Being Loyal to Your Employer

Don’t deceive yourself - companies are not loyal to their employees, nor do they care about them.

On February 6, 2008, I was let go from a job I had worked at for six and a half years. I worked for General Dynamics who had a contract with the Citizenship and Immigration Service (government). I was a regular full-time employee. I won’t go into any details, but six people were released from their position - the letter releasing us said “Release Without Prejudice” (which means they can’t say anything bad about us.) Personally, we think that they just decided to “trim the fat” while they had the opportunity. I don’t blame them for that…I know that they are in the business of making money, so if they feel they are spending too much, then it is a good idea to cut back.

With all that said, let me tell you how they handled returning our items to us. My immediate manager, Robert S. Carey (Bob) of General Dynamics, called me on February 6, 2008, to tell me they were letting me go. At that time, I asked him when I could get my personal belongings…he said he would make arrangements. For the next 3 weeks, I called this man several times trying to make arrangements to get my things. He kept telling me he was working on it. In the meantime, I started a new job on February 19, 2008. I continued to call Bob to see when I could get my stuff.

Finally, on February 26, 2008, he told me I would be able to pick up my belongings from the guards at the guards’ shack at the work site on Friday, February, 29, 2008, after twelve noon. I explained to Bob that I now had a full-time job and that it would be difficult for me to pick up my items in the afternoon because typically the guards at the guards’ shack are no longer out there after 6 or 7 pm. He said he would see what he could arrange.

On Wednesday, I sent Bob an email reminding him that I needed to make arrangements because I now had a job - this is the email I sent:

Thought I would try this one more time.
FYI: Because I am working, I will have trouble getting to 4141 after noon on Friday. It would be closer to 7 or 8 pm, and typically, the guards are no longer at the shack.

I would like to make arrangements for either Saturday or Monday morning early to pick up my things. Please let me know.

And here is Bob’s reply sent on Thursday, February 28, 2008:

Your personal items will be available for pick-up at the guard shack at 4141 from Noon on Friday to 7:00pm.

Do you think he even read my email? I don’t think so!!!

I went ahead and made arrangements so I could get to the old work site by 7 pm. Several of my coworkers went up there together today at noon - and this is what one of them described to me:

“All of our stuff is dumped into old scanner boxes - it looks like they just dumped the drawers upside down into the boxes. The boxes are on a pallet at the main entrance of the parking lot where anyone coming by can pick them up and take them. They are not having us sign off on picking up our things – anyone can take our stuff. The guards didn’t even know what the stuff was and didn’t know we were coming.”

Needless to say, one of my co-workers went ahead and picked my stuff up for me.

So, I would think long and hard about giving your time and your devotion to your company. Don’t work through your lunch. Take your breaks. Go the extra mile? I don’t know…I did, and it didn’t get me anything at all. I have never been treated so badly in my life by an employer. Perhaps if I thought I had left on bad terms I might have understood, but I didn’t.

Guard yourself…especially against General Dynamics and it’s managers – especially Robert S. Carey (Bob).

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