I saw Eddie again (for part 1 see "Eddie - I think I got his vote" Tuesday Oct 7 http://sharonforrep.blogspot.com/2014/10/eddie-i-think-i-got-his-vote.html). I gave him the name and number and suggested he contact Senator Mike Barrett's office for help with his EBT card. He went on to tell me another story.
Eddie has recently been let go from a local sort of fast food restaurant. Eddie worked for them for just under a year, during which time he never received a bad review. He completed many training modules during that time and learned most of the stations. He had been told he would receive a .25 pay raise for every three or so training modules he completed.
A month or so ago he was suspended for two weeks. When he came back to work he learned he was terminated. Eddie does not know why he was suspended or why he was terminated. In addition, he never received his incremental pay raises. When he confronted his manager about the pay raises she told him to document what they owe him. He did that and has still not received the pay. During the time Eddie worked at this establishment he worked in what I would describe as a hostile environment. He said he was yelled at and belittled with some frequency.
Now, I know there is more to this story but Eddie is not willing or able to tell me. What concerns me as much as anything is that on the surface it sounds as if Eddie is being taken advantage of. At a minimum, if we assume there was cause to let him go, if his story is at least somewhat accurate he should receive his back pay and he should not have to beg for it. He has all the data and told me he is owed, I don't remember the exact amount but it is several hundred dollars he has coming to him. He is going to email his documentation to me and I told him I will go with his to speak to the manager so we can get to the bottom of this.
Eddie also had a couple good stories for me. A few months ago the place he has been living in was sold, foreclosed on actually. He has been looking for another place to live and having a hard time finding a place he can afford. He recently found a place he thought he could handle but then realized with all the upfront costs it was a little bit out of his price range. Somehow, he got in touch with the person that bought his current place and was told there was $500 moving costs available to him once he secured a place to live. With the additional influx of money he is now in the process of moving to his new home. I don't know why whoever it was gave him the $500 but what a nice surprise for Eddie.
In addition, he has another job at a competing restaurant. He reported this new job is wonderful. He said it is calm, everyone knows what they need to do and has the tools to do it. He has not been yelled at once and if he doesn't understand something or makes a mistake instead of getting yelled at his boss comes over and calmly explains to him what he needs to do. I gave him a hug ad told him how happy he is to have all this great news.
Stay tuned for more on the EBT card and the back pay.
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