Autism and Employment (another PennSilverTaco thread)!

When a resident dies of natural causes, it’s expected. However, recently a resident revealed to one of my coworkers that she had been hoarding pills and stated that she wanted to end her life.

My coworker (I don’t know who it was) didn’t know what to do, likely because they didn’t think the resident was serious. This led to me being greeted by my boss, AJ, with the following when I came into work one morning…

“Charlie, can you tell me what to do when a resident says they want to take their life?”

I’m like “Uh, get a nurse?”

I had been told on during orientation on my first day that we were not allowed to feed or touch residents, and that even if there was a non-emergency issue, we were to immediately get a nurse. My boss was satisfied with my response. He then asked me what I would do if a patient revealed that they had medication in their room; I once again responded “get a nurse”…

Within a couple days, all kitchen staff members were required to sign a statement that they would get a nurse if something like this happened again.

 

@6 gearT444E
@ABA180
@Bishop84
@ColoradoTJ
@Just_A_Guy
@Rock Lobster
@shakerhood
@Speedytech7
@steelcity2
@Steves104x4
@TnShooter

As of last Friday, we have a new part-time dishwasher! There are four of us, including me; I am one of two full-timers, and now we have two part-timers. This makes my job a hell of a lot easier, and the new guy is awesome.

However, this job is still getting to me; I haven't gotten confirmation back from Thompson regarding the valet attendant job, and I applied for some more jobs tonight. I still plan to give my two weeks on November 19th. This would make my last day on December 3rd, which would give me the paid day off on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. As I said before, Amanda and I both requested and got approved for time off on Election Day so we can volunteer at the polls, and that is also paid time off!

Anyway, I love who I work for and the majority those I work with. I did not get my first real job that I actually stayed at for several years until November or December of 2014, when I was 25 years old. I was able to avoid focusing getting a job because I was in college, and I had a job at Dunkin Donuts for all of three weeks in October 2013, before I got fed up and just quit.

This dishwashing job would have been perfect if I'd gotten it between the ages of 18 and 25, because it would have really allowed me to put some money away. I likely would have quit in 2020, because they would have made me wear a mask even staying in the kitchen all day...

However, now I'm 35. To be fair, the other full-time guy is 58. The two part-timers are 55 and 62, respectively. The 55-year old has a full-time job in addition to washing dishes part-time. The other full-time guy is married with grown children, and owns a home; I have a feeling that either his wife has a high-paying job, or they have a decent bit of money from somewhere. I have no idea how he has been doing this so long and has kept his sanity.

I took this job primarily because Amanda already worked there and it took of care of the commuting issue, thinking that maybe my old job at NAVMAR would become available again. It is now fairly obvious that will not be the case anytime soon; I need a job that can either (A) morph into a full-fledged career, or (B) get me through the winter without losing my sanity until I can find a job that can morph into full-fledged career!

It is also worth noting that Hanukkah starts on Christmas and ends on January 2nd; I work in a Jewish nursing home, which means that all Jewish holidays are taken very seriously, and food will be made for Christmas and Hanukkah. I work not only on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but the only two days off that I would have between the 24th and January 3rd are the 27th the 30th; I don't know if I'm spoiled or just incredibly lucky, but I've never worked on Christmas or Thanksgiving in my life. My plan for leaving this job will give me enough money until I find a new job.

I also honestly believe that this job is hampering my ability to find one in a timely manner; I work at the nursing home every other weekend, with the Monday before the Friday after off on the weekends that I do work. My shift is 12pm-8pm. I would be perfectly fine doing a job interview in the morning, but employers seem to prefer afternoon, and I had to wait over a week for the job interview at Fred Beans because of this.

 

@6 gearT444E
@ABA180
@ColoradoTJ
@Just_A_Guy
@shakerhood
@Speedytech7
@steelcity2
@Steves104x4

I was basically hired at UPS, but I turned down that specific job because they had me starting right away and I couldn’t give two weeks’ notice. After talking it over with my parents, I was told to give notice but say that whenever my new job started, I had to go because I just couldn’t turn out down another UPS job. The job that I begrudgingly turned down this morning was a part-time warehouse position. The job I have an orientation for on Monday is a full-time driver helper job, albeit seasonal/temporary one, that makes $21 per hour. As much as I love my bosses, I just can’t take this job anymore.

 

So while I was in school for hvac, I worked the same position with UPS. It was a blast. Requires high energy and being in a big brown truck for hours on end, but fun nonetheless. Just be prepared to be moving a lot.

I think I was paid $12 per hour in the fall/winter of '96. It was the highest paying job I had for a long time.

 

the whole two weeks notice is BS, companies call you a number not a name. I’d have left in 2 minutes for a shot at UPS. Nice Bennies and the pay is good.

 

I put in “two weeks” today, but made it clear to my bosses that I would more likely than not be gone before then; I can never have a job at Sodexo again, but I still leave on good terms and get to use Chris and Kevin as references.

 

@ABA180
@ColoradoTJ
@Just_A_Guy
@shakerhood
@Speedytech7
@steelcity2
@Steves104x4

I was hired and no longer have to report to UPS at the crack of dawn on Monday morning for orientation. It would also appear that I don't start until mid-November, which means I will work the full two weeks!

 

@ABA180
@Just_A_Guy
@shakerhood
@Speedytech7
@steelcity2
@Steves104x4
@TnShooter

The quasi-nightmare known as dishwashing hell ends tonight, and my orientation with UPS is tomorrow at 1PM! My ultimate plan is to apply for a permanent position at UPS, even if it is just part-time, because all of their entry-level positions seem to start at $21/hour and scrapping has become an excellent side hustle!

Things keep becoming more of a pain in the ass at the nursing home. The state is doing its yearly health inspection, but they just pop in unannounced and nobody knows when they are coming. There is a lot of stress in the kitchen as a result, and we are not allowed to keep our backpacks in the kitchen as a result; I got bitched out by the executive chef yesterday for accidentally leaving a half-full can of ginger ale in one of the walk-in refrigerators.

Something happened yesterday that really pissed me and Amanda the fuck off. One of the chefs is a 36-year old woman with two kids; I would classify her as an excellent employee who follows the rules. She has called out four times in the last nine months, all related to her kids including her son being in the hospital for a broken foot. Yesterday, she received a write-up for too many callouts in a certain period of time.

Even if I wasn’t starting a new job tomorrow, I would have put my two weeks in anyway after that bullshit. If they’re gonna write up a mother for taking off work to care for her children, what else are they gonna write people up for?!?!

The biggest motivating factor for me to leave was when I found out that Hanukkah starts at sundown on Christmas Day this year and ends on January 2nd. Yeah, so you’re gonna make me work Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s at a Jewish nursing home and Hanukkah runs Christmas until after New Year’s?!?! Yeah, NO!

Before taxes, I would normally earn $360 for three days of work at the nursing home. Since those three days are holidays, I would get paid time and a half for the whole day, which would amount to $540 before taxes. That is a difference of $180, less than what I can get for a complete 4-ton heat pump system.

A typical central A/C system or heat pump can be broken down in anywhere from an hour to three hours, depending on a number of factors, and then it takes about an hour total to drive the resulting scrap to Sullivan’s and deposit the money at my bank. So, not including the time spend driving to pick up the unit, that’s an anywhere from two to four hours. Depending on the size of the system and whether or not the outdoor unit has an aluminum or copper coil, a single complete system can bring anywhere from just $100 to more than $200. So, let’s see, $120-$200 for two to four hours spent cutting up an air-conditioner in my driveway or $180 to wash dishes in a nursing home kitchen for eight hours on Thanksgiving or Christmas…? I think the choice is obvious…

 

Getting written up, or the occurrence system, is for the companies benefit.
When you hire on, you agree to the company’s policies. Violate the policy, get written up.

Write ups are used for the company to prove they didn’t discriminately fire you.


They really don’t mean jack shit to the employee. All it means is, you will have a hard time filing for unemployment or suing the company “if” you are fired.

You’d be surprised how many people have write ups and occurrences. And have been at the same job for YEARS. If business slows down, and Johnny has a few write ups. Fire the shit out of him. Don’t lay him off so he can draw unemployment.

 

I get the impression that my bosses didn’t want to write up my coworker, and were only forced to due to company policy. There have been a lot of write-ups and terminations since I started working here at the end of June 2024, and I would say that the overwhelming majority of those were well-deserved. The cook’s write-up was NOT deserved in my opinion. Also, Pennsylvania is an at-will state so they can literally fire you for any reason. However, Sodexo is a French company with operations in pretty much every developed country, so you are right in that they are probably just covering their ass.

I guess I really didn’t know how lucky I was; Puck was an independent bar/restaurant. My boss, Sam, and I got into a few disagreements over the four years I worked there that resulted in her threatening to let me go but I don’t think people were ever written up.

I almost got written up at Fred Beans for oversleeping on a Saturday and coming in maybe half an hour late, but my boss decided not to.

At NAVMAR, my dad is one of the top guys and the President/CEO really likes me, so I got away with more shit there than I probably would have at other jobs. People did get written up at NAVMAR, however.

 

@Just_A_Guy
@shakerhood
@stbear
@steelcity2
@Steves104x4

I had my first day as a UPS driver helper on Tuesday! I was told that it would be 9am-5pm, but it is actually shifts ranging from three hours to six hours. It is $21 per hour, however, and beats the shit out of the nursing home job! If I can’t get a permanent position at UPS, this job will at least get me through the holiday season and allow me to save some money.

 

Nice!

 

Awesome, you might even have a little fun too.

 

Keep a box of dog treats in the cab next to the mace !

 

Very nice, bet it hits closer to 6 a day any day now.

 

I was with a different driver on Wednesday and he was in a very bad mood at first. Apparently the truck was loaded very sloppily at the warehouse, and that stressed him out. His son is also recovering from testicular cancer.

He mistook a glitch with the electronic scanner thing as me not knowing what I was doing. He also didn’t seem to realize that it was literally my second day on the job. He calmed down and apologized for his behavior, but I hope I don’t end up with him again.

 

Riding shotgun in a UPS truck and helping deliver packages beats the shit out of washing dishes in a nursing home. Hell, chopping up air-conditioners and getting paid under the table for the scrap metal beats the shit out of working that damned nursing house!

However, I got some constructive criticism for being a bit too slow my first two days on the job; I understand that speed is of the utmost importance when delivering packages, but I've only worked three days! It took me a while to get the hang of washing dishes in an efficient manner, and it certainly took more than three days to get the hang of barbacking and detailing cars! The driver I was with on my second day was a bit of a hothead and he was pissed about the disorganized manner in which the guy at the warehouse had loaded his truck. He also smoked in the truck, which was a bit unpleasant.

The driver I was with on my first day was easily the coolest one out of the three. However, he apparently thought that I wasn't quite fast enough, but couldn't be bothered to tell me about this and left me with the impression that I'd done great on my first day; I found out via text from the HR department two days later. The driver I was with on the second day (Wednesday) was immediately upset because "the other driver" mentioned to him that I was slow.

I worked on Tuesday and Wednesday, but not on Thursday, and I did work on Friday. The drivers on Wednesday and Thursday were very vocal about the fact that they didn't really need a helper and gave the impression that they were only taking a helper that early in the season because UPS wanted them to. The second driver I was with had been on the same route for a while and I overheard him complaining to a mailman on a similar route, who he obviously knew, about far behind he was; I don't know if he was complaining about me or the warehouse guy.

Also, the driver on the first day had no problem with me scanning the packages either in the truck or at the customer's front door. The driver on the second day was insistent that I scan the package while going from the truck to the customer's front door, and would get very upset if deviated from this way of doing things. The driver on the third day insisted on scanning the majority of the packages himself and then handing them to me.

The third driver told me that he wrestled in high school and college, and he was still one hell of an athlete. Numerous times I watched him from the truck to the house, and back again, at record speed; I tried to run, and he would express concern that I would fall and hurt myself, in spite of the fact that he'd said how important it was to be on time.

I am 100% gonna stick with the UPS job through the holiday season; Amanda is actively searching for a new job because she is even sicker of the nursing home than I was. I might apply for a permanent position at UPS, but new hires apparently have to start out part-time, and I would really rather have a full-time job. Don't get me wrong; I am certainly not complaining about the starting hourly wage at UPS ($21 per hour)! However, I make more per week earning $15-$18 per hour full-time than I do making $19-$21 per hour part-time, and as stated above I would really prefer to work 40 hours a week!

In the meantime, Amanda reimburses me for gas burned driving to doctor's appointments and job interviews, and she agreed to pay for my next oil change (due in less than 1,100 miles as of this post) in exchange for driving her up to the Poconos to get her stuff out of storage in October. I have paid the insurance on the truck, and I can pay for gas by scrapping stuff, so that's what I'm going to do if I find myself unemployed again!