[AT] Contracting out services

[Larry Goss]

Now you went off and did it, Steve.  The big layoff at Sam's club was a main topic of conversation at coffee this afternoon.  My buddy, Rolla, said he thought the quality of their sample service would go down.  I said I think he's wrong.  Being an employee for the service company is probably a step up for them.  I think Rolla was feeling  anxious about the situation because he regularly wanders the aisles of Sam's Club at noon rather than buying a decent lunch for himself.  Being 87 years old and diabetic, he has no business grazing on their freebies.

Larry


----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve W." <falcon at telenet.net>
Date: Monday, January 25, 2010 15:08
Subject: Re: [AT] Spam> RE: Garden tractor???
To: Antique tractor email discussion group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>

> Indiana Robinson wrote:
>  >
> > Neat!!
> > I believe that the second picture is not pieces of chairs that were
> > being assembled hanging from the walls as it says. I believe those
> > were their working patterns... I have such things hanging in my
> > woodshop now. About any woodshop that ever does production has a
> > pattern rack or room.
> > Sure a lot of history in that  run of pictures. Kind of sad.
> > Just before I got married almost 47 years ago I worked in a 
> sometimes> old fashioned factory where we did a lot of precision 
> hand work and
> > used a lot of stiff fiber board patterns etc. This brings back 
> a lot
> > of memories, a few rather bad ones but most good. Other that the
> > prerequisite small handful of jerks, most of us got along 
> quite well
> > and since many of the departments were fairly quiet hand work 
> we were
> > able to visit as we worked most of the time. Generally 
> pleasantry was
> > encouraged and few of the managers were of the hotshot, "big 
> me" type.
> > My first job there was based just outside of the office door 
> inside of
> > the plant and I was low man on the pole. In that job I took orders
> > from everybody but the janitor... But, if the president of the 
> company> or any number of others in management came to that 
> plants office they
> > would all usually stop and chat with me. It was a low man job 
> but I
> > was more independent than most others in the company.  I 
> set most of
> > my own schedule and my work took me all over 3 factories. As 
> long as
> > my jobs got done no one ever questioned where I was and what I was
> > doing there.
> > While I was working at that plant things got really slow for 
> almost a
> > year (mid 1960's). The assistant plant manager would bring out a
> > piddly little job or two and say "better make this last all 
> day boys,
> > it"s all I have for you"...
> > At one point we ran clear out of work and they put a lot of 
> the guys
> > to cleaning up stuff, doing little repair stuff on the building,
> > anything to avoid laying anyone off. They put me at a bench in 
> a break
> > area and brought me every fan in the place (they allowed 
> people to
> > bring in their own fans for hot weather) (you could also have radios
> > of your own) and I spent several weeks tearing down, cleaning and
> > oiling fans. Some belonged to the company and some belonged to
> > employees. I also cleaned and greased a lot of machinery that 
> I had
> > never used. I cleaned up parts of that huge old 3 story 
> building that
> > had not been used in 50 years except for storage. Still I had 
> a job
> > every day and a paycheck every week. If they had laid me off 
> for a few
> > months I could have lost everything. I moved on to a white 
> shirt and
> > tie, very good paying, data processing center job in a computer
> > service bureau after about 5 years but I still have never forgotten
> > how those folks at that factory took care of me when the chips were
> > down. They didn't have to do it... They never laid off a soul. If
> > someone left they did not replace them at that time but nobody was
> > laid off. They were also in business during the great 
> depression and
> > they didn't lay off a single employee then either.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> 
> As much as people hate them the Wal~Mart warehouses are a lot 
> like that.
> If you show up and do your job and don't screw around they will REALLY
> stretch the rules to keep you there.
> 
> In this area of NY a good paying job is anything over 15 bucks 
> or so.
> The wife is currently at $18.00 plus benefits.
> She gets 3 weeks paid vacation, Deferred holidays, Paid personal time,
> Paid sick time, choice of 7 different insurance plans.
> 
> They also have Safety bonuses and employee bonuses as well.
> But those have now been altered so they get added into the employees
> check, they used to just hand you a check for the bonus and the Feds
> cried foul. They also gave out shirts, jackets and other items. Plus
> every year they hand out a turkey (you pick how big) for thanksgiving
> and Christmas. Plus hot dogs/burgers and buns for the fourth,
> watermelons and such during summer.
> 
> One big benefit that Wal~Mart gives to all employees and their spouses
> who last past 90 days is a 10% discount card. It covers all 
> items in the
> store except some food items.
> 
> 
> -- 
> Steve W.
> 
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