Dueling an agent of America's decay with the truth as your weapon is a rare treat in this world. Rarer still is when bullshit is vanquished by earnestness. Albeit a small battle, the culmination of this wage slave's recent cockfight with big business was a sublime finish to a story of close calls with murder and eviction. Countering the lies of a corporate gargantuan, I testified on my own behalf at a hearing to appeal the Texas Workforce Commission's decision to deny me unemployment benefits.
As detailed in my May 9 article, the road to confrontation began after midnight on May 3, when two masked robbers spiced up my nightly tedium at the convenience store I tended. I struggled to accept dying in an unbecoming polo uniform shirt. The armed gentleman demanded I "open the safe." This being impossible, I hoped he'd spare my $7.35-an-hour life in exchange for the contents of all three registers.
The .38-wielding thug was more magnanimous than my employer. As reported in my May 11 article, I was fired for having in excess of $300 for the robbers to pocket. My termination was unjust, considering that I was never trained to handle a robbery or instructed to keep only $30 in the store overnight. In fact, I was fastidiously trained with regard to receiving and stocking deliveries. The minor detail of preparing a new hire working the high-risk third shift for retail's worst case scenario was overlooked by management. Our cash handling habits were lax by corporate standards.
Had there been only $30 accessible to me as mandated by corporate, perhaps I would have been gunned down out of anger. Comically enough, upon arrival that morning, my store manager admonished me for not carrying a portable panic button in my apron. Let's analyze this ... reaching into my pocket and fumbling with some gizmo while a gun is being pointed at me. Cleaning up 160 pounds of blown-away employee off of surfaces and shelves surely costs the company more than a bloodless robbery. As I nodded my head, I couldn't help but glare at my boss like he was fool. I wonder how many cashiers have been killed by corporate "profit over lives" procedures.
I suppose the boss's inane ass-chewing was his special "thank you" for my working two hours late that morning. So ended my seventh and final shift in the convenience store business. I was told to stay home the following night, and fired by corporate two days later.
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