My experience working for the Redskins

[Tom In VA]

Cool story Screw. RACK the BALLS man and the get up and go to move forward in your life.

I recently encountered an interesting situation - sort of like yours. The company for whom I worked as an IT dude - it was actually the company that handled the UNCF's IT needs - didn't pay me unused vacation time. I've worked the Federal Government and several private corporations before and always got paid unused vacation time when I left.

So I left, on good terms, the contract between my company and the UNCF was running out and the new one awarded to another (saying they could do the work with half the staff). Funny thing is, that is precisely what the company I worked for said back in 2005 when they won the contract - I was already at UNCF and I stayed when offered a job. The unpaid overtime, uncompensated comp time

Well I wasn't doing that this time around paid or unpaid, so I left. When I received my final paycheck I noticed my two weeks paid vacation I never got to take - because I was working unpaid overtime - wasn't included in the check. When I called.

"Virginia is a right to work state and we're not required to pay out unused vacation in Virginia". Now this corporation is based out of Texas. The servers were housed in our data centers in California (meaning all TWO of our server guys and router jockeys out there got paid both overtime and unused vacation). The funny thing was, the "unit" to which I was assigned was based out of MD - NOT a right to work state. BUT, I was ASSIGNED and SAT in Virginia.

It would cost too much for me to pursue it I guess.

So I comiserate with you and hope you don't get lost in a similar loophole.

[Katy]

A Elkhart County, Indiana. Anyone who knows anything about Northern Indiana knows Elkhart is a Triple-A shithole.

Amen. It was still a step up from Michigan City, Indiana.

[poptart]

Very sad post, S_M.

I felt bad for you, reading that.


No further comment at this time.

[SunCoastSooner]

Wow... I had a job for about 5 months in Pittsburgh working for the GOP before I was offered a position down here that my ex-wife pretty well forced me to take immediately. I would have taken it anyway but I would have liked to not have such an ultimatum about it. After my two years required apprenticeship I got my General Certification and within 6 months of that the guy who trained me and ran the firm announced he was going to semi-retire and that another guy was going to take his spot on a more permanent basis. A bunch of us decided our time there was complete. Two other guys and myself have ran our own firm now since 2004. Just moved into a brand new office in Destin though I spend little time there and mostly work from home. Working for yourself is the only way to ever live IMHO.

[jiminphilly]

Interesting read S-M.. I think I need to re-read that shit. Seems like you handled it the right way and glad you got the Feds involved.

[MiketheangrydrunkenCUfan]

Working in sports was great when I was in college. It was FUN. I got to cover my alma mater in football and hockey and got to go to basketball games during work. I got all-expenses paid trips to the 2004 MAC Championship in Cleveland (which WMU won) and Orlando for the Big Dance. I went to multiple CCHA Championships (which I paid myself). I got to cover high school games regularly when I was interning and stringing for the local Kalamazoo paper. But once I graduated and my living and career involved working Friday and Saturday nights, slaving at a desk in Elkhart and having those fun perks taken away from me, I knew it was time for a change.

Yeah, I soured on the whole sports writing thing pretty quickly, too. It's actually pretty easy, as far as writing goes. Anyone who has a decent understanding of the sport and a solid grasp on AP style could write a basic, inverted pyramid game recap. But as you said, the hours are just terrible, and unless you're lucky enough to be covering your favorite team, you're going to miss out on watching a lot of great games because you're writing about a shitty one.

Music writing is probably even less lucrative, and it's definitely more challenging, since you're dealing more with opinions, rather than simply reporting facts. But the perks (free concert tix, free CDs) are pretty decent, even at a freelance level, and you have a little more leeway in terms of what you want to cover. If Slayer and Lady Gaga are playing in town the same night, I know which one my editor is going to ask me to review...

[SunCoastSooner]

If Slayer and Lady Gaga are playing in town the same night, I know which one my editor is going to ask me to review...

Did you enjoy the Lady Gaga concert?

[Tom In VA]

The Redskins are a machine that crush any and everyone who comes in their way and they do it without a moment's hesitation.

Except on the field.

Well of course. Let it be mentioned that Snyder is pretty much a failure in business (except for Snyder Communcations, his empire that allowed him to purchase the Skins, which was built on JUNK MAIL) except for businesses he monopolies on, i.e. the Skins.

They were operating failures, meaning he couldn't run the business successfully, but they were financial successes for him in terms of making money on the enterprise when he sold it. Always turned a profit, according the Wiki I've read about him.

[Tom In VA]

Yeah. I don't know what I'm talking about. I think I got the idea reading something elsewhere implying his MO is to own something, "flip it" and make a profit.

It's clear he's been a bad owner for the Skins.