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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2008 : 19:02:44 [Permalink]
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| I promise I'll be good now and go regularly. I don't want to temp fate anymore, especially if I have dental health insurance. |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
 Posted - 04/21/2008 : 16:53:15 [Permalink]
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Last week I attended a certification course in Digital Circuitry for my work. The certification exam is on Thursday.
Also, last week, the company I work for announced a layoff of 200 people at the plant where I work. We're currently ~650 employees. Half of us (including me) are employed under technical industry contract (as "blue-collar" employees, even though I'm an electronics engineer), and the other half are desk-jobs administration and desk-engineers.
Of the layoff, 165 of the 200 people will belong to my category of workers.
The focus of my plant is shifting from main production to industrialisation, reference production and development. The main production will be cut to less than half, but we get more (and newer products) to start up. Making improvements on existing products and stream-lining production capacity has been this manufacturing plant's greatest asset. While we've been fairly competitive compared to low salary countries like eastern Europe, there's not much room for improvements anymore and radical change had to be made.
This layoff and change in business will secure the long term existence of my workplace.
If I get to stay... that's another question.
I've survived two major layoffs before. I have more than 12 years of faithful service, and I have competence that is considered important. Labour laws in Sweden states that when there is a layoff, the rule is shortest time as an employee has to go first (with very few exceptions). This means that even if I'm more competent and more productive than a senior employee, I will have to go first, even if my employer wants to keep me.
Exceptions can be made though, by separating different areas of expertise and state that they are critical, and treating them separately according to the laws. They could sack people on an individual basis to preserve competence, however doing so is breaking the "law" and involves paying 1½-2 years worth of salary in fines for every single instance. If they are going to hand-pick people to stay, I feel confident I'll keep my job.
The years I've been here also make it fairly likely I get to stay. There is still some uncertainty though.
The local negotiations with the labour union has started, and the final list of who will be laid-off won't be ready until end of June at the earliest. Either way, most of the laid off people will be working until Christmas, perhaps as long as Easter next year.
Wish me luck on both passing the exam and keeping my job...
(actually, I'm pretty confident I'll pass the exam.  )
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2008 : 17:07:40 [Permalink]
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Good luck indeed, Mab. Where I worked, seniority was also the criterion for layoffs under the union contract. Though the company could decide which work groups were to be cut down in size, there were normally lateral transfers available, when such openings existed. And sometimes, as when I retired late in 1997, extra service credit was given to qualify older people for early retirement.
It's getting very tough to compete with the cheap-labor countries, now, though. I would have been let go far earlier, had it been possible to export my job (maintaining my company's minicomputers) to China. As it was, the company eventually contracted out my work to non-union maintenance companies. This was only possible due to the decades-long lessening of my union's power.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 04/21/2008 17:10:25 |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2008 : 18:16:10 [Permalink]
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I'm betting those roads are all that remain of some land scam, but I wouldn't have a guess as to specifics.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2008 : 18:57:24 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dave W.
Got anything more specific than that, Kil?
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Well, if there is something special about the grid in Arizona, no. I haven't a clue...
Perhaps I need to do more research.
Like I have time for this!
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Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2008 : 20:15:20 [Permalink]
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| So, we can rule out anything to do with Groom Lake and area 51? |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2008 : 21:15:41 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Kil
So, we can rule out anything to do with Groom Lake and area 51? |
Yes, Kil. That grid marks the scraped-out-of-the-desert main streets of the soon-to-be town of Golden Ridge, California. Or so the planners claim. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 05/13/2008 : 19:47:11 [Permalink]
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The last coffeebreak of the day (night) at work, I was playing Texas Holdem with my coworkers. In the last game, when the last card is turned up, three of my coworkers are sitting with Full House, deuces (on the table) over eights. I'm sitting with the last deuce... 
It's fun to play. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2008 : 10:30:55 [Permalink]
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Ever since my busted hip joint was starting to bug me some 5 years ago, my motorcycling has been declining a little year by year. Two years ago, I gave up riding all together.
It's been standing in the condo garage. Last spring, I discovered I had forgot to unplug the battery, and just as any lead-acid battery it went irrevocably broken. Lead-acid batteries need to be maintained...
Anyway, last week I got a notice from the condo that they were going to scrub the garage floor this week, so the garage had to be cleared out. The slope down to the garage is way too steep to push the bike out of it, so I had to consider other options. My bike's electrical system does not work well without a battery (the current from the alternator needs to be stabilised) and I don't have a capacitor large enough.
Eventually, I decided to invest in a new battery. Got it this Monday afternoon, charged it a bit more than it already was and installed it. I set the fuel-valve to Prime for a minute. Normally, it takes the bike a while to get going after a half-year of non-use, even after 10-15 minutes of priming. This time, it started within 2 seconds! Just as if the bike was restless, anxious and eager to get taken for a ride.
Damn! I want to take it out for a spin!
However, before I can, I need insurance, to re-register the bike to the authorities, and have it taken to the safety-inspection facilities for an "OK".
Insurance last time I had it was $1200 US/year.
Re-registering the bike is loose change by comparison, and the same goes for the tax. Time for the safety inspection could be tricky though.
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
 Posted - 06/10/2008 : 15:57:49 [Permalink]
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Breaking news:
I get to keep my job!  Just had a chat with my supervisor, and the word is out. I feel a bit sad and bad though, because some of my coworkers who will be laied off have worked here 8 years longer than me. They just didn't have any electronics specialization.
Also, I registered my bike, insured it, and managed to get time for a safety-inspection in the morning, at 8am. I'll have to stay up a while longer than usual, but that's not a problem for me. These last few weeks, I've been up until then anyhow watching an episode or two of Babylon5 before going to bed. 
I'm very eager to get my bike out.
A pic of it is in my profile.
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 06/10/2008 : 16:09:34 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dr. Mabuse
Breaking news:
I get to keep my job! Just had a chat with my supervisor, and the word is out. I feel a bit sad and bad though, because some of my coworkers who will be laied off have worked here 8 years longer than me. They just didn't have any electronics specialization.
Also, I registered my bike, insured it, and managed to get time for a safety-inspection in the morning, at 8am. I'll have to stay up a while longer than usual, but that's not a problem for me. These last few weeks, I've been up until then anyhow watching an episode or two of Babylon5 before going to bed.
I'm very eager to get my bike out.
A pic of it is in my profile.
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Congratulations Mab!!! |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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The water cooler, part 3
