This is long. This is a rant about my workplace. While the story is specific to my employer, it’s actually more of a rant about rampant capitalism, of which my employer is highly adherent to. It is sort of a difficult post for me to write. I’ve been wrestling with myself for the last couple of days on the topic because I’ve felt I have no right to complain. After all, I have a job, I’m paid quite well, the work is easy and in a field I enjoy. There are people who do not have all, some, or even any of those. Why should I complain?
Let’s just cut to the situation, then break it apart from there. Friday morning we got an announcement that because of the pandemic and the resulting slowdown in business at the company, there were going to be some changes implemented. So far, this sounds like every other company dealing with COVID fallout. The changes include: pay cuts (15% for managers and up, 10% for everyone else), discontinuation of 401k matching, discontinuing anniversary bonuses, and discontinuation of PTO cashouts. Earlier in the year, when COVID began, the company announced a wage freeze, so no more raises until things turn around.
How did this affect me personally? I am considered maxed out on salary, so my raises have been trivial for the last few years. A wage freeze doesn’t hurt me too bad. However, a 10% pay cut, wiped out 6 years worth of raises for me. You can also take out 4% of my salary from the loss of the 401k match. The anniversary bonus is something nice to look forward to, and since my anniversary is in a couple of weeks, this stings a little more than usual.
I say again, why should I complain? It’s just money and even with the changes, I’m still probably in the top 10 highest paid people in the company. My finances are very stable. But to not complain is to accept and encourage that mentality that is choking and killing America – I got mine. Fuck you.
This is a family-owned company, and a couple of the family members/owners "work" there. Over the years, their involvement has dwindled as their age has also progressed. They are all very, very wealthy and surely want to spend their lives and their money in other ways.
As spokespeople for the company, the owners have always stressed how the employees are like extended family. However, when we have our annual layoffs, the remaining people are reassured that the company is financially strong. I get it. A company is not supposed to lose money; it wouldn’t survive like that. However, when times are lean and there is a choice to reduce profit or reduce headcount, the same decision is always made.
I say again, I get it. Money can come from a business in three ways: a salary, year-end profits, and the intrinsic value of the company itself. I would be on board if the decision to preserve profit was because the owners only income was the corporate profit. But it’s not. The owners have the intrinsic value, they have the annual profit, and they also all pull a salary from the company. They are triple-dipping and hoarding all the profits for themselves. They sacrifice others for their own gain.
Now, here’s the straw that broke my back with this last announcement. Two things actually. First was the mention of layoffs. The announcement rationalized that when volume was down, the company would lay people off. And why not? They’ve done it every year for at least four years. While they didn’t explicitly say we should be happy they didn’t resort to layoffs, mentioning it at all means it was considered.
So why wasn’t that the decision? Thanks to freedom-loving patriots out there (who I’m sure had to fight valiantly against the current administration), it is in public information that I was able to find out that our company received a PPP loan from the government in the amount of somewhere between 2 and 5 million dollars. A provision of taking that loan is that you do not lay off any workers. So layoffs weren’t an option, although it was still considered. However, there’s no restriction against cutting salary or benefits (research shows that this not uncommon).
If you know the PPP loan program, you know it’s not a loan. It’s forgivable as long as you abide by its rules. So, it’s free government money (it’s not socialism when it’s capitalism, right!). Our company got over 2 million dollars for free to pay for our salaries and our company instead cuts salaries. That improves the company’s profit, which goes to… the owners, exclusively. Hypothetically, lets say our business was down enough that we made no profit this year, we just broke even. With the PPP loan, payroll expenses drop by $2M+, profit becomes $2M+. And that is not enough for the owners. Fuck you, I’m getting mine.
I know business. I know how it can be used to fuck people. I saw it at my last job and I see it here. In my last job, there was a "final con" to fuck the employees and enrich the owner on his way out. While I’m not sure my previous employer actually got to execute his plan before I left, if my prediction for this company’s "final con" is correct, it’s already a done deal.
The owners are old and not involved in the business anymore. They want out. Business is down and has been down for quite some time. That is bad for the owners. When someone wants to buy a business, they want to see what return on investment they will get from it. If the company isn’t turning good profits, its value (the sale price) decreases. While anyone pitching the company is going to point out the glory years as what the company is capable of and will also hype the potential of the business when COVID ends, they still need to prove short-term viability and profit.
I’ve already told you the secret a few paragraphs ago. Reduce expenses, profit goes up. By cutting everyone’s salary and the 401k benefits and anniversary bonuses and the cash value of PTO, the company immediately looks better financially to a buyer. The buyer has no obligation to restore any of those things. For all they know, it’s always been that way. Maybe they would see in a prior year financial statement that expenses were much higher, but why should they care? The current and future financials say they’ll make good money.
Pause for a moment and absorb all that. Now, because I have to explicitly say this, if the company looks like it will be more profitable to a buyer, the company can be sold for more money. That money goes to… the owners, exclusively. The salary and benefit cuts remain.
Now, in closing. I do get it. This is business. Do not ever feel like your employer give one single shit about you or your life. Are there exceptions to this? Sure. But America is greed and selfishness personified. It’s going to take generations to turn this around if it even can be turned around. It’s not going to happen in my lifetime for sure. I really do empathize with the younger generations and what they are facing.
Where It’s Going
On: https://akcaggiano.com/2020/11/10/cruel-to-be-kind/
Usually, I use the Commentary category for news stories, but when I was writing a comment on this blog post, I decided I had more to say about the situation and making my own post might be more appropriate.
To summarize: After having been verbally, emotionally, and physically abused by the former president and his followers, we’re now asked to simply forgive and forget. The answer to both of those requests is "no." Anyone that didn’t see a problem with what has been done over the last years has a serious problem. Anyone that says the alternative would have be worse, or says that the president-elect is going to make it worse has a serious problem.
If we are not actually living in the "end times", which I’m not going to completely dismiss, a lot of people act as if there is nothing left to lose. For example, a see a lot of posts about gender or sexuality rights. And because "liberals" are coming into power, we’re all going to be homosexual now. Hyperbolic and hysterical, yes, but here’s the point. For some people, this is so important, that they would vote the incumbent back in solely because of that. There are other similar reasons people have for the same action. I’ll admit, there may be a case I would do something like that, but for a different cause.
The difference with me, and I would assume other rational people, is there is a level of risk/reward assessment. To get what you want, how much do you have to give up? And for these irrational people, it seems they would give up everyone’s everything for their one thing. And they would suffer for it as well, despite the win – a Pyrrhic victory. There’s no consideration to postpone that fight for 4 years and try again in better circumstances. It’s tunnel vision. Anyone who voted JoJo or Kayne, this is the one time to not be supporting 3rd party. This one is too important. But thank you anyway for pulling those votes.
Now, the point I really wanted to make in response to the post is: we’re nowhere near out of the woods on this.
There is a book from which I read an excerpt, and now there’s so many similar books there’s no way for me to find out which it was so I can link it, that discussed how Germany became Nazi Germany. I distilled the information from that into a single statement to commit to memory, "Hitler comes later."
The point of that warning is that in Germany, there was a pre-Nazi leader who sparked the nationalistic views of the people. He didn’t get very far, but the future Nazi party took note of how dedicated and passionate those supporters were. The party then turned it up to 11 and viola, Hitler.
So while there may currently seem to be a glimmer of hope that civility can return, this is the time to be even more vigilant (and god, I hate that word). I am certain the fanaticism has not gone unnoticed and can and will be exploited.
If I had to hazard a guess, it will be Jr. He’s young, charismatic, and carries the family name. He’s got a partner from the media that has been successfully grooming him for presentation. So far I haven’t heard of him speaking his own ideas, only parroting his father’s, but watch out if the tone changes and he starts instigating things himself.
We have 4 years to prepare for this. Do not forgive and do not forget.