Slapped In The Face

Here I sit, hopes dashed, the pain of unshed tears in my eyes. I will not cry, I refuse. The people I work for aren't worth my tears. No, I haven't lost my job, just my hope for something better and in a way, my faith in the people I work for. I didn't have much of it, but I did have some.

They are now offering a health insurance to their employees. Employees who gross less than $350 a week are being offered this health insurance to the tune of $145.71 per week. No part of it to be paid for by the company.  They think it's a big deal, we're supposed to be grateful. Instead, I feel as if someone poured acid on my face.

What really floored me is that basic common sense should have told them that they don't have an employee that can afford this. Given that knowledge, what is this? What part of taking $600 a month away from their employees leaves them with nothing left to live on are they ignoring? But WAIT! There's MORE!

In addition to the cost of healthcare there is a dental plan for a few extra bucks a week. I was so shocked by the offer, I don't remember the amount requested for that. All I can see when I think about it is the $145.71 per week figure. There have been weeks when I have client cancellations for doctor appointments and clients in the hospital that I don't take home much more than a dollar or two over that figure. I don't work 30 hours a week, so I only make $8 an hour.

Depending on the number of hours one works, they pay $8 or $9 an hour for actual client work. Travel time is paid by the hour at $7.35. Due to the travel time they won't give anyone more than 36 hours of client time and seldom more than 90 minutes of travel. Total gross pay on that would be $335.03. Social security, Medicare, Fed tax, state tax, and state disability will take somewhere around $50.60 out of that depending on the number of dependents they claim. Once the insurance comes out, it will leave the employee with around $138 and change a week.

Average rent here? Around $550 a month not including utilities. Plus, most of us need a car to make that much money and that won't be possible if we sign up for the health insurance.

If they'd have offered to pay half of that, I actually would have taken more hours to bring myself up to the point where I would feel comfortable with that kind of deduction. After all, with Hubby's business being seasonal, I need to be bringing home enough to keep the roof over our head, the lights on and food in our stomachs. Along with keeping the car in gas. I can do that on what I'm making.

They wonder why the aides aren't falling all over themselves to give their all for the company. Somehow they don't grasp that in order to have the food stamps and the health insurance Medicaid provides, they can't make more money than they're being paid. Most of them have kids to look out for, without a living wage, they're doing the best they can.