Taking a stand... well, sort of

[Colton]

Having already endured two quarters of F days from out corporate "friends" of our parent company — not to mention being told with a week's notice that we must take another F day before Christmas (our Christmas Bone Us) — Dec. 21 is the deadline to submit the dates for our F days in the first quarter of 2010.

Along the top of the form we are required to fill out is the following sentence: "Request for days off"

Well, reading that sentence just makes me want to grab some of our corporate fat cats (you know them, the kind of people who fly into the airport in the corporate jet then rent a Camaro to make the 90-minute trek to our shop because nothing less expensive was available, of course) and put their heads in some paintshakers, turn it on the high setting and leave for a week or two.

So here's my question, colleagues: Since I will be crossing out the "Request for days off" header before I fill out and sign the form, what sentence should I put in its place? ???

Release the hounds (please).

 

[fishhack2009]

My vote is for "Request for For Non-Consensual Anal Sex."

 

[YGBFKM]

My advice on tact should be taken with a grain of salt, if not ignored altogether, but it can always come back to bite you by ****ing around with stuff like this. Unless you're leaving the business and know for sure you're not coming back, I'd let it go.

 

[Cousin Jeffrey]

They really rent a Camaro? Do they fly into 1985?

 

[Colton]

They really rent a Camaro? Do they fly into 1985?

Nope, it was a choice 2008 model.

 

[Fredrick]

Request for days I can dream of being a corporate butt kisser like the people who copied Gannett with this ridiculous furlough plan. That should do it.

 

[JackReacher]

My advice on tact should be taken with a grain of salt, if not ignored altogether, but it can always come back to bite you by ****ing around with stuff like this. Unless you're leaving the business and know for sure you're not coming back, I'd let it go.

If he's serious, I agree. But good Lord, I'm hoping he's joking.

That's just a terrible way to handle things.

If he's joking, I like fishhack's answer.

 

[deskslave]

'Acquiescence to forced poverty'

 

[Football_Bat]

They really rent a Camaro? Do they fly into 1985?

It even had "We Built This City" in the tape deck. (crossthread)

 

[crusoes]

How important is this battle?

 

[deskslave]

How important is this battle?

Not to speak on Colton's behalf, but given some of his previous posts, he's been lobbing grenades at CNHI higher-ups for a while now.

Put it this way: He's done worse than this and managed not to get fired.

 

[reformedhack]

If you're worried that the paper trail might backfire somehow on you, and that someone might dock your paid vacation time instead of crediting your forced unpaid vacation time -- which is a very real concern, I might add -- you can always make a notation somewhere on the form. Put an asterisk next to your date(s) and mark at the bottom of the form: "*-taken as unpaid furlough day" (or something like that).

Don't draw needless attention to yourself by crossing through the header on the form. Technically, you *are* requesting a day (or days) off ... just not under the conditions you'd prefer. But you certainly have the right to document the conditions you're given.

 

[novelist_wannabe]

They really rent a Camaro? Do they fly into 1985?

It even had "We Built This City" in the tape deck. (crossthread)

Eight track or cassette?

As for the form, well, I understand your sentiment, but they probably saved money by using an existing form instead of coming up with one that was more accurate/sensitive. Just let this one go. There are better ways to channel the energy from your pent-up frustrations.

 

[Colton]

You folks are on the money. All I'm going to do is put an X on the "request for days off" line and denote "furlough days" below it.

I'm not really looking for a fight. But I refuse to sign something that I know not to be accurate. I'm not "requesting" anything.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

You folks are on the money. All I'm going to do is put an X on the "request for days off" line and denote "furlough days" below it.

I'm not really looking for a fight. But I refuse to sign something that I know not to be accurate. I'm not "requesting" anything.

Yeah, do that. And if anyone asks, just tell them that you don't want to get mixed up with the furlough days and your paid vacation days. It's a little brownnosing, but it covers your ass.

 

[Stitch]

How passive agressive to cross out the top of form. That will show the corporate bigwigs.

 

[flexmaster33]

The best way to take a stand with furloughs is to do exactly what the company requests take the day off...it's unpaid and it's a vacation day off...no work. You don't work ahead to make up for the furlough...you just do as they ask and not show up for that day's work.

 

[Suicide Squeezer]

Is this is in reference to the CNHI forms (I'm guessing it is)? I've also been looking for a way around this. It feels like they're putting words in our mouths, and the exact legal mumbo jumbo words they need to cover the company's ass.

One guy in my shop got a little irate about the days being listed as "absent" on the forms they make us sign before we get the check/pay stubs. He flat out just crossed it out and a few more of us (including myself) began doing the same. No one's mentioned a word about it to us.

 

[albert77]

Last year, I piecemealed the furlough days across the quarter. This year, I just said, "screw it," and took a whole week off. And my first stop that Monday is the unemployment office to collect for the week I'm out.