Have you been treated better when employed by The Man or Not the Man?

[LostinVA]

I've worked for both, and have always (except once) treated better by The Man -- and I don't just mean money and benefits, I mean actually TREATED. The Man always treated me with more respect, kindness, etc. Even more than non-profits. Which is damned depressing.

"The Man," for this poll, means large corporations, doctors, CPAs, lawyers, etc. Anyone or any business that is Establishment and for profit.

on edit: I don't mean 501(c)s necessarily, just businesses that aren't profit-motivated... cops, teachers, etc. all count. And, we all know most retail and food service people are treated like garbage.

[angstlessk]

1. since 99% of the public has never worked for a non profit i think your poll is moot?

[LostinVA]

5. Teachers, cops, government employees, etc. are not for profit

They are Not the Man.

[sarcasmo]

2. Who is the MAN?

[Naturyl]

3. I've been treated better when unemployed, period. n/t

[graywarrior]

4. Non-profits are sonewhat dysfunctional.

They are good for awhile, but they can go bad pretty fast.

[LostinVA]

19. People I've known who have worked for 501(C)s either had

GREAT experiences or horrific. Maybe because of bad management? Who knows.

[graywarrior]

22. Last one I worked for the bookkeeper stole 80,000 dollars over three years.

Talk about bad management.

[LostinVA]

29. JEEBUS

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

6. Could you clarify who "Not the Man" is?

[LostinVA]

9. Check my edit n/t

[JuniperLea]

7. Every "The Man" is different...

I worked for a major insurance and investment firm for over eight years. HUGE outfit, run by a Democrat who is a billionaire many, many times over, and always on the Forbes 500 list. I was treated so well it is not to be believed! Money, respect, the ability to use my entrepreneurial spirit in a corporate culture that thrived on good ideas and team work.

Then I worked for another billionaire... you'd know the name if I were to give it, without question.

I was treated like shit. It was all about the class-warfare and condescension. These people were so class conscious that they would not allow denim to be worn in their home. Not by them, not by their kids, not by the staff, not even the garden crew could wear blue jeans!! Only the very poorest of working class people wore blue jeans/denim according to them. I thought the pay was ok at the time, but my next job payed over $10k more a year, so it must not have been all that.

I'm now working for a company that is a dream come true! I'm the Queen Bee... my boss trusts my judgment and gives me all the control I need to do my job well. Like I said, I made $10k more a year when I hired on, and I've had over 11% in raises and over 10% per year in bonuses in the two years I've been here.

I love my job:) This "The Man" is ideal for me... the last one, not so much... the one before, awesome too, until the big man sold to the largest world-wide insurance company and the entrepreneurial culture went out the window with the acquisition.

[Selatius]

8. Like over 90 percent of corporations are for-profit.

You would label Cost-Co as anti-worker?

[LostinVA]

13. Ummm... were did I say ANY of that?

I was talking about my own experiences, and I never said ANYONE was "anti-worker" at all... just how imo I've been treated better at "Establishment" jobs versus educational jobs.

And, I didn't specify corporations, either. Teaching is both a profession, but is also non-profit and Not the Man.

Only one DU could you be accused of several things you never said. In a totally non-flamebait thread. Sheesh.

[Selatius]

17. Because I associate "The Man" with negative connotations (i.e. anti-worker)

I don't think there's a dictionary definition of that term that's found in Webster's.

[LostinVA]

20. That's why I tried to explain what I meant by it in my OP

[Selatius]

21. Why did you start this thread again?

Is the goal to get folks to admit that "The Man" is good for us despite using a loaded term with a lot of negative historical connotation? What would be the point? Why use such a divisive term?

[LostinVA]

30. What the fuck ever

Check my history: I am extremely pro-labor, am a union member, etc.

My point was, as I said in my OP, was that I think it's SAD that my experience was that The Man was nicer to work for. I wanted to know what others have experienced. As you can see, there have been so interesting replies. Oh wait, you haven't talked about any of that, you've only been trying to bait me. :eyes:

Try throwing that strawmen back in Oz. You've been trying to pick a fight since your first reply.

YOU'RE the one trying to start a fight and be divisive. Welcome to ignore. Jesus. Only on DU.

[idgiehkt]

10. Hmm, I've had equally good and bad experiences with both

Had the best insurance of my life working for a health-food store that is now a very profitable chain in the 90's. Had the second best benefits (and best pay) working for a large auto-parts factory. Worked for a kind of 'alternative' medical lab owned by doctors and was treated very well. My fondest memories of jobs are a) working for a veterninarian, I started there at $4/hr. and when I left two years later I was making $5/hr; and b) working for a worker-owned collective restaurant, the closest to a not-for-profit, but the wages were low, hours were not enough and benefits were zero. It was fun though.

[LostinVA]

15. Very interesting post -- thanks for getting my OP

I was curious if my experiences were the "norm" for US workers.

[idgiehkt]

18. I've worked in some really nice factories

and some that were absolute nightmares with no temp control inside at all. The one that I worked at where I made the most money, I was really lucky because they had these super expensive Japanese robots in them which had to be air-conditioned, so we benefitted from that. :woohoo:

[Breeze54]

11. Corporations used to treat workers, sort of, decently but

not since NAFTA and * came on the scene. All bets were off after that.

Corporate employment sucks the royal route. Robotic, non personal.

Just isn't like it used to be back in the 70's and 80's and even the 90's.

Now you're just a number.... Period.

[Chovexani]

12. The Man, weirdly enough

My last job was at a huge bank's credit card division, and aside from being laid off 4 months later, management was awesome. They really believed in treating employees well. The benefits were awesome, they really supported diversity--they even covered gender identity. My boss was the sweetest guy in the world, and treated us all with respect and kindness.

Which is good, because the job itself (customer service for credit cards) was hell.

[LostinVA]

16. It IS weird, isn't it?

[Atman]

14. Treated better? Not sure. It was certainly cool, but BETTER?

I've been self-employed virtually my entire life, but when my wife and I were starting our family I took a very corporate job at the home office of the Casual Corner clothing chain (2d largest specialty retailer at the time, behind only The Limited). It was sweet in many ways. I had a corner office overlooking a pond. Very nice company cafeteria with a day care center if needed (it wasn't). 9-5, no weekends. Profit sharing, full health care bennies, 401k.

But I had to wear a tie!

Seriously, though...it was a good job, they treated me well, generally...but I fucking hated it. I lasted about 4 1/2 years before a larger company wooed me away, with no contract, no bennies, no nothing...just a promise of lots of freelance work if I'd devote my time to them. Everyone thought I was nuts. But the year after I left, Casual Corner was sold, layoffs started. Today Casual Corner is no more. The freelance job I took lasted nearly ten years, and I made almost four times as much as my CC salary.

Corporate office jobs are for people who just need security, even though they never actually have it. I never looked back.

.

[cuke]

23. Both my parents worked for the govt

The govt never tried to take away their pensions and substitute a 401k for it. They got pensions AND 401k's

My mother was never sexually harrassed by her supervisors. My parents never had their hours or pay cut, were never outsourced or re-organized out of a job. My mother had a union. My father had civil service protections.

[etherealtruth]

24. Not "the man"

My first career was as a nurse ... I worked mainly for non-profits (a Hospice, prior to anyone knowing what "hospice" really was and a health-care system run by the United Church of Christ) ... I was treated incredibly well by both. The pay was average for the times and the profession, but the benefits, the respect ...the overall treatment was better than good.

[LostinVA]

31. Both my mom and sister are nurses

My Mom mainly worked at private clinics and was always treated well. My sis was treated quite badly at a hospital (it wasn't Humana, but someplace like it). She works at a doctor's now,and loves it.

Nurses are underpaid and usually overworked. Y'all are saints!

[femmedem]

25. I only worked for The Man one summer, 1979.

It was IBM--so long ago that, doing office work, I didn't have a computer! I was paid well, got to eat outside for lunch, and was spoken to respectfully by the fourth line manager. But what a boring job. Never before or since have the minutes passed so slowly.

Since then, I've worked as adjunct faculty, where I made less than minimum wage and had no job security. I've worked in coffee shops, where the money was mediocre but on a personal level the bosses and customers were wonderful. Now I'm self-employed, and the boss is the worst ever: expects me to work night and day, neglect my personal life, and for what? Pennies per hour, no extra for overtime. :P

This'll get me flamed, but I was treated really well when I was an exotic dancer! I made fantabulous money, I set my own schedule, I had creative control, management was respectful, and the customers generally wanted my approval.

Wait, scratch that--when I started dancing in 1884, dancers started at $60/shift plus tips. And by the time I moved on, in 2000, dancers were paying the clubs for the privilege of working there! How could I have forgotten? :dunce:

[femmedem]

27. 1884? Oops.

I meant 1994. Yeah, I danced for a long time, but not THAT long. :rofl:

[LostinVA]

34. I was wondering...

Interesting stuff!

[Parche]

26. F The damn reciept

I think she needs to pay her Toll debt.............:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :hi:

[LostinVA]

32. She's a menace!!!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

28. I worked for the Gubmint for 30 years. "The Man" exemplified.

Where climbing over bodies to kiss the the bosses ass is compulsory for promotion.

[cgrindley]

33. Small business people tend to be cheap crooks

huge government organizations, giant businesses... these tend to be pretty fair employers.