Writing 'free' for our newspaper... what the hell?!?

I must be out of my mind because I'm both.

 

I'm actually in the middle of a labor complaint against a former employer. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

 

Years ago I had a friend who had a (non-journalism) job who was not a smoker. Pretty much everyone there smoked and they would take a smoke break every hour on the hour. The managers included. My friend tried to join them one day and called it a "fresh air" break. The managers said he couldn't do this. Of course, he didn't see how it was fair to not get a break every hour like everyone else just because he didn't smoke. Still, no luck.

You know what he did? He took up smoking just so he could go outside for 5 minutes every hour. Hilarious.

 

In a department that was mostly non-smokers, we used to joke about this all the time.
"Where's (smoker)?"
''On a break."
"Geez, I wish I could have a break."
"Then you better take up smoking."

 

And to think today, it's the smokers that are taking the beating by having to pay surcharges for their insurance.

 

I have heard a compelling case made that smokers are great for our economy. They start getting lethal smoking-related illnesses right around the age when they otherwise would tap the system for Social Security and Medicare, both of which they've been paying into for all the time leading up to that.

If you die from a personal habit around age 65, you're leaving all sorts of entitlements on the table that you partly paid for.

Doesn't even include the pensions not drawn for all those later years, a savings to the companies for which they worked.

 

I get paid for the few hours of overtime I usually have each week. If I didn't, I wouldn't work them.

 

YES! YES! YES!

I've been arguing this for about a dozen years.

Government acts like they want people to quit smoking. Yet between the states getting all of that tax money per pack and the smokers paying all of that tax revenue and dying of lung cancer in their 60s - before SS kicks in -- it's a boon for Social Security.

If there was no smoking, Social Security would have gone belly up 20-30 years ago.

So... is it any wonder our fine government is looking to do the same with fatty/sugary foods and the obesity problem?

 

Sounds like you guys watched CSI Miami last night. Plot was, this company took out life insurance policies on its employees, with the company as the beneficiary, then killed them off a couple years later.

 

Getting back on my OP (yes, I did hijack 2 posts back)...

After going out and filing another story (with pics!) on top of my broadcast work... it finally spewed out of me for all the newsroom to hear..

"This is so exciting! I never had an unpaid newspaper internship when I was in college and now I have one after 15 years in journalism! Yay!"

That went over like a fart in church.

 

Good for you exmediahack. There should be a mass rebellion for all this free work.

 

Not to threadjack (well, actually, I am), but how did the company get life insurance on its employees without the employees signing the forms? Or were the employees intimidated, or just dumb, to sign for the policy in which the company benefited from?

And good for you, exmediahack. If they're going to make you do unpaid work, make it as uncomfortable for them as you can.