You try to bust your butt to make a living and then you fall under the supervision of so-called black man out trying to prove a point.
You see I’ve spent the last two decades being involved in projects far and wide during my time here at National Grid. It’s seen some horrific times since its changed hands. When it was Brooklyn Union I remember being a part of a group of new employees being lead and guided through the way of life within the company. There were two avenues you could go down, the Union Road and the Management Trainee road. Since I only had my Associates in Mechanical Engineering Technology, the only road open was the Union road. My dad being a cop I figured this was the way to go, you work hard, you do right and you get acknowledged, recognized, appreciated and promoted.
OK, stop laughing, I was 24 years old, bright eyed and bushy tailed. Seventeen years later and I find myself, self taught, educated in more than just my job, with an arsenal of experiences and expertise that is valuable on the market and nothing from this organization to show for it. Other companies treat their workers with respect yet not here. You see, where I am, the manager is a black man who racked up degrees but no sense. A black man whose pride gets in the way of doing what’s right. A black man who wants to time your work with a stopwatch and wants to clock how long it takes you to go to the bathroom or eat and if your break goes beyond the fifteen minutes - look out.
What is so ironic and sad is that National Grid (and legacy KeySpan) won a 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign’s “Corporate Equality Survey”. Who took this survey and if I and a number of my colleagues have EEOC complaints and grievances on the books then how can this backward place get 100%? If any employee who works here feel that this company is not treating them fairly then how could they get 100%? Truth is for some areas in this utility equality has never moved beyond 1950. This antiquated engineering mamnager in this department is one of those lost in the McCarthy era. It has been oppressive and bigoted in its behavioral management style since I entered it in 1992.
Now, I have to deal with a Caucasian Manager that makes the Black Manager crack the whip. We have to ask permission to do just about everything. I returned last week after having almost been driven to the brink by their ignorance and s*xism to find that the internet access I had for all of these 17 years will no longer be available to me. When did we become second class citizens where all roads to the outside are forbidden?
There is a feeling of despair that permeates through this area and instead of taking all of these veterans, because we’re all old timers with 15 years plus for each of us, and recognizing our institutional memory and putting us to real work, we are pushed around like slaves, yes slaves, where music and cell phones are not allowed, where if you’re late 15 minutes you’re docked or suspended depending on the manager’s mood.
To me the biggest infraction of all is that the Director, a Caucasian female I have as yet to meet since her arrival two years ago, is in another state with a whole other mindset and culture (I KNOW YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!) and she’s never set foot at a meeting to set it all straight, to be the leaders she is supposed to be, to see what conflict resolutions and negotiations can be made can be done to make all of the employees happy.
CSR my **&^(*%)!!
That’s “Corporate Social Responsibility”, the latest buzz words to imply that while corporations are buckling tight, they are doing it with consideration for the employees’ needs. It’s lies so that they can give each other awards and pats on the back so that they can sleep at night. For us workers, us union people, it means we’re lucky if we get a manager who has any idea of what our functions are, who treat us as equals and when they are of the same color as us, they do not necessarily know or care to know.
Posted By: Carmen Colon
Wednesday, October 8th 2008 at 2:06PM
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