Monday, December 1, 2008

as good a day as any to whine ...

I think today is as good a day as any to whine about my employment situation.
As I've previously mentioned, I have a catastrophic back injury which prevented me from working as a registered nurse. Once my back situation was permanent and stationary (a worker's comp term for "you are as good as you are going to be"), I went back to college to earn a B.S. degree in public relations. You'd think that would be a job that someone with a bad back could do, and that a good writer would be in demand.
A couple of years later I returned to college to earn a B.A. in sport management, hoping to gain employment in the sports PR industry, and to add a bit of business and marketing knowledge.
Ha! Ha! Not in this area, especially if you are anglo.
I had been performing a the written PR needs of a community college district for over 2 1/2 years. At the time I was signed on as a contract worker, the chancellor and her assistant asked me to be patient, that they liked my work, and that once they were in a financial position to make the job full-time, it was mine. I'd have to interview of course, but that was a formality. The chancellor, a Latina, repeatedly said that I understood what that district needed and that she liked my work very much.
The full-time job was posted this time last year. I found out by accident. I applied and was granted an interview. I showed up for the interview with a 101-degree fever.
My references were never checked. Each person said they would have recommended me for the position, no doubt. It was one of those rare situations where a person—myself— could do every aspect of the job—writing, simple graphic design, and photography. I knew everyone at both colleges and would have been able to hit the ground running.
The job was given to a Latina who is not only less academically qualified, but who has been fired from several high-profile PR jobs because she cannot write.
Now this person is my "supervisor." And I am expected to help her transition into the job.
And I can prove no job discrimination happened at all.
Where are my rights? Do I expect the messiah to fix this? Heck no!
Anglo people had better watch their backsides during the messiah's rule. Unionization, affirmative action, and "politically-correct" hiring decisions will become the norm. And that sucks.

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