Reply #22: Great resposes

[Leonardo Da Biker]

and I agree, organizing is key. However I can't do that. I've been employed in my current job for more than three years now as a temp. I am just grateful to be working at all. Obviously the company has no intentions of ever hiring us all on permanently. As temps we can't organize because we don't work for the plant we are "assigned to", we work for a separate company, the temp agency. Every so often we get laid off when the company claims work is slow. We know better. The production schedule comes down quarterly from the main office (a large food plant, household name) to the various managers in the different depts, actually different companies. All under one big roof, five separate companies. They know exactly how much work there is and we produce food products that are constantly in demand, not like toys that have a boom and bust cycle. Their "lack of work" claim is preposterous. They've got it all devided up, production, warehousing, shipping. Firewalls I guess. None are union. The warehouse guys tried to go Teamsters but didn't make the cut. That played out for a year and over that time, one by one so may of them got fired for being late or other stuff. These of cuorse were the pro union guys the company had pegged as "yes" votes. In the end the company won out and after they finally had the vote and it was over with they cleaned house completely. All the current warehouse guys are new and the old crew is entirely replaced.
We temps get laid off periodically. I think it is because of labor laws but I'm not sure. As temps I think they would have to hire us on permanently after a certain amount of time so when that gets close they just dump us all and stop production for awhile. The worst was 7 weekd laid off year before last going into Christmas. The kids had a pretty damn skinny Christmas that year. I think they did that for two reasons, the temp thing and the annual state tax audit. They stopped production and let the warehouse stocks dwindle to near zero so they would have very little inventory on hand for the audit and pay less taxes. Then we got called back and were worked in hyper mode to fill the warehouse again but no overtime. Never any overtime. After a lay off we all get called back to work, probably under a brand new contract between the company and the temp agency with the counter set back to zero again. Where the hell are the unions? Why don't they fight this at the state level?
I would love to get a better job but the problem is if you want to work here in New York you pretty much have to take a temp job. All of the companies around here have gone temp. Nobody hires directly off the street anymore. I'm too old to work construction anymore but inthis economy there isn't much building going on anyway and I don't want to weld anymore either for the health risks. No welding jobs to be had anyway. Not limited to industrial jobs either, its everything, the whole range of employment, all temp to hire but many like me and my co workers just stay temps forever. I am making the same wages now as almost back to day one with these people more than three years ago. It went up 50 cents after I got 6 months in.