A comment on another post

I got the following in my e-mail and I think it ought to gone in the comments. I think it describes a lot more people in this City than most might expect. I do not necessarily agree with all points but I do agree with its general tone:

Perhaps the reason for not having more responses may having something to do with the large amount of people commuting elsewhere for living wage work, or forced to work two or more local jobs in order to make ends meet.

As a job counselor recently told me "its a tight job market out there now." What an understatement!

You stated: I have known people who expressed these views - some even expressing both views. From what I have seen, I am a bit surprised that anyone under 47 is making these kind of comments nowadays. I remember hearing it a long time ago. Usually from people who had a long history with General Motors or with my high school class - great plans to join General Motors. (did you forget, that's supposedly GENEROUS Motors?)

Well, guess what? I am 54 and yes, also a GM retiree! Let me tell you what a human resource director with a major manufacturing company in Indy once told me. "At job fairs, I will usually toss out any application/resume from a person who once worked for a major manufacturing company like GM, and or was a member of the UAW." "I've also talked to other recruiters at other companies who do the same at job fairs."

So, besides the age bias, I also have to contend with those two factors against my being hired. Oh, and I almost forgot "the lazy, dumb, uneducated, alcoholic, drug addicted redneck stigma still hangs around my neck like an albatross!"

I'm college educated, if only with 72 hours at Ball State and with an Associates degree in Liberal Arts. My major concentration was business administration, which included advertising, industrial manufacturing, sales training and computer usage. How I wish I had stayed at Anderson University in 1970 and finished my El Ed degree, rather than following my fathers footsteps into lifelong employment with GM!

Since retirement, I've held two positions, one at the Meridian street Pay Less as overnight stock help/customer service, and the other with the US Postal Service in Fishers as a Rural Carrier Associate trainee. Though I was the only one kept out of five new hires at Pay Less (because I was the only one willing to work!) once sales fell flat, I was laid off and not recalled. I now have a new found respect for the postal workers, as I discovered their job(s) aren't as easy as they would appear! The Fishers postmaster expected me to catch on with delivering mail much too soon for my ability. Besides, the regular carrier on that particular route did not finish until 3PM in the afternoon, so you can imagine how late I was staying out delivering mail! Anyway, after a few weeks I was told "they would have to let me go because I was too nervous," which I agreed with. So instead, I simply resigned, and that was it.

I am now looking into truck driving, and hope to find a company that wont require me to sign on for a year with them in exchange for the training. My desire is to drive locally or overnight, and not drive OTR long haul and be gone for days or weeks at a time.

I have several leads on that, and am in the process of following up on them.

Hopefully, something will eventually work out or a position will come along that I am truly interested in someday.