Something's Rotten at the Planet

"Why so serious?"

Why am I writing this blog? Because I was just laid off from my job after putting up with over a year of emotional abuse and managerial stupidity. It should have been the coolest job in the world, working at one of the most famous comic book stores in the U.S. (Forbidden Planet), in one of the greatest cities in the world (New York, New York). It's that dream job you always hope for. But underneath the surface, something was extremely rotten at the Planet's core. Unfair, unethical and illegal labor practices abound. Worst of which was store manager Jeff Ayers' uncontrollable anger and manipulative behavior. To say that Mr. Ayers created a hostile work environment is an understatement. Yelling at employees, berating them, mocking them, screaming at them, slamming books and punching things in front of them is no way to run a business.

I'm so used to working shit jobs where no matter how hard you work they never appreciate anything you do. They expect you to put in two weeks notice when you're done eating the shit sandwiches they feed you every day, but when they no longer need you there's no warning, they just drag you into the back room at the end of your shift and say "hey guess what? you don't got no job!"

In the past when I was let go, wrongfully fired or forced to quit I would just sink into depression and blame myself, even if I knew deep down that the problem wasn't me but corporate greed, capitalist profiteering, petty authoritarianism and/or a total lack of workplace democracy. But this time I'm going to do something. I plan on fighting this.

It was mismanagement and poor decision making on the part of upper management that led to the current layoffs. Pure and simple. In the middle of a national economic crisis the geniuses who run the store decided on the expensive remodeling of the register stations, rather than, oh I don't know, letting us keep our jobs. Maybe we could have kept our jobs and even got raises for those of us who had been there over a year and had taken on a lot of extra responsibilities without so much as a "thank you."

But no, those god-awful fucking ugly register pods cost me my job.

Well, that and the fact that they just never liked me. I can say without a doubt it had nothing to with job performance. I worked hard and knew my shit, just ask my co-workers and customers. I took on many responsibilities such as coordinating subscription boxes, taking weekly cycle counts and assembling the new release wall every Tuesday night, even though I didn't get paid any more than anyone else (in fact I found out after the fact that I actually made less than others with less responsibilities).

The Whole time I workered there I tried to figure out why they didn't like me. Was it was because I'm a card carrying member of the IWW? Was it because they knew my girlfriend is unionizing the Starbucks across the park from F.P. thru the same union I'm a member of? Was it because they knew I was an anarchist? Was it because I complained about not getting paid for all hours worked? (they have a policy that we come in 15 minutes early but whether or not we get paid for it is up to the whims of the opening manager). Was it because I stood up for my fellow workers when they didn't get their breaks on time? Was it because I didn't react well to being talked down to? Was it because I just never fit into the boy's club? Maybe they could tell that I was not at all comfortable with the culture of misogyny and heterosexism that management itself perpetuates. Whatever it was, it was clear they didn't like me.