All Grown Up and Taking on the World

Back in April, I wrote about how the kid was taking on her first conventional job, after years of dabbling in creative and freelance industries. I wasn't sure what to expect, and was a little surprised when she liked the job and seemed to have no difficulty showing up on someone else's schedule. That came as a big relief to the woman who had joyfully given her a life without clocks or calendars, but sometimes worried about how she'd adapt if she ever had to punch a time clock.

The answer was "without a hitch."

For the first couple of months.

Then, one day, it emerged that the new cashiers were being paid more than the experienced cashiers who were training them. One or more of the experienced cashiers objected. Tori had nothing to do with those conversations. However, when the assistant manager went around telling people they could be fired for discussing their wages and all of the other cashiers nodded and promised not to do it anymore, Tori said, "I think that's illegal."

Then, she looked into it.

Then, she told the other cashiers that the National Labor Relations Act said they couldn't be prohibited from talking about their wages.

Then, she brought in a printout to show them.

Then, she got fired. Or invited to quit, depending on who you ask.

I'm not going to go into detail about everything that unfolded that 4th of July weekend, though it was comical enough to have been a parody YouTube video or a "what not to do" instructional for managers. (If you know me personally, ask about this, especially if you're in the legal profession. It's laugh out loud funny.)

Suffice to say that Tori celebrated Independence Day by filing a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. Both the gentleman who originally took her call and the lady to whom her case was assigned also laughed out loud.

If you're reading this blog, you probably know that in addition to a lot of smarts and talents and a very large heart, my kid has a fairly serious anxiety disorder. When she first contacted the NLRB, I explained what she could expect and asked whether she was sure she wanted to take it on. She said she thought she had to, because had what happened to her happened to any other employee in the store, they wouldn't have known it was wrong.

And then she just went ahead and did it. She made the call. She filed the paperwork. She went to Peoria and did a two-hour interview and signed an affidavit, and when the corporate human resources department reached out three different times with offers of reinstatement and back pay, she continued to insist that they advise the other employees that they'd been given incorrect information and had a right to talk about their wages.

Toasting the signing of the settlement agreement with
chocolate milk in our Big R beer cozies.

Ultimately, she prevailed. The NLRB required the company to post information about the violation and the employees' rights. The company agreed to pay Tori for the entire two months she'd been off work. They offered to reinstate her, and...she went back.

She is, as a friend of mine recently described it, conducting a seminar in not burning bridges. She went back expecting that it might not go well and ready to walk away. But, she gave it a chance and so far, it's working out. At least one of the experienced cashiers received an appropriate raise. The employees' rights are posted on the break room wall, along with a brief recitation of how Tori was reinstated with back pay and had never done anything wrong in the first place. And, everyone seems to be getting along just fine--not just "good behavior while they're watching" fine, but genuine working well together.

The first piece of this--the knowledge of the law and the confidence in what was right and the refusal to let it go--I know where that came from. But, this walking back through the door with an open mind and making it work thing? That's all her.