Jackass boss.

The BBQ Pit
21

My father used to work for a company that makes boxes, and I had it drilled into my head that the “cardboard” that you’re talking about is actually corrugated fiberboard. The stuff that cereal boxes are made of is actually cardboard. This is sort of like chefs talking about sauces and gravies, I know, but if I had to listen to it growing up, I’m gonna repeat it.

I lived with my grandparents for a couple of years when I was a teenager. Grandpa was depressed, Grandma was bipolar. Even when they weren’t having bad days, being around them was hell, not just for me, but for everyone they came across. Love can truly make us blind to our loved one’s faults.

Back on topic…I sure hope that Cody has told someone at work about the way Jerry is riding him. Ideally, he’s gone to HR and let them know about it and they have a record of it. Otherwise, it could go either way for him.

22

Cody was insubordinate, the fact that other people like him doesn’t change that fact nor that his boss is having a problem with him. You are only getting one side of the story it sounds like to me. You don’t know what problems the supervisor is perceiving, espcially if he is unmedicated bipolar. My company had the same type of point system… 5 1/2 to 6 points means he is having attendance issues he is a car breakdown and a bout of food poisoning away from being fired for attendance. So yeah this could affect his transfer but since it is only two weeks away probably not. Unles he screws up really badly (or if the supervisor is buddies with someone down in TX) he should be ok. He really needs to get the bipolar thing under control, it clearly isn’t since he had to take an unscheduled break to calm his nerves.

23

**peacenik tasmanian devil ** wrote

So here’s the thing: between the two of us, I have far more concern for Silver Serpentine and Cody (as evidenced through my advice) than you do. your advice is either to join the communists or damage the boss or fly away in a space ship or something, I couldn’t quite understand. But no matter, because it’s just stupid advice, and a stupid observation anyway.

Here are the facts:

  • Friend Silver Serpentine is moving to a new town
  • In said town, a job offer exists from Cody’s current company, but really only exists by the thinest definition of the word (no offer on paper, no position defined, no wage agreed upon)
  • In said town, an apartment is reserved for Silver Serpentine, but it is also hanging by a thin thread, requiring an employment letter for Cody.
  • Cody has not been well-liked by his boss lately. Who’s fault this is, I have no idea. Silver Serpentine swears that Cody is the best worker at his job, but she does mention his medical mental condition that he refuses to take medication for. And…
  • Cody very recently did a not-very-wise thing, telling a co-worker that if the boss decided to inspect his work, he’d walk off the job, then when the boss did, he did.
  • Others in management at the job also feel this was a dumb thing to do and penalized Cody in the matter.

So, as should be clear to most, Silver Serpentine is in serious danger of moving far away, and when she gets there, have no income and no place to stay. Perhaps these facts are irrelevant to you in your silly little space-alien world. But for Silver Serpentine, who strikes me as pretty rational, these facts should be paramount in her strategizing process. And I hope they lead her to take my advice seriously: straighten things out with Jerry. Even if he’s wrong.

24

Okay, I would understand Jerry being an asshole if any of the managers had a problem with Cody. See, he’s often worked both first and second shifts. In fact, for the past two months, he’s been working the second half of 2nd shift because that shift is incredibly short-staffed. This factory can typically only hold on to people for about 3 months before they quit, mostly because they don’t like to hire a full staff, so people who work there are over worked. Cody’s also worked into 1st shift to cover for people on vacations and such. So, he knows the entire management system. Jerry is the only boss he’s ever, EVER had a problem with. We know about half a dozen people who work/ed for this same factory, all of whom say, “Yeah, Jerry is a world-class ass.”

But, at this point, it’s all moot, because Jerry decided to fire him.

I fully realize that Cody did a very, very stupid thing. And now, so does he. I wish he would’ve listened to me beforehand. But no. Sigh.

I probably won’t be posting again for a while. We moved the moving date up to this weekend - we’re picking up the truck tomorrow, packing with speed, sleeping, and leaving. No reason to stay in this horrid little town any longer. I’m not gonna wait for him to get another job and another transfer. Fuck that.

Happily, my best friend in TX is letting us stay with her.

Cody’s been doing the online job hunt thing, and already has two interviews lined up for in Austin, so that’s good. He does very well in interviews.

What really pisses me off about this whole thing is that he personally knows 2 guys who’ve done far worse than he has - walking off without telling ANYONE. Who’ve kept their jobs. He knows another guy who’s racked up about 20 points, for no good reason, who still works there.

Wish us luck.

25

Lots of luck! :slight_smile:

26

Hang on a sec.

The company that has trained Cody on multiple jobs, has consistently told him what a great worker he is, has planned on moving him to at least two different locations to make their process better … that company has now fired him? Less than two weeks before he was scheduled to transfer?

Something stinks. Either Jerry has a hell of a lot more power than a run-of-the-mill shift manager, or Cody isn’t quite the model employee we’ve been led to believe, or the company doesn’t really understand what happened (in which case, Jerry is gonna have to answer some hard questions once the higher-ups figure it out).

Regardless, I hope this proves to you what earlier posters said. Cody needs medication. Period. This incident likely would not have happened if his mania wasn’t “acting up.” And there’s no guarantee something similar won’t happen in the future, unless he gets help.

27

Ok, that didn’t quite come out that great after re-reading and catching that he got fired! (sorry, I skimmed! Won’t happen again!)
Damn. I know that sucks. :frowning:
I really do wish you lots of luck with it and, as someone who’s been there, if you want to email me it’s in my profile.
You know that you are going to have to be the strong one. You haven’t mentioned yet if he’s going to get meds. If he’s like my husband, you had better set your watch 2 times a day and make sure he keeps with it. Even when he’s feeling better and feels that he doesn’t need them anymore, he does.
I’m not trying to scare you, I’m just speaking from experience.
I’m sending you all the good luck vibes I have right now for you two to deal with this.
I do mean lots of luck!