Did you ever lose a good job ?

[lew]

Been watching the sad news about GM closing down after a century and so many folks losing the jobs they'd held for years. They made good money for a long time but now I spose most of them have to start over somewhere else.

Just wondering if any of you guys had good jobs you thought you'd have for a long time then had the rug pulled out from under you ?

I did OK myself, after I finished school I went into the Navy for a few years then joined the Fire Dept. in Toronto and stayed there for 32 years. Both jobs were secure with no threat of lay-offs and I was able to retire at 53 years old.

How about you guys, any sad stories like the folks at GM who thought they were set for life ?

Edited December 19, 2019 by lew

[Garnet]

I worked 32.4 years GM south plant , battery , south stamping.

Working the line everyday for 30 years you earned your money.

Never hated didn't love it. 

The people that looked after things will do well and the others may never get it.

[ketchenany]

I’ve been fortunate just like you Lew, never been unemployed and always  got offers.

I did work for a place for 15 years, after the owner died the company was sold and the new owners had no clue what we did and closed it. 

[Big Cliff]

Ya, I've never been out of work really but after I retired I decided to go back to work because I wanted something to do.

I started working for a small company that was struggling and created a new division for them which started to really take off. It was doing so well it got to the point that we needed more staff so, based on a friends recommendation I hired a young man, with a young family that needed an opportunity.

Well, long story short; he was a very charismatic young man but he wasn't as advertised and wasn't doing a very good job. Then I caught him stealing from the company. It was right around Christmas so instead of firing him on the spot I allowed him to pay the money back and gave him another chance.

I went away on holiday for three weeks, when I came back I found out he had convinced the owner of the company it was all just a big misunderstanding, I just had it in for him,  and that he could do the job I was doing for less money. The owner fell for it and I was out of a job.

Within 6 months everything I had built was gone, the division was closed down and everyone lost out. The sad part is that there were no winners.

I feel really badly for the GM workers and the people that work for all the supporting industries, the GM workers do have a lot of resources available to help them transition, sadly many of the people outside of GM that are affected don't have the same supports in place to help them.

I recently heard that even a new hire at GM even in a basic position was costing the company something like $75.00/hour with wages, benefits, and pensions. If that is accurate I guess it just makes sense that the company had to make some changes to remain competitive.

 

[NAW]

I was forced to quit a job I really loved.  Teaching at Georgian College. 

 

I was a part time instructor, and did contact work a few other companies while not teaching.  It was great.  Tons of flexibility.  Great working environment.  

 

BUT...  The bank would not give me a mortgage being a contractor.  So I had to quit and get a full time job.  My intention was to return to teaching in a few years once my mortgage had settled out.  But while I was on a hiatus from teaching, the union went on strike and they changed around the entire part time teaching situation.  And now there is no way in hell I will be able to return to teaching because they are basing it all on seniority not, that I don't have. 

[bigugli]

I've always been able to keep working, but I have lost a few good career jobs. Closure of the Asbestos works when I was young. Another was Permaflector lighting, assembling specialty industrial lighting, got gobbled up by a big U.S. firm and closed. Bankruptcy of OFG Inc in 2007. I always managed to bounce back and find a new path for myself.

[GBW]

Funny this comes up as I am looking for an Employment Lawyer right now due to my situation.  I was working at Lindsay Kia and it was recently sold and they let me go the end of the day right before the new owners took over.  No letter and no final compensation paid out.  

[Toronto_Angler]

Sure did, my trade is network engineering but my passion is athletic development. Took a leap a little over a decade ago and went all to the athletic development side of things. Got on as an assistant strength and conditioning job at a pro hockey team (team name rhymes with Reafs) and had my own gym where I trained pro baseball, hockey and MMA athletes. Loved it more than anything. it was great but no long term stability really and the hours didn't work well with the new family I was starting. Had to man up and do what was best at the time and go back to computer engineering and leave the passion behind. I still feel I made the right choice and I love my job and my family but I will always miss that part of my life.

[Big Cliff]

44 minutes ago, Toronto_Angler said:

Sure did, my trade is network engineering but my passion is athletic development. Took a leap a little over a decade ago and went all to the athletic development side of things. Got on as an assistant strength and conditioning job at a pro hockey team (team name rhymes with Reafs) and had my own gym where I trained pro baseball, hockey and MMA athletes. Loved it more than anything. it was great but no long term stability really and the hours didn't work well with the new family I was starting. Had to man up and do what was best at the time and go back to computer engineering and leave the passion behind. I still feel I made the right choice and I love my job and my family but I will always miss that part of my life.

Anytime you choose family over a job you've made the right choice IMHO, good for you!

[OhioFisherman]

I was a Teamster dockman - city driver for 30 + years for a number of trucking companies in the Cleveland area, luckily the pension was run by the union, so your total time counted and not just the time with a certain company. Illness forced me to retire before my 31st year, but we had a 30 and out so I could at any age, I was 52.

At one time there was around 75 different union trucking companies of all sizes in the area here, a lot of things factored into the changes, but deregulation of the trucking industry was the biggest thing.

LOL, I applied for a job as a fireman when the first trucking company I worked for closed. The city called and said I would have to do training and have to jump off of Cleveland's fire training tower into a net, like 90 feet below, I had to pass, there would have to be a real fire for me to even consider a jump like that!

Over my working years I was in many auto plants, you could see changes were needed and coming, still a shame though.

[lew]

14 minutes ago, OhioFisherman said:

 

The city called and said I would have to do training and have to jump off of Cleveland's fire training tower into a net, like 90 feet below, I had to pass, there would have to be a real fire for me to even consider a jump like that!

 

If they'd have told me to jump 90' in that little net to be hired Paul I'd have gone back into the Navy LOL

[OhioFisherman]

LOL, ya Lew, the burb I lived in didn't have a building over 3 floors high. I get they assist other departments, but it seems a risky thing to put a trainee in that position? I'm guessing if you got injured making the jump you wouldn't have a job either?

[lew]

In all my years on the job Paul, I never even heard of a net being used although when I 1st went on the job 50 odd years ago we did carry one on an old aerial.

[misfish]

So you contributed to Huffas millions eh Paul . 🤣

[bigugli]

3 hours ago, lew said:

If they'd have told me to jump 90' in that little net to be hired Paul I'd have gone back into the Navy LOL

Not that much worse than abandon ship drill jumping from the bridge wings or mast. Then again we were landing in water not some wee net.

[AKRISONER]

10 hours ago, GBW said:

Funny this comes up as I am looking for an Employment Lawyer right now due to my situation.  I was working at Lindsay Kia and it was recently sold and they let me go the end of the day right before the new owners took over.  No letter and no final compensation paid out.  

You are going to be taken care of me thinks...no cause? No warning...they are gonna hurt for that one

[GBW]

1 hour ago, AKRISONER said:

You are going to be taken care of me thinks...no cause? No warning...they are gonna hurt for that one

Yeah, no lawyer yet either....

[OhioFisherman]

10 hours ago, misfish said:

So you contributed to Huffas millions eh Paul . 🤣

LOL, I also contribute tax dollars.

[Headhunter]

9 hours ago, GBW said:

Yeah, no lawyer yet either....

https://www.severancepaycalculator.com/online-severance-calculator/

HH

[Big Cliff]

1 hour ago, Headhunter said:

https://www.severancepaycalculator.com/online-severance-calculator/

HH

Should have read the newest post LOL, I just sent you the same link via PM😀

[chris.brock]

12 hours ago, GBW said:

Yeah, no lawyer yet either....

you could try this online tool to start

https://stlawyers.ca/pocket-employment-lawyer/

 

[Moosebunk]

Since October 31st I've been stepping away from another great employer and a little bit into the unknown. Have never been fired but have been forced a number of times to change the path.  Nurses/physicians have high, if not the highest rates of burnout for any profession, especially in both the emergency and mental health sectors, so sometimes it becomes necessary to look deep within and change for the better. Other times, it's looking out there and finding some greener grass then making the move, even if that means taking less income in order to keep happy.

Had my back-up against the wall a couple times over the years and walked away. Whether you're fired or stepping down, there's always some stress to go along with that.

[chris.brock]

I'm one of the penalty minute leaders in my workplace. Lots of arguments, many suspensions, I was fired once but my girlfriend at the time, her Dad was a big boss and pulled some strings and got me back, lol.

I have a friend at GM, 3rd generation, divorced with a bunch of kids, he's one of the lucky ones who will be back in the spring but he was really stressed while everything was in limbo.

The thing that really bothers me about the GM Oshawa thing is, GM took $11 billion from Canada as a bailout not too long ago, Canada meaning the tax payers like you and I, and they return the favour with moving to Mexico while the company is profitable and netting billions.

I hope the guys that have always bought GM think twice on their next vehicle purchase.

 

Edited December 21, 2019 by chris.brock

[AKRISONER]

8 hours ago, chris.brock said:

I'm one of the penalty minute leaders in my workplace. Lots of arguments, many suspensions, I was fired once but my girlfriend at the time, her Dad was a big boss and pulled some strings and got me back, lol.

I have a friend at GM, 3rd generation, divorced with a bunch of kids, he's one of the lucky ones who will be back in the spring but he was really stressed while everything was in limbo.

The thing that really bothers me about the GM Oshawa thing is, GM took $11 billion from Canada as a bailout not too long ago, Canada meaning the tax payers like you and I, and they return the favour with moving to Mexico while the company is profitable and netting billions.

I hope the guys that have always bought GM think twice on their next vehicle purchase.

 

Those bailouts came with the assumption that it’d be paid off by keeping Canadians employed and paying taxes...instead they took our money and shipped it off to Mexico.

[chris.brock]

38 minutes ago, AKRISONER said:

Those bailouts came with the assumption that it’d be paid off by keeping Canadians employed and paying taxes...instead they took our money and shipped it off to Mexico.

exactly, 

I know you're not happy with your Dodge, but I think you easily could have had bad luck with a Silverado or F150, Tundra or Titan too, it's a crap shoot, but these guys buying stuff from GM dealerships in and around Oshawa should actually be throwing Molotov cocktails through the front windows of the dealership instead of buying vehicles, our gov't sucks and is useless, all we've got left is our buying power, the GM dealerships around Oshawa should be dusting off cobwebs, but they're not, it's busy and business as usual, it's mind boggling