Today I was called "unemployable entitlement slime" for joining the Occupy Portland movement in Portland, Oregon even though I am college educated (though deeply in debt for it) with a solid employment history and have paid my taxes. I am not lazy. I am tired. I am part of the 99%.
Several years ago I worked for Blockbuster Inc, starting as a customer service rep and working my way up to management. I worked long hours and didn't make all that much above minimum wage. I would spend several hours a day on my feet with a half hour lunch break. I couldn't afford health insurance with my meager income. I remember having to show up, sick as a dog, out of fear of losing my job. Still, I loved watching movies and I enjoyed interacting with the customers and talking about movies. I know that a lot of people like to complain about customer service but I like to think that I was one of the good ones. Often we'd hear from "corporate" about changing this or that, but toward the end of my time there, things got progressively worse. I was moved from store to store, losing the fellowship and camaraderie of my co-workers with whom I'd built rapport. And I was told I was no longer permitted to interact with the customers outside of a nine step chart of talking points that had to be recited in order with no exceptions. I was told that if I did not comply that I would be replaced. I was accused of theft. I was eventually fired because 300 dollars turned up missing and as manager I was culpable. During my time at Blockbuster, John Antioch was CEO. He was eventually fired too for directing the company to bankruptcy. His severance package was 24.7 million dollars which is not even including his stock options. Sometimes I think about the missing 300 dollars that led to my termination and I think I know where it went. This is why I protest.
The last company that I worked for, Nautilus, used to have a lot of cash on hand and was debt free, but a new CEO named Gregg Hammann came in changed that, spending the company's money as if he were a drunken sailor. He moved us into a fancy new facility that was at least seven times larger, about half a million square feet of space. Really, our small company only took up about 70,000 square feet of that space but Mr. Hammann was determined to see us grow.
And so then they built millions of dollars of improvements on the property, including a softball field, outdoor basketball court and running track, flagpoles proudly displaying the flags of many countries, added a state of the art gym and an employee cafeteria catering to our nutrition needs. When the economy took a downturn, profits plunged. We could no longer afford the lease in our building and Hewlett-Packard moved in the building with us. They paved over some of the CEO's "investments" to create more parking lot space. Many of my friends were laid off, about half of the company's employees. The CEO left the company with millions of dollars. Big, fat 'effin golden parachute. In four years he got filthy rich, richer than he already was, and destroyed the livelihoods of hundreds of people. He nearly destroyed the company too and was rewarded handsomely for his failure. He was paid 3.5 million dollars a year with 4.8 million dollars in stock options. I led my team in sales and productivity and made under 20k a year. This is why I protest.
I remember the protests in Portland at the beginning of the Iraq invasion. I was there. The Burnside bridge was shut down due to the crowds. Eventually the police dispersed those who refused to leave. Sadly it did not change much. There are still thousands of our military personnel in Iraq. I would love to see the Occupy Wall Street movement succeed and bring about real change. I wonder how far the people in this movement are willing to go and how much they are willing to sacrifice. Something needs to change. I am not lazy. I am tired. I am part of the 99%.
