Things are really changing around here. The title of this BLOG links to the INQIT Site, which, in turn has links to many of the top stories in Telecom that are progressing as we speak.
It looks like people are on the road forever. It is really strange the way they do things. On the one hand, it seems like they have no end of money to do whatever they want with it, and on the other they are getting tight as heck. It's sort of like having a Trust Fund, that let's you get your money out in a certain way. You have to learn how to ask for it and then, the sky is the limit. We had a guy here I am working with that wanted to go home for his kid's hockey tournament, so he asked for some "No Pay" days. He would have driven home on his own and they wouldn't have had to pay for any of it. They said, "No, we are not allowing any "No Pay" until your vacation is gone. So he took a week's vacation, they are paying him for that plus transfer money and four days to travel. They are footing the bill for the whole thing.
Another guy took the buy-out, went in to turn in his tools, pick up his severance pay and say, "Good-Bye!", they told him, "We got bad news...You're staying four more months. They need you in New York City." So he is there now. Today, they told him he is off roll on March 15. Go figure. They spent the money to send him out there and back in addition. It's crazy.
They are sending everybody who isn't either here or New York City to Portland, Ore. They are working 7 eights out there. Maybe I should tell them that's where I want to go. All I have to do is say the word, I am done in Ohio, and that is where I would go.
Some of the guys who have been sent on the road like that are going nuts. We'had about 8 of them in our Office, alone. I think they are intentionally going nuts to get out of going. They are calling it "Stress Related Disfunction" or something like that.
One guy, who I lived with, in his basement, before Donna and Josh came down and we bought the house in Coon Rapids, checked himself into the mental ward today. I imagine he has some freedom, since he checked himself in, but he has to stay in the hospital, supposedly, until they release him. He probably told them he is afraid he'll go "Postal" if he has to go to Portland. He has went postal before, so they would believe him in a flash, but he is trying to get 100% custody of his kids from his first marriage and this will but the Kabosh to that, for sure. In fact maybe their denial of that pushed him over the edge, along with the transfer. Who knows what goes on in someone's mind??
In another vein, The guy who has been my Supervisor down here says they are probably going to need him back in St Lewis and I may be working for the Supervisor whom I really was working for all along. He was just sent down here to help her out because she had so much going. She is just a young gal and really doesn't have the Moxy for some of what they are wanting her to do, but they are primarily trying to cut costs, so they are letting go the top paid people and keeping the ones with less experience.
In one sense, this is good news for me, as it will give us a great deal of control here as Installers. Since she doesn't know a thing about what we are doing, we will make the calls. What it amounts to, we will be doing the part of working Supervision, which is a direction they have wanted it to go. I have always been pretty much in that category, as they appreciate my experience and let me run things my way, but now about all I will be looking to Melissa for is to make sure they drop the materials at the next place. In fact, they might even give that to us, as well. I have to send her my time for the week, but she has no way of knowing how I am really spending my time, so she has to take my word for everything. I will order tools and supplies as needed and send her the bill. In fact, they may give me a credit card, and a cell phone. I have been racking up some bills already including 'Phone calls from the Motel, so I think I will ask her for a Cell, to "Cut Costs".
This is all a part of the way Lucent is doing business since the competition has gotten so fierce in the wake of the terrible decline post 9-11. All the little co-locaters we were installing have fallen by the wayside. Bigger companies are getting swallowed up by their little brothers, as you can see if you go to the INQIT Site I linked to in the Title Page, as I mentioned in my first paragraph.
Happy surfing all you Telecom BLOGgers.
2 comments:
These days when times are tough due to terrorism etc. we spend so much money on Safety, Insurance, and Security, that the normal everyday business suffers. People are having a hard time prioritizing regular expenditures. We have cutbacks in our regular budget so the local managers are responsible to manage their own expenses however they see fit. But when it comes to the business expenses at large there seems to be deeper pockets.
For example the State has been increasing the allowable mileage reimbursment to get people to drive their own cars. Because it's cheaper for the state to reimburse us than to own a vehicle that might just set there unused for long periods of time. Yet the local district wants us to drive our own vehicles because they take a smaller hit on their travel budget. State vehicles come out of the general fund, and mileage reimbursment comes out of the district level office budget.
So most operations get hamstrung do to needing to control certain costs on the local levels while trying to control other costs on the larger company levels.
Rawkneepee
Yes I too have seen this theology in action at the International terminals. They have been recently expanding as they are primarly run by the government non-profit. Now what this really means is that the profits are to be re-invested into the organization. Prior to 9-11 the expenses were seperated into the various funds for distribution accordingly. I will give an example here. One fund was the safety commitee and their primary objectives were to increase the safety awareness, there by reduceing accidents and reduceing the amount of workman's comp. simple right?
less accidents more money...but we are not to make money so then they increase the safety awards given to employs when a period of time has successfully been reached with no accidents...less money no profit...
whoop's now we further increased safety awareness.....blah blah blah
anywho this stuff all changed once 9-11 hit and they (congress) decided that we needed to increase the funding to home land security.
so now we cut back the awards for safe practices.. and put it to home land security... simple right(and remember this is only one source as an example)
so now the have built this brand new state of the art port police headquarters with a workout gym and shooting range. They have this new id badge system were all employee's must have both a vehicle id sticker and the personnel must have the home land securty badge at all times. plus staff more officers and conduct random searches of vehicles. install a device on all cranes that automatically detects radiation, and other bomb building supplies. These devices are installed at each gate and on the Railroad entrances as well. I mean to tell you it appears to be easier to get into fort knox.
BUT....WAIT.....A subcontractor is able to gain access to the base with a valid drivers liscense if he is aware of the name of the contractors that are currently working on the terminal? are you shitting me?
endless pockets in the one hand.. but nothing has really changed in the other... my two cents.
larry
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