinking I could outsmart the titans of capitalism at their own game. Pride goeth before a fall and I am living proof thereto.
But thank you for your empathy. It really means a lot.
XanaDUer
(12,939 posts)And the US has no safety net really, for us. I was lucky to get my big 227 a week in Georgia. And I had to pay TAX on that pissant amount! God bless America.
dmallind
(10,437 posts)coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)did obtain some measure of satisfaction watching the Tribune Corp crash and burn a couple times since my 2004 layoff and the LA Times (a subsidiary of which I worked for) paid daily circulation drop well below 1,000,000. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of bean counters, imo.
etherealtruth
(22,165 posts)... how or why a person is leaving their employment.
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)And there are probably a long list of rules about interactions with prisoners.
dembotoz
(16,826 posts)longer you were there more expensive you became
earn vacation
sick days
up from the bottom pay scale
dump and rehire
save money
nurses, teachers, prob most workers
unplug one plug in another.
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)In most jobs, you are as good as you are going to get after 5 to 10 years. Adding pay and benefits beyond that just increases the probability that the employer will figure out how to get rid of the employee, especially those whose performance deteriorates after 5 to 10 years on the job.
dembotoz
(16,826 posts)long time at the same place should count for something
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)XanaDUer
(12,939 posts)Only game in some towns to get benefits, pensions etc at all. And I leave my jobs at three to five years. Cannot always say the person is inert. Rural areas don't always have tons of jobs. Hell, cities sometimes don't, either.
Faygo Kid
(21,478 posts)We are fortunate to be in our later years, my friend. The USA is finished. Go back to England if you can.
XanaDUer
(12,939 posts)SammyWinstonJack
(44,130 posts)I agree, the USA IS finished and....go back.
Romulox
(25,960 posts)GoCubsGo
(32,086 posts)My sister works for a major grocery store chain. Management has been using every little excuse they can to get rid of employees throughout the chain.
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)You have given some pretty identifiable info in this thread, and you might want to consider removing it.
There ARE vindictive people who could probably figure out who you work for and it might end up harming you
etherealtruth
(22,165 posts)I am 50, my first career was a nurse (prior to raising kids ...).
As you are well aware, in the 80's and 90's it was almost impossible to remain fully staffed .... layoffs or "trivial" firings were unheard of.
I hear stories like yours from so many friends that remained in healthcare. I often miss nursing (frequently regretting my decision to change careers when I re-entered the work force) .... ?
Historic NY
(37,452 posts)Critical Care & now Ped's ICU...she was recruited from another center. I know she wants to go back to school so she can land a nursing teaching position....right now she is hauling in a boatload of money. I think its beginning to grind at her.
etherealtruth
(22,165 posts)... nursing is an extremely wearing/ draining profession.
After working ~10 years (gero psych and Hospice) I took a decade + off to raise my children. when I got divorced I opted to get an entirely different degree (as a single mother of three I just couldn't face the very emotionally draining demands of nursing/ demanding nursing schedules) ... now that my youngest is 16 ... I am considering going back to nursing
Historic NY
(37,452 posts)heads the local (volunteer) Level 1 ALS ambulance & EMS, they employ 5 ft and 10 pt paramedics along with fly car service to some surround communities.
pinto
(106,886 posts)Sounds like it's cast a pall of sorts in your workplace, as well. Hope there's some resolution for all. I hate to see cut backs hit health care.
tawadi
(2,110 posts)An employer can fire an employee at will in many states these days. A labor attorney told me he handles discrimination or sexual harassment cases only. Other labor law cases are apparently too difficult to win.