July 6, 2007
Memphis Internal Revenue Service
Center COIC Unit
PO Box 30804, AMC
Memphis, TN 38130-0804
To Whom It May Concern:
I have enclosed a copy of my most recent paycheck, upon which I have cited the amount of money forcefully taken from me, by you.
I hereby request to have the total amount returned to me immediately. It is mine - it represents my time, my effort, my life. For the time being, I choose to forego all previous amounts taken from me, as I have not kept an adequate record of these amounts.
It is not often that one has the opportunity to confront those who have perpetrated armed robbery against him, so I thank you for committing this act so openly and making yourselves so easily available.
Please contact me at your earliest convenience to arrange the return of my stolen property (money).
Sincerely,
Joseph William Herrington III
joeyrose@gmail.com
310-961-0167
Friday, July 6, 2007
Just Here To Work
I am thinking of a particular day this past April.
It was while I was still working as a bartender at The Melting Pot in Pasadena, CA. Before each shift, and just prior to the restaurant being open for dinner, a meeting would be held. During the meeting, important new developments would be discussed, concerns would be addressed, and (very often) time would be wasted - I generally attended these meetings in silence. As I was excusing myself from this particular meeting, the Vice President of Operations asked, "Any words of wisdom for us before you go?"
I replied, "I'm just here to work."
I think of that line often, as of late. Each time I'm being interviewed by a prospective employer and am asked, "What makes you a good employee?" or "What would you bring to our organization?" my own words echo in my mind as a cry of exultant pride and futility at once.
I was able to remain an employee of The Melting Pot for another month following that meeting, before my work ethic became my undoing. It was in the second week of May that new labor laws from the state legislature of California went into effect. According to California Labor Code section 512(a) "An employer may not employ an employee for a work period of more than five hours per day without providing the employee with a meal period of not less than 30 minutes..." and as if explicitly dictating how any private business owner will run his operation (which is nothing new, I know) is not bad enough, the code goes on, "...except that if the total work period per day of the employee is no more than six hours, the meal period may be waived by mutual consent of both the employer and employee," implying that the breaks must not only be provided by the employer, but actually taken by the employee - if one works for any period of time longer than six hours (indeed, the state website even has a diagrammed breakdown, showing 6:01 as necessitating a mandatory 30 minute break).
If this seems absurd to you, I recommend looking it up. Nevertheless, after more than a century of the cancerous spread of the malevolence known as "labor laws," the members of state see nothing wrong with outright dictatorial legislation, and probably expect no opposition. I, however, will not be fooled into thinking that my rights exist at the say-so of lawmakers. I still consider it my right to choose when and if I will take a break, or when and if I will do anything else job-related. In this case, though, I anticipated (and was quickly assured) that I would be lonely in my stand, and I am now a broken egg in the state's latest omelet. I refused to take any breaks during the first weekend of the new law's enforcement, and for that I was fired. I have been unemployed and, as a corollary, homeless, for over a month now. I live in my van in Pasadena (where I am a student at Pasadena City College), and I search for a parking space each night that is somewhat level and will not bring me a ticket by morning, as the city of Pasadena requires a special permit for overnight parking, and attainment of the permit requires a residence in Pasadena.
I no longer wonder what makes this kind of thing possible - and I make no pleas of any kind, I understand that my situation is a result of my own choices - but this is really happening. We live in a world where the threat of force is supposed to be the motive power behind an individual's decision on how to do his job. "Take your break or face legal action," now has a place in the minds of all. I do not blame the owners of The Melting Pot, they are weak, this is a fight they haven't the stomach for. Nor do I intend to villify them, I did what I did with full knowledge of the possible consequences - I do not claim ignorance, only integrity.
I do not choose to sacrifice my best efforts, the possibility of a job well done, or any other part of self to any man (or body of men), whether or not they are irresponsible and vicious enough to think it proper to dictate what shall be done (and when) with my life, time, and effort. What I wanted was the freedom to do my job well, but this is merely one facet of a much bigger issue: that the use of force is never an appropriate way to deal with those who do not initiate its use. Unfortunately, the layers of vicious and misguided philosophy and law that must be peeled away before we reach a point where men accept, and the state operates, on a principle such as this are far too numerous for my incident to create any impact, in and of itself. Which means that until a significant number of self-respecting individuals protest these laws in their own way - as they should - the laws will get worse, the violations of individual rights more severe, and my own disobedience will continue until I wind up in court, or in jail, or in both - I've always considered the judicial branch of our government to be a more effective means of change than "letters to the senator."
In the meantime, in the name of the public good, and for the sake of the workers of the state of California, I live in a van in Pasadena, without employment. I have half a tank of gas left, some items in a storage space requiring a $166 rent payment by the end of the month, and about $11. I would like to remain a student at PCC - I consider my experience there (and the possibilities) to be a great value - we shall see.
If I do obtain employment again, I hope it is with someone who understands me when I say, "I'm just here to work."
It was while I was still working as a bartender at The Melting Pot in Pasadena, CA. Before each shift, and just prior to the restaurant being open for dinner, a meeting would be held. During the meeting, important new developments would be discussed, concerns would be addressed, and (very often) time would be wasted - I generally attended these meetings in silence. As I was excusing myself from this particular meeting, the Vice President of Operations asked, "Any words of wisdom for us before you go?"
I replied, "I'm just here to work."
I think of that line often, as of late. Each time I'm being interviewed by a prospective employer and am asked, "What makes you a good employee?" or "What would you bring to our organization?" my own words echo in my mind as a cry of exultant pride and futility at once.
I was able to remain an employee of The Melting Pot for another month following that meeting, before my work ethic became my undoing. It was in the second week of May that new labor laws from the state legislature of California went into effect. According to California Labor Code section 512(a) "An employer may not employ an employee for a work period of more than five hours per day without providing the employee with a meal period of not less than 30 minutes..." and as if explicitly dictating how any private business owner will run his operation (which is nothing new, I know) is not bad enough, the code goes on, "...except that if the total work period per day of the employee is no more than six hours, the meal period may be waived by mutual consent of both the employer and employee," implying that the breaks must not only be provided by the employer, but actually taken by the employee - if one works for any period of time longer than six hours (indeed, the state website even has a diagrammed breakdown, showing 6:01 as necessitating a mandatory 30 minute break).
If this seems absurd to you, I recommend looking it up. Nevertheless, after more than a century of the cancerous spread of the malevolence known as "labor laws," the members of state see nothing wrong with outright dictatorial legislation, and probably expect no opposition. I, however, will not be fooled into thinking that my rights exist at the say-so of lawmakers. I still consider it my right to choose when and if I will take a break, or when and if I will do anything else job-related. In this case, though, I anticipated (and was quickly assured) that I would be lonely in my stand, and I am now a broken egg in the state's latest omelet. I refused to take any breaks during the first weekend of the new law's enforcement, and for that I was fired. I have been unemployed and, as a corollary, homeless, for over a month now. I live in my van in Pasadena (where I am a student at Pasadena City College), and I search for a parking space each night that is somewhat level and will not bring me a ticket by morning, as the city of Pasadena requires a special permit for overnight parking, and attainment of the permit requires a residence in Pasadena.
I no longer wonder what makes this kind of thing possible - and I make no pleas of any kind, I understand that my situation is a result of my own choices - but this is really happening. We live in a world where the threat of force is supposed to be the motive power behind an individual's decision on how to do his job. "Take your break or face legal action," now has a place in the minds of all. I do not blame the owners of The Melting Pot, they are weak, this is a fight they haven't the stomach for. Nor do I intend to villify them, I did what I did with full knowledge of the possible consequences - I do not claim ignorance, only integrity.
I do not choose to sacrifice my best efforts, the possibility of a job well done, or any other part of self to any man (or body of men), whether or not they are irresponsible and vicious enough to think it proper to dictate what shall be done (and when) with my life, time, and effort. What I wanted was the freedom to do my job well, but this is merely one facet of a much bigger issue: that the use of force is never an appropriate way to deal with those who do not initiate its use. Unfortunately, the layers of vicious and misguided philosophy and law that must be peeled away before we reach a point where men accept, and the state operates, on a principle such as this are far too numerous for my incident to create any impact, in and of itself. Which means that until a significant number of self-respecting individuals protest these laws in their own way - as they should - the laws will get worse, the violations of individual rights more severe, and my own disobedience will continue until I wind up in court, or in jail, or in both - I've always considered the judicial branch of our government to be a more effective means of change than "letters to the senator."
In the meantime, in the name of the public good, and for the sake of the workers of the state of California, I live in a van in Pasadena, without employment. I have half a tank of gas left, some items in a storage space requiring a $166 rent payment by the end of the month, and about $11. I would like to remain a student at PCC - I consider my experience there (and the possibilities) to be a great value - we shall see.
If I do obtain employment again, I hope it is with someone who understands me when I say, "I'm just here to work."
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