The Venting Thread

[Parasaurolophus]

Update:

1.) HR squirreled my 11k away in some secret "banked" account I have to specifically request they pay out (but since I was never informed of it, that wasn't likely to happen). I apparently had some other money "banked" in there, too. So... basically, they secretly gave themselves an interest-free loan on my back.

2.) After a tense standoff with the union, HR will pay back what they stole from our August paycheques. Doing so, however, requires us to fill out a couple of new "professional development" forms backdated to May 2024 (?). It's also come out that even though the stated rationale for the theft is to pay for transitioning the start of the academic year from August 1 to September 1 (Fall classes always began in September; it's just that anything you taught in July/August counted half towards the previous year, half towards the following. Don't ask), they decided to steal from us--but only from "regular part time" employees, not "regular full time," "non-regular," or "sessional" employees. Basically, they paid me based on my commitment level (i.e. how many courses they commit to giving me, provided enrollments warrant it) rather than what I actually worked (which was more than a full-time load). (Note that the contract the administration signed with the union a few months ago explicitly prohibited anything like this.)

I just... I don't even understand. Surely somebody is skimming something somewhere? I hope so, because otherwise...

[Langue_doc]

The CPAP supplier has ramped up its pressure to get me to order supplies, despite the fact that only the doctor's office can do the ordering, and only after I've seen the doctor. Emails and phone messages on the landline and the cell on a daily basis starting last Friday. The old supplier that would harass me and then lie to me and the insurance company about the doctor's office not doing the proper paperwork has now started to call me and follow up the calls with an email from the phone company--subject heading "Call notify from xxx"-- to prove (don't know who needs such proof) that they did indeed call me. I blocked them from the cell, so thankfully no texts or phone calls. I'm getting ready to send a version of the cease and desist email to the current supplier that seems to think that I'm a recalcitrant employee that needs daily monitoring. Aargh!!!

[Parasaurolophus]

2.) After a tense standoff with the union, HR will pay back what they stole from our August paycheques. Doing so, however, requires us to fill out a couple of new "professional development" forms backdated to May 2024 (?). It's also come out that even though the stated rationale for the theft is to pay for transitioning the start of the academic year from August 1 to September 1 (Fall classes always began in September; it's just that anything you taught in July/August counted half towards the previous year, half towards the following. Don't ask), they decided to steal from us--but only from "regular part time" employees, not "regular full time," "non-regular," or "sessional" employees. Basically, they paid me based on my commitment level (i.e. how many courses they commit to giving me, provided enrollments warrant it) rather than what I actually worked (which was more than a full-time load). (Note that the contract the administration signed with the union a few months ago explicitly prohibited anything like this.)

HR just sent out an email saying they hadn't yet agreed to pay us back. And reminding us that when we fill out those forms (which they apparently haven't yet agreed to) we need to be careful to only declare real work done in good faith, otherwise that's time theft, which the university takes very seriously.

No word on how the university "takes" wage theft, however.


(Bizarrely, I have an unexplained payment from the university totalling roughly what was missing from my paycheque. But if they haven't yet agreed to do anything... what the hell?)

[Sea_Ice]

Maybe they realized that they were caught red-handed in failing to perform their legal obligation to pay you, and are now hoping that you'll fill out the newly-required paperwork wrong, so that they can get some of it back??

[Parasaurolophus]

Maybe they realized that they were caught red-handed in failing to perform their legal obligation to pay you, and are now hoping that you'll fill out the newly-required paperwork wrong, so that they can get some of it back??

It looks like something like that. But it's weird of them to disavow what the union told us they agreed to, and super weird that I have an unexplained $1k deposit.

[AmLitHist]

Maybe they realized that they were caught red-handed in failing to perform their legal obligation to pay you, and are now hoping that you'll fill out the newly-required paperwork wrong, so that they can get some of it back??

It looks like something like that. But it's weird of them to disavow what the union told us they agreed to, and super weird that I have an unexplained $1k deposit.

I know you already know this, but don't sign Sh*t unless your union leadership sees and OK's it first.

I've been watching my payroll like a hawk, and was concerned they'd screwed up my OL due tomorrow, since I didn't receive a notice as usual on Tuesday. I checked yesterday, and they did screw up:  put two of my full-semester classes as OL, and one of my late-start classes (which began this week) as regular load. At the end of the semester, it will all work out the same, but in effect, they're paying me in advance for one of the late-start classes (I'll have another second 8-weeks class, too). Nice for me, since that makes the mid-month OL paychecks bigger than if they'd divided them up correctly.

[AmLitHist]

Maybe they realized that they were caught red-handed in failing to perform their legal obligation to pay you, and are now hoping that you'll fill out the newly-required paperwork wrong, so that they can get some of it back??

It looks like something like that. But it's weird of them to disavow what the union told us they agreed to, and super weird that I have an unexplained $1k deposit.

I know you already know this, but don't sign sh*t unless your union leadership sees and OK's it first.

I've been watching my payroll like a hawk, and was concerned they'd screwed up my OL due tomorrow, since I didn't receive a notice as usual on Tuesday. I checked yesterday, and they did screw up:  put two of my full-semester classes as OL, and one of my late-start classes (which began this week) as regular load. At the end of the semester, it will all work out the same, but in effect, they're paying me in advance for one of the late-start classes (I'll have another second 8-weeks class, too). Nice for me, since that makes the mid-month OL paychecks bigger than if they'd divided them up correctly.

ETA today's vent: I've finally given in and made an urgent care appointment for this afternoon. What started as allergies 2+ weeks ago, then went away, now has turned into feeling like I have a bucket of water sloshing around in my head, plus periodic earache and swollen lymph nodes under my jaw. Likely a sinus infection brought on by the lack of rain (thus dust) for the past month, plus a bumper crop of ragweed and goldenrod. Ain't nobody got time for this, as they say.

[waterboy]

Hi,

Sorry to hear bout the sinus infection.  Please don't blame goldenrod as it's insect pollinated and does not cause any of the wind blown allergy issues that ragweed does.

[clean]

computer stopped charging last night. 
replaced the charger cable and it worked for a while.
Then it stopped.
So this morning I backed up everything, ordered a replacement computer as I figured i needed a spare *, mowed the yard (unrelated) and then called costco for warrantee help.  figured it was a loose port.
they needed a bunch of pictures.
SO I moved the laptop to a photogenic place, plugged it in and it is charging again!

I guess that I will get the charge up, take the pictures and wait for the return information. 

So it seems that computers are like teeth.  Go to the dentist and they stop hurting!

Hopefully it will charge and keep charging until Tuesday when my  new spare arrives! 

[Parasaurolophus]

computer stopped charging last night. 
replaced the charger cable and it worked for a while.
Then it stopped.
So this morning I backed up everything, ordered a replacement computer as I figured i needed a spare *, mowed the yard (unrelated) and then called costco for warrantee help.  figured it was a loose port.
they needed a bunch of pictures.
SO I moved the laptop to a photogenic place, plugged it in and it is charging again!

I guess that I will get the charge up, take the pictures and wait for the return information. 

So it seems that computers are like teeth.  Go to the dentist and they stop hurting!

Hopefully it will charge and keep charging until Tuesday when my  new spare arrives! 

My laptop's like this too, except it only charges while off now. In my case, it's that the port/motherboard interface is warped. So I'm just crossing my fingers for a while, since a new board costs almost as much as the laptop.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Not sure if this is a vent, maybe a minor gripe. One of our 25 year old 'dumb' tvs died, so we bought our FIRST 'smart' tv. Yes, our 1st!!! We're not Luddites or anything, we just like to use things until they fall apart and we can no longer fix them. Though, I may research fixing the tv, but I know the capacitors can discharge and be very, very dangerous.

[apl68]

After continuing bouts with occasional gnawing earaches, I went to an ENT to have a more thorough checkup.  Apart from a little wax in one ear, he found nothing.  Looks like it indeed maxillary trouble, as the local general practitioner had suspected.  And there's essentially nothing anybody can do about it.  Guess I'll just have to live with it.  I couldn't sleep well last night due to an attack of ear trouble.

I wasn't really surprised with the result.  I just wanted to be sure I'd done my due diligence by seeing a specialist.  After seeing the steep out-of-pocket expenses for it--from a specialist who was in-network, too!--I'm not doing that again.  I don't plan to see a specialist again unless there's a verified injury or reason to suspect a genuine existential threat.

[apl68]

Saturday morning, our building's air handler unit died on us for no apparent reason.  That means absolutely no air circulation, so no heat OR air.  On an October weekend when, for the first time I've ever seen, we had  highs in the 90s.  At least we had no groups scheduled to use our meeting room over the weekend.

This morning it's already stifling in the building.  The moderation of our temperatures to something more like seasonal norms this week will help, but we're also looking at fully sunny skies every day.  That's going to make it hot and sticky in here each afternoon until we can get this fixed.  I was only able to get it called in to our out-of-town service people this morning.  I'm just hoping it's not a worst-case scenario where a burned-out motor or control panel takes months to replace.

[RatGuy]

ICYMI: Dating in your 40s is still stupid.

[the_geneticist]

Why is it so hard to order anything??

I don't have access to [random number stuff], you do.  Can you please just fill it in for me?  Or, if I ask for table of [random number stuff], don't tell me that "oh, so-and-so can fill that in for you".  Why doesn't the purchase request go directly to that person?
Gah!