Life has been so hectic since school started in September. It’s not just the kids and their busy schedules but more of a personal work issue….I hadn’t blogged about this as I wasn’t sure if it was something that ought to be said out loud…but figured this would be a good way to document the chaos in my life right now.
At the beginning of the school year (I’m a teacher), we found out that the owner of the school decided to sell 50% of his shares to another college that currently has a similar (but not as good) program as ours. One of the new owners keeps telling us that he really wanted our school because our program has a stellar reputation with all the industry leaders out there, and we are the only private school to articulate with some very well known and prestigious colleges and universities out there.
Anyways, on the second day I had a meeting with this person (I’ll call him D). D told me that he needed to cut 20% from my (and everyone’s) pay as the school wasn’t making money. He then asked me if it would affect my lifestyle. This meeting lasted a total of 10 minutes, and the only other thing he asked was what did I enjoy doing at the school.
Two weeks later, I found out from the other staff that our new contracts were out…they looked worried so I went to see what this was all about. WELL….I found out via a contract that I’ve been demoted (not unexpected since it was a merger but I would’ve assumed that someone would’ve told me in person), and that they cut my pay by 51+%, and my hours by 50%. Oh, and here’s the clincher, my status was now TEMPORARY, contract instructor….hmmmmmmmm…then I was told that my hours were cut drastically since I was only teaching 3 courses this semester. Um…hello? I was asked to teach less this semester so that I could devote more time in helping with the accreditation that we will be going through this semester as well as assist in the brand-new program we were developing.
So the next day, D comes up to me and says “oh you’re still smiling at me”..well duh…I’m in hospitality after all. And then he has the nerve to ask me “so are you with me?”. I was so angry that I royally told me off, including telling him that he was a coward since he didn’t have the nerve to tell me the news himself. I even asked him if he was Chinese since he didn’t seem to understand the meaning of “face”. Needless to say, it wasn’t a pleasant conversation. When I asked him about the reason for the demotion, he said that I didn’t want to work full-time, and at that, I replied “nobody asked me”. Then he said that I wasn’t willing to take on new duties, to which I replied “which new duties? I’ve only had one meeting with you which lasted 10 minutes and you made no mention of any of this”. So in the end he said that he made a mistake which really didn’t solve anything.
However, once I mentioned about going to see a lawyer did things change. I received a new revised contract with more hours and pretty much the same pay I’m receiving now though I’ll only be an instructor and not a manager (which is okay with me…I’m tired of all the work anyways…it isn’t worth the little bit of extra money sometimes). After much negotiation, we finally came to an agreement….
….and three weeks later, I’m still waiting for my contract. I’m really mad at the moment as he has now tried to change those criteria we had agreed upon (but it was verbal). So I’m waiting to see what happens as I’ve also asked a friend’s hubby to look at (he’s a former lawyer)…so do I stay or do I walk?
Why stay? My biggest reason for staying is that we are in the process of selling our house. If I don’t find a job right away, it will affect what we will qualify for in terms of a mortgage. Of course Wil doesn’t know or would he agree to this. He would rather stay here than have me at work presently. But I know he really loves this other house we found….
sigh…..if only we could win the lotto….LOL
Yes, you heard me right. 
