2002 Story Set
| March 23, 2002 I had applied to unemployment once before in my 39-year career life. 1963-2002. It had been seven years ago and a wait in a long line accompanied with some of the others that had been RIFFed (Reduction in Work Force). It was party time. We waited, and waited, and talked, and waited, and finally turned in our paperwork and were filed. We would get a check. We would get a form. You send the form in on Sunday. I got one check. I sent in the first form. And they fell into a well. I was unable to get another check. They owed me six. I was back at work and 500 miles away from them so I let it drop. The local office was not helpful on the form. Later, they found that a mailman in Sacramento had been putting bags of mail into a storage locker. Hmmmm. Unemployment was, at that time, capped at $290. For a professional, this is a cruel joke. We pay and pay in the system, thinking that we have support, a safety net, like we had been told, but it is not there for us. $290 is less than 5% of what my salary had been. The cap now is $330. Still ridiculous. But my CPA said FILE IT. You can buy groceries with it. So in I went. I was "officially" terminated on March 20, 2002. I had vacation time (lots), two weeks notice and 11 weeks of salary, with one added month of insurance before I switch to COBRA. My son will have Medical and State disability until he is off chemo. I will roll out the stock option and the stock purchase shares to help keep me fluid for several months. This time, most co-workers who were hit in the RIF would be filing in Mountain View or Sunnyvale or Santa Clara. I live in Fremont. I must go in alone. There are blessings sometimes for living on the outskirts. The line was shorter. They now want you to "call it in" - except that the phone was so backed-up that the voice said do it later. It's a 10-day wait when you FAX it in. They have a website but I guess can't do it that way. So I got a form, after several of us said that the lines were full. (The phone actually hangs up on you.) This is new. I filled in about 98% of the form and then needed to ask a question. There was only one woman in the office capable of answering the question and she had gone to lunch. Considering that it was 2PM, probably was time. I stood and waited and waited. No line, just no answers. After about 30 minutes, they got someone else (rotating service at the counter). I was the head of a line by this time. I got the question answered (concerning severance pay), after they asked me if I would be taking training. In what? I teach! I may be taking a class just to meet people. I handed in the form that they would then fax for me. I have a receipt for the form. I will get, in 10-12 days, a check, and another form. They told me how to fill it in. They told me only mail it on Sunday or Monday. They told me to come in if I have a question. I got home by 2:30PM. I had also picked up two job leads while standing there. I get about one or two off the web daily, which is horrible for the line of work I am in. High-tech training, content development and documentation are the first to get axed and the last to build back up. And then they will be desperate to find people again. I expect it will take 6-9 months this time. So I will get a newspaper Thursday and find some temp agencies. I have the name of one right here in Fremont. Even Manpower has technical listings now. I will start sending resumes out that way next. I am so glad that I type, know lots of software packages and learn computer stuff fast. I may have a PhD in Computer Science, but I have always supported myself by being fast on the keyboard. Welcome to hte new millennium. |
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