Whoa! Didja get the numbers off that truck?!?

November 08, 2001 - 3:05 p.m.

Hey Joe, whattya know?

I went to a a St. Joseph The Worker meeting last night. It's a support group sponsored by a few Catholic Churches in the area. They provide a lot of good services for those of us poor schmucks that are victims of the Economy and Stupid Corporate Decision Makers. Plus it's another opportunity to network network network.

There had to be more than fifty people at this meeting. It's the biggest one in the area, probably because it's the original. A lot of these folks knew each other. I sure hope they know each other from the parish, and not because they come to these monthly meetings so much they're on a first name basis with everyone.

I even saw some fellow refugees from my former employer.

An old guy in his eighties got up and implored us to "pray" and "keep a sense of humor". I think he had comedy in mind for his speech, but it came out more like disjointed rambling. He was kinda funny actually; and I also appreciate a guy who would re-enter the workforce at age 78 because his wife wanted a bigger house. He's over 80 and still working. I'm betting he went back in because he was bored.

I saw my headhunter at the meeting, she's the one who suggested I go. I like my headhunter, she's got lots of contacts and has a lot of good information.

The one overwhelming impression on me last night was that there was a huge case for age discrimination based on the cross-section of the years of the folks in this room. An overwhelming majority of these guys were middle management types, and "program managers". When companies are growing, these are the guys the wise V.P.s put on the payroll to build their little empires. And when things turn to shit, they're the first ones expendable. They're also at risk of putting a load on the healthcare plan, so they whack 'em and stack 'em.

God Bless Corporate America.

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