Modern Day Slavery.

I drew the above ‘toon in 1997 but the message still applies in 2005. Even more so today for the fact that most of the American white collar work force is contract (or temporary) employees. I feel this is the 21st century’s version of slavery. Here is the basic setup; you are sold to an employer by the contract agency to work for no benefits, vacation, or even holidays. You work endless hours without a break. Sure there is over time but after taxes it hardly seems worth it. You work under a cloud of hope and uncertainty. On the one hand, you hope the employer likes your well enough to hire you as a full time employee. But on the other hand, your contract could end at a moments notice and you have bills to pay. At the same time your self esteem takes a nose dive because you can’t help but feel this way after a rejection of this proportion. You’re trapped and they know it.

Case in point, currently I work for a contract agency. Keep in mind I had just been laid off from my previous temporary job and this one came along no more than a week later. I was lured in by the promise of a long contract and a hefty paycheck. The experience has been anything short of frustrating and unprofessional since day one! My first encounter with this company was through one of their representatives who have all the brains of a piece of furniture. My appointment with her was scheduled for 8:30 am. She kept me waiting until 9:15 am and did not have most of the materials (or information) for me to start my new job. Like, where to go, what time to show up, what time to pick up my security badge, and who to contact once I get there. Hell, the woman couldn’t find a form she needed me to fill out that she created on her own hard drive! There are numerous other things I could say about this meeting but to put it in a nutshell, I did not have a warm fuzzy feeling about working for these people.

The first week passes and I await the arrival of my first paycheck. When I pull the paycheck out of its envelope I notice that it is a hand written check with no pay stub. Another thing that’s odd is it is not a check from my contract agency but another company I had never heard of. I immediately call my representative to see what the hell is going on! I get her voice mail. Figures! I refuse to cash the check until this matter is cleared up. Monday morning I receive a call, not from rep. at the agency but from another woman from the company that wrote me the check. By the way, she sounds just as bright as the first one…lucky me. This woman explained that me and two other temporary employees were, for the time being, under her company do to an un-merging of the two businesses. She went on to explain that we would be receiving hand written checks from her company until the matter was resolved. The whole situation sounded shady to me but like I said before I was trapped. Since it was a hand written check I asked the woman to send me a break down of taxes for my records. Which she did and I rolled with the situation I was in. What else could I do!?

Fast forward two weeks, to this past week when…are you ready for this? I didn’t get paid! Or at least I didn’t get a pay check. You heard me! Friday rolled around nothing! Saturday rolled around NOTHING! Needless to say I was fit to be tied! For all the stupidity, frustration, and deception I have endured in dealing with these monkeys now THIS happens! I was on the phone like a flash! I first called idiot who is supposed to send me my paycheck and left her a VERY stern message. Then I called the moron who got me into this mess and left her a polite yet FIRM message as well. I waited for one of them to call me back on Monday morning.

First thing Monday morning the phone rings. It was the checking writing mental giant calling to explain what happen and to apologize. Her basic explanation was this…..SHE FORGOT TO PAY US!!! I was stunned! I was almost speechless….almost. After she had told me that I proceeded to tactfully LET HER HAVE IT! I called the situation beyond ridiculous and incredibly frustrating. I also told her that if one more incident like this occurred I would move on to another agency. But I could tell it basically went in one ear and out the other because she knew I was trapped. And so did I.

I was telling this story to a friend of mine via e-mail in Boston; he came up with a fantastic idea! I should sub-contract someone to go to work for me. Pay someone $50 or $100 a week to go to work for me. This way I can stay at home and work on the career I want. Instead of taking a job I need and hate.

It has become a game of survival for the middle class. We keep fighting and hoping that one-day you’ll have stable employment, benefits, and maybe even a vacation. But with today’s economy nothing is guaranteed. So we dredge through the stupidity and put up with the crap because we have too. Hoping one day we will be released from the traps and set free.