Recently my cousin who had just moved to Texas called me and told me he had walked off his job. This didn't phase me and I told him he shouldn't worry too much about it. Lord knows I've walked off of plenty of jobs while living in Texas. He mentioned to me his employer was abusive and that even in orientation and training the workers were constantly threatened. He stated the workers were told there was no such thing as an 'excused absence' and that even if one of them should have the misfortune of being in an auto accident or suffering a heart attack the absence would not be excused. He stated the trainer even placed emphasis on "you all don't understand, even if you're in the hospital in surgery we would not excuse you".
Wow.
I told my cousin, who is younger than I, that I too have heard employers make such statements; especially since living in Texas, and I informed him that these types of companies have ridiculously high turnover rates. I reflected on our middle class comfortable upbringing where our parents had really secure, very stable government jobs which they retired from. I told him that the private sector, especially in Texas was vastly different. Abuse and exploitation is the order of the day here. The employers are exploiting the labor market because there is so much labor here that they know even if you quit on the spot, with them running new training classes through like cattle, a body will be immediately put into the seat he leaves behind.
I explained that after much observation I didn't believe the employers really "invested" in their workers. Because of the influx of labor into this state, the wages have dropped and employers believe they should have their way with those who are only trying to earn a decent living.
On the good side of this argument is the fact the workers here can walk off a job and walk right into another one. Most are shitty jobs anyway and the best thing I suggested to do was to grab a few paychecks (and experience) from these types of jobs and keep it moving. I recounted my experiences working in Texas and how I have seen so many employees simply walk off the job. We were both raised to give a two week notice and all that jazz but out here its completely different. Its really like a wild, Wild West type of state. Anything goes. If an employer says "we don't care if you've had an accident or a heart attack" they don't deserve a two week notice. They deserve an employee to wait until they are short staffed, in the busiest part of the business cycle, and then suddenly quit. Yes.. I told my cousin to leave their asses hanging.
This isn't North Korea. Slavery has ended. So has indentured servitude. Either party can end the relationship at anytime. With or without a goodbye. The politicians, in doing away with most employee rights laws, have created a climate of abuse and exploitation here.
I told my cousin about my various experiences while working in this state and suggested the best thing he could do here was to start his own business. The wages are so low, and most employers so low down, he would inevitably end up endangering his health by continue to work for these fraudsters perpetrating as "businessmen" in this state.
I recounted an experience once where I had an exceptionally terrible employer who constantly resorted to threats and lies to keep the employees in line. Respect was never a part of the equation. By that time I had had a few jackass employers in Texas. Very unscrupulous fellows who couldn't manage worth a damn and who threatened employees on a daily basis.
So I simply decided that after my month of classroom training I would leave their asses hanging. That's right. I would make sure they never saw a dime from their investment by placing me on the floor in production. On my last day of training, after I had aced all the tests and mastered the material, I quit. Yes.. That's right, I QUIT. I followed my respect right out the door. The deciding factor for me was the fact the company had pulled a similar move as what my cousin had experienced my telling us that even if our child was sick, or someone had died, we were not allowed to miss work EVER. What the fuck?! They weren't paying me enough to work for a company that would Not excuse my absence if I was In a car accident or if my child was sick. These jackasses let us know from the door we weren't shit and as soon as we got the message the class started dwindling down. People started quitting. Right there in training; and the HR director had the freaking gall to come into the room and complain about the high turnover rate. I wanted to say "YOU FREAKING IDIOT WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?!" When you tell people the job is worth more than their own child?!?!
I really wish most people would fight back against employers who choose to threaten employees and treat employees terrible.
I finished the conversation by telling my cousin "Welcome To Texas".
Now that I think back on that conversation i remember the companies who called and called and even harassed my parents to have me come back to work "after" I had walked off the job and quit. These dumb asses mistreated employees and could not foresee that when employers mistreat us and we quit (especially if we're good workers as I am) they would need us again. I learned that businesses do grovel when it suits them.
