Whites Can "Never" know the Unique Struggle Blacks Face in America.. Jeremiah Wright was Right.

So I am scrolling through Youtube and come on one of Jeremiah Wrights Videos where he exclaims that Hillary Clinton doesn't know what it feels like to be a poor black man living in America. The comments from most of the posters who I presume are white are very telling. They immediately condemn the man. But Jeremiah Wright is right.

White people, especially white men, can never know what it feels like to face this country and indeed this world as a poor black person. As a poor black person we are at the bottom of society and always have been. Other races when they come to the United States pick up and adopt the racism of whites and they too start to become very prejudiced towards blacks. I have experienced this first hand myself.

Black people are at the mercy of many others in this life and that is one reason I firmly believe so many blacks become violent or give up partipating in corporate America. They say why even try. I really can't blame them. As a woman of color I too have seen and experienced lots of racism in this country. I know that if my word is ever called into question by whites it will automatically be assumed that I am a liar. Even though from working in Corporate America whites were some of the biggest liars.

Reverend Jeremiah Wright was right...

The Iphone Economy

Leave it to the New York Times to explain in a nutshell why our economy is not growing.. This is a very telling video.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/01/21/business/100000001299945/the-iphone-economy.html

Are Temporary Employment Agencies Shelters for Employer Abuses?

We are in a bad economy and that is undisputed. I, like so many others, have applied and worked for temporary employment agencies throughout my life. I have never, EVER, had a temporary or contract job that I liked.

I have had awful experiences and after speaking with various friends, they have equally had terrible experiences. In 2007, I worked through a temporary agency in a small southern city for a major company. I was a quick learner and soon I could do the work at a higher level than many others. However, soon after I started my manager started meeting me at the door with folders in hand requesting I complete work "off the clock" at home.  I completed two days of work without being paid and called up my temporary agency (which is a well known nationwide agency) and informed my recruiter I was having to do work off the clock. She crooned all the right things such as "this is not allowed, I will speak to them, I am so sorry"..blah, blah, blah..

Well, the next day at work my assignment was suddenly without explaination ended. I immediately knew. I was not a team player in the wage theft that was taking place. I regretted my move to call the agency "then". However, I am proud of my decision "now". If you allow yourself to be mistreated you will ALWAYS be mistreated.

I worked through a different temporary agency a little later in 2007 and to my horror half of my coworkers were underaged, in their early teenage years and some maybe 9 or 10 year olds, hispanics. The agency was hiring undocumentated and underaged hispanic immigrants.

The next temp agency I was hired at promised me one rate over the phone for an office position. I had a B.A. and years of office experience. This agency was owned by a hispanic man and nothing but hispanics worked in the office. When I made it to the office there were two hispanic women in front of me. They could barely speak English. I overheard the agent promise them a much higher pay rate for the same position than she gave me. I asked her why. She did not say. I stopped the two women on the way out of the building and they informed me that they did not have any office work and could not understand why why were being paid more. I went on my way and found another position. A year later I received a call from the State Capital. It was a bubbly female on the other end stating that she worked for the EEOC and that she was traveling with several other attorneys from the Capital to the small city I lived in to file suit on behalf of the black workers and she wanted to speak with me. She named the company in question as one of the companies she would be filing suit against...

I hung up with her and shook my head.. wow.. I guess there is a God.

And the stories go one and on. The bottom line is this. Temporary agencies LIE. So often. They are corrupt and simply want to keep the companies contract rather than stand on Principle.

Also, Temporary agencies LOWBALL workers and instead of workers going permanent they often simply choose to replace them and think about it. Why wouldn't they? As they are getting paid from a cut of the workers salary.

I remember when agencies use to get about $1 to $3 dollars from every hour a worker worked. However, now they are getting 7 and 8 and in the case of my last contract position about $14 dollars from every hour a person worked. It was a bad deal. All the way around. Also, when you look at the fact that temporary agencies are notorious for flat out LYING to the unemployment office to help deny benefits to eligible people I say avoid temp agencies completely. They are not worth your time.

Texas Coaches Employers To Deny Unemployment Benefits

This may seem hard to believe (wink), but the Great State of Texas has a page on the Texas Workforce Commission website that teaches and coaches employers on the finer points of being successful in preventing an employee from receiving unemployment benefits. The Texas Workforce Commission, commonly referred to as the "TWC", is the Texas State entity that controls and issues payments for unemployment benefits to individuals who have lost their job and has absolute statutory authority as provided by the State Legislature to approve or deny claims for unemployment benefits to individuals.

The Texas Workforce Commission publishes on their website a guide for employers that explains in great detail concepts such as winning processes for appeals, correct phraseology to prevail in appeal, pay reduction percentage amount to be successful against employee and a multitude of other strategies an employer should follow to prevailing against a former employees claim for unemployment benefits.

These employer coaching examples taken from the TWC website- 1. Examples of "Winning Testimony" and Examples of "Losing Testimony" for employers to utilize in their response to an employees claim for benefits. 2. "Most employers lose these cases by loosely using terms such as "inability", "incompetence", "never was able to do the work right", "made constant mistakes""... The link below is the Employer Guide I refer to - it is a long read - but really quite astonishing that the State of Texas should allow such a publication to exist.

http://www.twc.state.tx.us/news/efte/ui_law_the_claim_and_appeal_process.html

The unfortunate unemployed persons has no choice beyond the appeals process provided by the TWC where the guided and coached employer prevails but to turn to State District Court and bring a suit against the TWC decision. The average person who exhausts the appeals process provided by the TWC when denied payment for claims must have sufficient funds to file a suit in State District Court and of course, hire and attorney.

An unemployed person would not usually have the funds to proceed to a suite in Texas State District Court and would normally lose to the coached and well funded employer. It is a sobering reality to read and realize just how strongly the State of Texas attempts to keep its' boot on the neck of the employee while giving every tax break and incentive possible to employers - not forgetting to reassert the works of the diligent staff at the TWC making sure employers are not allowing unemployed Texans to receive unemployment benefits.

Oh yes, let's not forget the low comparable wages and worst health-care in the nation for Texas residents either. This must surely be another significant reason why Texas lures so many businesses to move shop from other states to our great state and why poverty is so high in our Great State

MY RESPONSE

First Off, Let me go ahead and post the link to this article which I read on Newsvine..

 It is http://cgwtexas.newsvine.com/_news/2010/08/09/4850410-texas-coaches-employers-to-deny-unemployment-benefits.

Now Here are my thoughts...

After Reading this article I was PHYSICALLY SICK. As a person who has recently applied for Unemployment Insurance in Dallas, I also saw the link on the TWC Website where it gives employers "advice" on what to say to deny unemployment benefits. I could not believe it when I first read it and I can't believe it now. I have had three jobs here in Texas. The first I worked at for almost two years. The other two were contract/temp positions where the employers treated the employees AWFUL.

I found that you have a lot of new startups in Texas where someone has come into a lot of money but they have no previous managerial experience so they run the company in weird ways where employees are mistreated, threatened, etc. At my last two jobs, the companies were constantly hiring and would go through the workforce every 7 months and simply terminate everyone. Managers and all. For anything. At both companies you could be a stellar employee today and tomorrow make one mistake and be fired.

Texas is an AWFUL state for people to work in. And the fact that the TWC which is the Texas Workforce Commission would willingly give employers advice on how best to "LIE" is so unfortunate I had one friend who had her assignment ended with a bank she was temping at. She showed up one day and her replacement was there. The bank manager informed her that the temp agency who had lied to her about her payrate to begin with simply would not compromise on how much they wanted per hour and this forced the bank to use another temp agency who charged them less. The woman who owned and ran the temp agency did not tell her she would be replaced, refused to accept her calls and did not mail out her check until my friend had to threaten to sue. Above it all the woman LIED to the unemployment office to deny benefits.

This state is fucking awful and I don't blame people for trying to game the fucking system any kind of way they can on welfare and section 8. This is unbelievable.

Why work hard when you will be treated like shit at the end of the day by a corrupt and crooked employer aided by the State of Texas to do their dirty work.