Agent Provocateur


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Main Entry: agent pro·vo·ca·teur Pronunciation: 'ä-"zhän-prO-"vä-k&-'t&r, 'A-j&nt- Function: noun Inflected Form(s): plural agents provocateurs /'ä-"zhän-prO-"vä-k&-'t&r, 'A-j&n(t)s-prO-/ Etymology: French, literally, provoking agent Date: 1877 : one employed to associate with suspected persons and by pretending sympathy with their aims to incite them to some incriminating action
I Smell Money...
12.04.03 (3:00 pm)   [edit]
Ok... I know...it’s been about 7 days since I posted an entry. Amazon.com has kept me so busy I haven’t been able to do anything but go home to Mom’s apartment, eat and fall into bed. Mom’s tree is up finally. I put it up while my cousin was here visiting from Ohio. I hate it when she comes. I suspect sticky fingers on that woman. I shouldn’t have to feel as if I must guard all my stuff and my mother’s stuff while she’s in the house. But that’s another blog entirely. The tree still lacks decorations but I hope to take care of that today/tonight. I plan to have the phone turned on today also. It’s very difficult to feed my journaling habits doing all my blogs on “word” then copying/pasting when I do manage to get to a P.C. It’s great to be back in Louisville, even if it is for only a day or so. Oh the joys of being among mature civilized people again...
[image]Provocateur_135276 9484.gif[/image]I took the job at Amazon.com with the understanding that it would be Saturday, Sunday and Monday only, 12 hours each day. Then I got the bombshell dropped on me in orientation that there would be an over-time day added. Mine was to be on Fridays. THEN they dropped another bomb as I was getting settled into my new job; I now had another overtime day. It was to be Tuesday. So now I’m working Friday through Tuesday 12.5 hours each day. Now I do need the money but gee, if I had known that this is what was going to happen I would have gone on and taken the Monday through Friday shift and had my weekends off. I guess I cannot complain. I was miserable unemployed and this job is very easy. I don’t have to think about a thing. Now hang on to your hats, because it may go south on me yet. Let me tell the story of a bitter old woman called “Bulldog”. Better still let me enter an excerpt from the complaint I lodged against her:

Complaint Notice (dated 12.01.03);
“Jeffrey has stated he had been warned about “Bulldog” (He doesn’t know her real name) during training to take her with “a grain of salt”. During the second break of the day he heard her make the comment “Oh my god have you heard him talk?” while in the break room and everyone at her table turned to look at him. On the 3rd break of the day when he walked into the break room she stated “Well there’s Sissy-boy!” At the end of the break he reported the incident to the area coordinator (Chari). He did state that he didn’t want to cause trouble.

[image]Provocateur_135276 9484.gif[/image]Now this was made to sound a bit more melodramatic than it actually occurred. I DID approach the area coordinator and asked to be moved to a different department. But it was done quietly and with dignity and maturity. At first, she stated that the only way one could be moved to another department was for health reasons. When she asked me why I wanted to be moved I had no choice to explain it to her. She became a bit alarmed and stated that the incident was sexual harassment and that she would email the proper people and see what could be done. Sexual harassment had not even crossed my mind! I just didn’t want to work in a hostile environment. I went back to work and the more I worked, the more I felt that it was time to see a lawyer. 6:30 finally came and I started to the break room. Chari handed me a note. I stopped and read it; it basically said that the e-mail had been sent requesting my move but she felt sure that they would want more information. I retorted with “Chari this is fine because after giving this some thought, I really don’t care and I will be seeking legal advice on this matter.” By this time I was at full boil. My rights had been stepped on. At first I kinda felt like a tattletale running to management about this. On the other hand, this “Bulldog” person had no qualms about yelling out these derogatory remarks directed at me in a packed break room, so why not share the joke with management? Or how about sharing the joke with a lawyer? Let’s just see how hard they laugh. Speaking of “Bulldog”... now I need it to be understood that I had no interaction with this woman at all. I don’t know why I was picked out from all the dykes and fairies that are already employed there. And to tell you the truth I really don’t give a shit. It was pretty clear to me that she ran the roost of Amazon.com. Even though she was in no kind of authoritative position, she still seemed to be the one in charge. I would be on break before this incident with me and I would hear her talking about other temps as if they were mindless trash. Her favorite word seems to be “Idiot”. I have noticed that if things aren’t done EXACTLY her way then she raises 99 kinds of hell.
[image]Provocateur_135276 9484.gif[/image]On the next day of work after 1st break Chari approached me and said to bring my scanner and my coat. I was to meet with her boss. This hit me like a ton of bricks. I was certain that I had just lost this job. “Oh well...ill find another...” I thought as we walked to the front break room. Then Chari surprised me. She stated that staff management was behind me and she was fighting hard for me. I was truly touched. Still mad as hell but I was moved by this show of support. We got to the main break area where I sat and talked with her boss. He was a very nice man who listened as I explained the incident and that I really didn’t want to cause trouble, and that all I wanted was to be moved quickly and quietly to another department. I had already been trained in a department called “Slam” and the people there are cool and they don’t have all this horseshit drama going on all the time. He listened and wrote down most everything I said. Then he tells me that since this “Bulldog” creature is actually an Amazon employee I have to go to their H.R. representative and explain it to her. At this point, having to explain all this yet again, I’m now at full boil again. But I remain calm and collected. We go to the H.R. office where I meet yet another woman. Unfortunately I cannot remember her name; it isn’t on any of the documentation that I have (I demanded copies of EVERYTHING that pertains to this matter). Again we sit down and I go through this shit once again. This lady was also very nice I explained to her that I came from a casino background and that I had spent much time and effort learning to treat people with respect and that I think I deserved the same. I went on to say that even though I had developed opinions about many people in the distribution center that they were unspoken, that anything I did outside the plant was MY business and no one else’s, that I was there to do a job not compete in a popularity contest and I asked her to explain to me why a middle-aged woman felt the need to call people names? I gave that kind of stuff up in 3rd grade! She really couldn’t give me a direct answer on that one and she asked me what I wanted. I told her that I didn’t want to cause trouble or make waves. I told her I didn’t care what she did with “Bulldog” but I wanted to move to “SLAM”. She complied with my request and stated that this “Bulldog” would be dealt with. I told her of my observations and wished her good luck but I really didn’t think she would be able to do anything about her. This took the woman aback a little bit; I guess I challenged her authority a bit. Anyway as I was leaving I reminded her that I would be seeking legal counsel about this only to learn of my options ECT. This also sent shockwaves through her but she maintained herself and told me she didn’t blame me. I thanked her and left. By this time it was lunch and I went to my new department after I ate. I was supposed to meet with the Staff Management head at my last break to sign a statement but I forgot to. So on 12.02 I went to see him on break and I signed the statement in italic above. With this, he gave me a copy of HIS findings:

Findings
“Jeffrey approached Chari at the latter part of his shift with a sexual harassment complaint. The complaint was forwarded to Amazon.com for their investigation as “Bulldog” is an Amazon associate. Jeffrey simply wants to move to a different department. When interviewing Jeffrey this is an emotional issue and he is visibly angered.”
Factual Determination
“Jeffrey believes he has been discriminated against due to his sexual orientation and has asked to be transferred to another department.”
Action Taken
“To alleviate the environment for Jeffrey, we have moved him from “Pick” to “Slam” effective immediately after we met with him.”

[image]Provocateur_135276 9484.gif[/image]So off I went. I’m much happier in “Slam” but I can’t help but wonder if I’m being scrutinized now. Am I gone the first time I mess up? I don’t know and I really doubt it. Amazon is very afraid of me right now. They know I have every intention of seeing a lawyer and I will not hesitate to litigate if there are any more comments thrown my way. I wasn’t very pleased with the statement “...due to his sexual orientation...” these people don’t know what I am; they only assume. There’s no one there I feel the need to “come out” to. But if it achieves the desired results, then I can live with it. I would have prefers “...Due to his alleged sexual orientation...”...oh well, can’t have everything I guess. And what exactly happened with “Bulldog”? I did ask and was pretty much told it wasn’t any of my business. And the man was right. It really isn’t. One thing I’m sure of; “Bulldog” has met a “Pit Bull” and I bite much harder. Even though I’m in an environment where I really know very few people I still have eyes and ears watching my back. Anything gets back to me and it’s Showtime! My friend Jamie has recommended
a attorney that specializes in this sort of thing. I’m hoping to see him today. And I may also contact the Fairness Committee to see if there’s anything they can do, although I doubt they can since that is a Jefferson County service. I really need all this shit at Christmas time. But who knows? Santa may come in the form of a big ol’ fat check. I wouldn’t mind a ‘04 Lincoln navigator and to have my return to college paid for out of the hide of a bitter old woman... Moving on to happier things....
[image]Provocateur_135276 9484.gif[/image]I finally got that damn table/chairs from “Tack-o-rama” delivered to Pearlie . I thought the ol gurl was gonna nag me to death til she got it. I looked at the dinette set that she HAD to have and all I could think was a line from “The Color Purple” when Miss Celie and Shug Avery meet for the first time; “That sho is ugly” HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA and “it’s STILL ugly”. Pearlie’s taste scares me sometimes. Speaking of Pearlie, I generated an invite code for him last evening. Oh, and Angela too.
And how was your week?

Merci Beaucoup...