So today at 11AM, I received notice of pending termination due to "non-compliance" with the "vaccine mandate" at my place of employment.
I was expecting this shoe to drop. The only question was when. It's one of the reasons posts here have been very sporadic. A little about me:
I've been employed, continuously, since 1995. I had one week without pay (not including furloughs) when I transitioned into this last job in 1999. Cumulatively I have 30 years of computer experience going back to the Apple computer (pre-Macintosh) and IBM PS2.
22 years at the same employer. No disciplinary issues ever. No negative performance evaluations ever. Created jobs for people who will be there after me. Programs I wrote run entire class programs (yes this is a university) and have been for 15 years.
Then the pandemic hit.
While I shared the early alarm, I quickly came to realize that something was very wrong. I didn't realize just how wrong things were. See, my mistake, which I discussed in an earlier post, was that I thought there were bright lines that nobody would cross. Lines that *could not* be crossed.
I was wrong and by the time I realized it, it was too late. The plans were being drawn up, the employees had been thoroughly scared and everybody was afraid to lose their jobs. So they all went along hoping the axe wouldn't fall on them. Some truly believed in the narrative too.
I the end though, bright lines were crossed without consequence. I have learned that I am surrounded by many petit tyrants. I am also surrounded by people who are scared to death of these petit tyrants. I am surrounded by people "just doing their jobs".
In the end though, 22 years of service and a flawless employee record meant shit. In the end me and my contributions, current and future, meant absolutely nothing to the admin members who "sat in judgment". They wanted control of my body or they wanted me gone.
Lesson? Nobody is indispensable. There is no loyalty.
One thing I have kept in mind is that there are a lot of people who are in worse situations than mine. Who have far. less prospects than I do. Honestly, I've had a pretty uneventful life up until now. But you know...variance. Ha. As I've said to people in regards to the pandemic: Everybody is going to get their turn. Hopefully it's not that bad.
So what's The Ghost going to do?
Honestly, I'm at a point where I don't want to work for anyone else ever again. I'd like to move to a "free state" but that would entail abandoning or dislocating someone who depends on me. I'm not good with doing the latter, particularly during the winter months.
Some of you are wondering about legal options. Yeah, I'm looking at that but there's a lot to consider. Is paying for a lawyer AND the costs of a court fight worth it? Could the time and money be better spent pursuing future "investments"? I'm not dealing with federal mandates, I'm dealing with a state mandate (none of which have had decisive decisions yet). I have a "unique" situation where I have no religious or medical reason to not take any shot hence my claim lies on conscientious objection which, in terms of the mandates is "new" ground. Say I prevail but not in the way of 'early retirement' levels of compensation. Do I really want to work for people who were willing to treat me like this? No.
So yeah, 30+ years of employment and The Ghost is facing termination for something completely unrelated to work performance. Only in Joe Biden's America.