Shannon floated into work after spending the weekend with Heller.
The workweek had been an exercise in frustration. Heller worked ten or twelve hours most days. “Gotta make hay while the sun shines. This month I can get 72 hours a week. No guarantees about next month or next summer.”
Shannon lived on the east side of Haslett while Heller lived in Bluegrass Township. It was only 40 miles in a straight line but the only fast route took her over I-69 which looped north of Lansing. That stretch of freeway had to be some of the roughest of the entire interstate system. She had literally looked up at semi-drivers who were being pitched six-inches as they lurched from one slab to the next. The bucking-bronco effect was also accentuated by the short wheelbase of her small SUV.
The logistics of dating during the week were sucking the life-blood out of the relationship but then the weekend showed up and Heller took Saturday off.
It had been magical.
Ken Johnson was the branch manager and he seemed “off”. It wasn’t anything she could put a finger on.
Then, he told her he needed to meet with her at lunch.
His message was short and not-so-sweet. “You are being transferred to a new branch” Johnson said.
Ken Johnson was a handsome man. Movie-star handsome. He sent his shirts out to the cleaners and they were snowy-white and stiffly starched. Johnson was a firm believer in “You have to look sharp to BE sharp.”
Shelquia Washington had called him early in the morning and filled him in. O’Dell was being banished to the most remote branch of the Credit Union because a credible source informed management that O’Dell had been vocally racist. Washington did not inform Johnson that the source was not an employee of the Credit Union.
Washington informed Ken Johnson that not only was O’Dell being moved to Saranac but that a letter was entered into her personnel file “below the fold” which documented her infraction and would result in O’Dell being terminated without appeal if it happened again.
Ken Johnson tried to be fair. “Will she get reimbursed for relocation?”
Washington coolly informed him, “Saranac is less than fifty miles from your branch. Miss O’Dell does not qualify for reimbursement under company policy.”
Ken Johnson asked “When does this move take effect?” as he wondered how he was going to cover. O’Dell did more than pull her own weight.
“It becomes effective at 5:00PM when she walks out of your building. She is to report to Saranac at 8:30 in the morning for on-boarding” Washington informed him.
“Why so fast?” Ken Johnson wanted to know. Usually there was overlap so the new person could be trained.
“COMPANY POLICY, Mr Johnson” Washington’s voice was so frosty that Johnson would not have been surprised to see icicles form on his phone. “Think of the litigation exposure if we had another racist encounter when we already have information about the risk.”
“So why don’t we just terminate her?” Johnson pressed.
“Why don’t you do your job and let Human Resources do theirs?” Washington rebutted.
Then she hung up before Ken Johnson could ask any more questions.
Termination had been discussed but Ce’Diff thought that getting Shannon to quit on her own was far more elegant. For one thing, it greatly reduced the chance of wrongful-termination litigation and the slight possibility of “other factors” being unearthed.
Shannon was blindsided. Johnson wouldn’t or couldn’t tell her why she was being transferred. The best Johnson could offer was some lame excuse about “It is important to the Credit Union to develop every employee’s career. Your career will be stunted if you stay here longer and there are other employees who need the experience of working in your position at this branch to further develop their careers.”
Shannon knew she was being stone-walled. Normally, you could not get Ken Johnson to shut up, he liked the sound of his voice so much. Now his lips were zipped.
The workweek had been an exercise in frustration. Heller worked ten or twelve hours most days. “Gotta make hay while the sun shines. This month I can get 72 hours a week. No guarantees about next month or next summer.”
Shannon lived on the east side of Haslett while Heller lived in Bluegrass Township. It was only 40 miles in a straight line but the only fast route took her over I-69 which looped north of Lansing. That stretch of freeway had to be some of the roughest of the entire interstate system. She had literally looked up at semi-drivers who were being pitched six-inches as they lurched from one slab to the next. The bucking-bronco effect was also accentuated by the short wheelbase of her small SUV.
The logistics of dating during the week were sucking the life-blood out of the relationship but then the weekend showed up and Heller took Saturday off.
It had been magical.
Ken Johnson was the branch manager and he seemed “off”. It wasn’t anything she could put a finger on.
Then, he told her he needed to meet with her at lunch.
His message was short and not-so-sweet. “You are being transferred to a new branch” Johnson said.
Ken Johnson was a handsome man. Movie-star handsome. He sent his shirts out to the cleaners and they were snowy-white and stiffly starched. Johnson was a firm believer in “You have to look sharp to BE sharp.”
Shelquia Washington had called him early in the morning and filled him in. O’Dell was being banished to the most remote branch of the Credit Union because a credible source informed management that O’Dell had been vocally racist. Washington did not inform Johnson that the source was not an employee of the Credit Union.
Washington informed Ken Johnson that not only was O’Dell being moved to Saranac but that a letter was entered into her personnel file “below the fold” which documented her infraction and would result in O’Dell being terminated without appeal if it happened again.
Ken Johnson tried to be fair. “Will she get reimbursed for relocation?”
Washington coolly informed him, “Saranac is less than fifty miles from your branch. Miss O’Dell does not qualify for reimbursement under company policy.”
Ken Johnson asked “When does this move take effect?” as he wondered how he was going to cover. O’Dell did more than pull her own weight.
“It becomes effective at 5:00PM when she walks out of your building. She is to report to Saranac at 8:30 in the morning for on-boarding” Washington informed him.
“Why so fast?” Ken Johnson wanted to know. Usually there was overlap so the new person could be trained.
“COMPANY POLICY, Mr Johnson” Washington’s voice was so frosty that Johnson would not have been surprised to see icicles form on his phone. “Think of the litigation exposure if we had another racist encounter when we already have information about the risk.”
“So why don’t we just terminate her?” Johnson pressed.
“Why don’t you do your job and let Human Resources do theirs?” Washington rebutted.
Then she hung up before Ken Johnson could ask any more questions.
Termination had been discussed but Ce’Diff thought that getting Shannon to quit on her own was far more elegant. For one thing, it greatly reduced the chance of wrongful-termination litigation and the slight possibility of “other factors” being unearthed.
Shannon was blindsided. Johnson wouldn’t or couldn’t tell her why she was being transferred. The best Johnson could offer was some lame excuse about “It is important to the Credit Union to develop every employee’s career. Your career will be stunted if you stay here longer and there are other employees who need the experience of working in your position at this branch to further develop their careers.”
Shannon knew she was being stone-walled. Normally, you could not get Ken Johnson to shut up, he liked the sound of his voice so much. Now his lips were zipped.
She asked for the afternoon off and Johnson gave it to her. It was better to have her out of the building.
After she left, he blocked her card-access to his building. You could never be too careful.
After she left, he blocked her card-access to his building. You could never be too careful.
*
Shannon drove to the river-front walk, a sprawling, interconnected set of trails that totaled about twenty miles. She started walking. The whole story about “developing careers” had a false ring. The Credit Union had never shown an interest in developing her career in the six years she had been there.
The move sucked in every way. The traffic would be worse because she had to start earlier and the commute was at least forty-five miles farther than her current commute and it had the same rotten stretch of I-69 that the trip to Heller’s had.
She really didn’t have a firm idea of where Saranac was, just that it was closer to Grand Rapids than it was to Lansing/Haslett. She knew it had to be the most distant branch office and it was in exactly the worst direction for her...she would have to drill through Lansing traffic twice a day.
I don't have a good enough imagination to guess what will happen to old Ce'Diff, but I hope she suffers.
ReplyDeleteA most difficult situation to resolve well. Below the fold means they will carry on this war against Shannon into her next employment.
ReplyDeleteRevenge doesn't replace a good job.
Morbark (as often mentioned by CA over at Westernrifleshooters blog) is less than 100 miles north of Lansing
ReplyDeleteIt'd be a shame if she had a well-deserved encounter with one.
My buddy's mother makes fifty bucks per hour working on the computer (Personal Computer). She hasn’t had a job for a long, yet this month she earned $11,500 by working just on her computer for 9 hours every day.
ReplyDeleteApply the instructions on this site.. www.Payathome7.com
And this is why unions have a legitimate role. Of course, the union officials have to be on the up-and-up, and not captive to the company management or the same HR bullschitt.
ReplyDeleteERJ, I almost shudder to read these because they are so reflective of the real world (but it is very well written). This is precisely the way things would be handled, especially the "resignation" portion. Does Shannon have the option of hiring an employment lawyer and filing suit? Possibly, if she can get any idea of the root of the problem (or if the company violated internal policies by transferring her as they did). But that requires money and some evidence, and most people in fact have neither the time nor the ability to be patient for a suit.
ReplyDeleteI have been in a somewhat analogous position once and yes, the hiring manager has very little ability to change an HR decree.
The only way i see retibution is if her branch manager demands to see the file. And then makes a stink wjen jis productivity numbers collapse.
DeleteRoger
Now it gets interesting... So many options here, very few are good ones.
ReplyDeleteThe other side (ours) gains a member. As people that actually know what they are doing leave or are expelled the institutions will collapse that harbour the woke. Roger
ReplyDeleteIn other words, "Go woke, go broke".
DeleteI enjoy the blending of real geographic features into your stories. The westbound I-69, right lane on the northside of Lansing is accurately, and painfully described to someone who has traversed all the interstates and highways in Michigan over 30 years working a field service career.
ReplyDeleteIt is absolutely, without a doubt the worst piece of interstate in Michigan and has been since the day the concrete cured on that wretched piece of roadbed.
- Mike ER2 -
As they say over at Western Rifle Shooters, "The people doing this to you have names and addresses." Now if Shannon is able to figure out the who, some very interesting story lines become available.
ReplyDelete