Well Hell

: (

Sorry to hear this Caine. There's no bloody justice in it at all.

There never is. To lift from Terry Pratchett, there's no Justice, there's Just Us. ;) We'll get through, one way or another.

I don't doubt it! That's a marvellous picture of Rick BTW. : )

Terrible news. Hope it works out somehow.

That is crazy.

What is the company saying about pensions? what is the union position?
My thoughts are with you both ....

Oh yes and that is a great portrait of Rick :)

Thanks, Twiglet.

Thanks Taniwha and Nige.

Thanks, Maggie. The union is going to fight in regard to the pensions - people are looking at losing a whole lot of money. The company is pretending the pension plan didn't exist. They have no intention of paying out anything.

As it stands, once the move to Gwinner is complete, the workers who were laid off from the Gwinner plant will be hired back, and if there's room for anyone from the Bismarck plant, they can be hired on only if they give up their seniority and start at the bottom. That tells you all you need to know.

Don't see how the company can deny the existence of a pension plan, there must be records of employees playing into it ...

Oh, sure there are records. Doesn't mean they're going to pay. The union and union members can't afford to sustain a lawsuit, either. That's not exactly a secret. People who have been working at Melroe have been barely hanging on as it is - we've just managed to keep food on the table the last year.

Have you considered going down the 'Class Action' Route ......

Don't know yet, Maggie. The news just came down this morning.

Oh no Caine, not again! A pox on them all, collectively and individually!

Well, it will be the last time. Thanks, Factotum.

Oh no. I do hope the company don't get away with it.

Thanks, Cariadus. We'll see how things go. No one is expecting them to go well at this point however. We're all more than a bit jaded on this front.

I'm so sorry guys. Don's company has gone Chapter 11, and as part of the whole financial clusterfuckery they've blown the pensions away, which means he's got what's in there now but it won't grow at all. And it may still disappear, as may his job. SO we know how you all feel! *hugs* and vibes you lot, love you both!

Aw fuck, I'm so sorry that's happening to you too, Silar. Rick's job is gone for sure, we don't know about the other bits, like the money. I was telling Rick I'd bet they'll keep Gwinner open for a year, then close it. He thinks so too. They're looking to move the whole thing to Czechoslovakia or Scotland.

You and Don are in our thoughts. xxx

Oh so sorry to hear about this ....

Thanks, Viv.

True enough, George.

oh sh*t
If there is anything I can do...

Thanks, Dhamaka. We're okay. xxx

Maybe it's just your Moblog face, but you seem so calm about the whole thing. I mean, one can tell you're angry, but it's calm. Just reading this makes my blood boil. If I thought he'd come out of it safe, I would say to release Bruce on the bosses. (I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm studying Proletarian Literature of the (Last) Great Depression at the moment.)

My thoughts are with you.

Oh, I have plenty of emotions about the situation, but I tend to be of the 'quiet and lethal' type of temper. Unleashing Bruce isn't a bad idea, though. Only if I could unleash him directly down their pants though. ;)

Also, this really wasn't completely unexpected. After Ingersoll-Rand's hostile takeover, they completely trashed the business, then sold it to Doosan. Doosan gave it a shot, but the economic downturn is just too bad. There are no orders for Bobcats coming in, at least not enough to keep the Bismarck plant alive.

It's not just us. It's a couple thousand people. This is really going to hurt a lot of people, and ND isn't exactly brimming over with jobs as it stands. Right now, we need to pay attention to details, like spending money on zero clearance so we can get our wood stove installed before winter sets in, otherwise we won't make it - we can't afford to spend the normal amount of money on propane. I've got to do long term menu planning done, budgeting on the cheap for food, and so forth. The one bright spot - they won't be able to screw us over again. At least it will be over.

came to look because of the fine photo of Rick and now see the news....I am so sorry to hear you are going through this :-(

Oh dear God! Not Bruce, Nooooooo!

Thanks, Paintist. Eh, one more pothole in the road of life. We all hit them now and then.

Well, it would be suitable punishment, Twiglet. However, it would necessitate picking up Bruce, and that ain't gonna happen. ;)

"FUCK!"

That was Rick's exact reaction, Sprocket. It was mine too.

Just checking in. Platitudes won't help, I know, but I'm so sorry about this Caine & Rick.

They do help, Nige. It's not waving a magic wand, but it helps to know people care. Rick had to head back to work today after getting the news yesterday. He didn't feel very motivated, but there might be some news as to what the union plans and so forth. I think we'll both be glad when it is all finally over.

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear this. :(

Thanks, Spiderbaby.

This sucks.

I am currently sitting the other side of the fence taking some 20% of staff out of the company I work for.
I got threatened with being sacked last week for fighting for my staff in the way in which my firm is going about it.

Whilst I can understand a firm trying to survive it doesn't mean you have to stop remembering it is human beings with lives and families you are playing with...

The wood stove sounds a must - thinking ahead to winter must make it all even more daunting.

So wood collecting/cutting
more brewing... for starters!

I'm sorry you're experiencing this too, Eye_C. It's not fun from any side. The Mayor of Bismarck said some pretty stupid (and insensitive) things about the plant closing. He's all excited because the building is going to be put up for sale and he can hardly wait for the workers to get out. It doesn't seem to have occurred to him that if he wanted to attract industry, he could always build a damn building or industrial park, rather than wait for a business to fail. Dealing with useless people on top of everything else doesn't help.

Viv, yes an absolute must. I don't want to think about winter under the best of circumstances! Normally, we have to fill the propane tanks at least twice over winter, and that runs us in the neighbourhood of $1,200 to $1,600. So, wood stove, more electric heaters, we need to seal off the downstairs, get wood and absolutely start brewing! Beer helps. :D Rick found some wild hops this year, and collected enough for a small batch of 'Almont Wild'.

I'm so sorry. We've just been through this at work and it is nothing but pain (I've been in and out of a redundancy pool, but have been one of the fortunate ones). If there is anything I can do, please let me know.

Thank you so much, Euphro. We're fine at the moment; everything is up in air right now. The union meets with company reps on Wednesday to discuss pensions, severance packages, etc. Until then, we don't know if it will be worthwhile for Rick to stay on until the move is complete (December 31st is the projected date for completion).

I'm hoping with every fiber that we don't have to move. I really don't want to give up my house or Almont. In the meantime, it's Labor Day Weekend, so we're going to do some partying. :D

So sorry to read this Caine, are thoughts are with you and Rick and as others have said here if there is anything we can do please shout.

Great photo of Rick

Thanks, SLG. Everything is okay right now. :)

Thanks, Gael. We're pretty much taking it one day at a time.