I met Kurt Vonnegut when I was a senior in college—right before I started my career in Human Resources.
Vonnegut was my professor’s best friend, and my [college] boyfriend and I had the opportunity to sit in a room and listen to two old friends have a conversation about literature, politics, and music. It was an amazing afternoon, and Mr. Vonnegut was a hoot. He spoke at length about two things: his time in the Army and his time spent as an employee of General Electric. Vonnegut worked in the public relations department in Schenectady, and he earned a good living and made lifelong friends.
At the end of the discussion, we had an opportunity to ask questions. I asked Mr. Vonnegut—a noted socialist and anti-war activist—if he could explain his love of General Electric in the context of their involvement in the nuclear power industry and a lack of advancement for women and minorities in the organization.
I asked, “Can you expound on this?”
Vonnegut looked at me like I was speaking Farsi. He said, “No, no, no. They were a fine company when I worked for them. I have many good memories.”
To say that I was disappointed was an understatement. Now that I’m older—and I have worked as both a corporate professional and as a writer—I understand his answer a little better. Corporate America offers a posh and fun lifestyle. I might have good memories, too, if I was a white man at GE in the 50s and 60s.
Have you ever worked for a company that had shady management practices or didn’t stick to its values but you loved the company, anyway? What made you love the company? Why did you stick around?
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Laurie, I’m unbelievably jealous that you met Kurt Vonnegut; he was my favorite author.
Ah, the fond memories of the shady management; kickbacks and back alley deals….
Yeah, I’ve worked there and I’ll admit that I liked the company. The management that actually ran the company had ethical issues but they were great with the employees and seemed to genuinely care about them. The benefits were great and most of the senior team supported the staff on a good number of things, if there was a chance for a kickback.
I left when it all came to light and new management was brought in to run the company. The new management group, while they did things by the book, couldn’t care less about the employees in addition to having issues with women with their own ideas and opinions.
I left when it all came to light and new management was brought in to run the company. That managmenet group, while they did things by the book, couldnt care less about the employees in addition to having issues with a woman with an opinion.
Ok, I won’t name the company, but I worked for one in mid 1990’s that is the posterchild of bad mgmt. They paid me udles of money, yes I sold my soul to the devil…Privately held…one owner did coke in his office and hit on 18 yr old sales girls, his brother got drunk at strip joints and then we had to go get him out before he got in too much trouble. A third owner was gay, had an arranged marriage to save the public perception but would sneak off for “adventures”…while he was supposed to work. I would get calls on Friday from the president to pick up a severence check and fire execs that I never even had ever said hello to. I would say do you know why your here, they would respond “I disagreed with one of the owners, I guess I am getting fired”…they were not even suprised…The worst part was I stayed for 3 years…I will never work for Money first again…
M
Re: Wallmart
Well said. It is what I have been thinking for a long time.
When I actually say it to friends and colleagues the responses are either full agreement or blank stares.
I have always liked the idea of voting with my dollars and then along comes that gigantic sale whereby I can get the 40lbs of kitty litter for $2.99.
Yeah, I’ve worked for several shady companies and I hope that I will never have to again. The owner of one company I worked for would use the information from the health insurance plan (we were self insured and he was prevy to all the claims information URGH!!!) and find a way to terminate those who were racking up the medical bills. He would terminate long term employees (20+ years) if he felt they were “under producing” and say it was part of a layoff, until a pattern started to emerge and it makes you say “HHHMMMM, something smells fishy”….it can really make your stomach turn and you can lose faith and want to start your own business…which is what I’m hoping to do some day soon…..
Dude, that a great author and interesting personality to actually meet. I’m 100% green with envy.
I have never worked for any level of Government, so I cannot speak to your above question.
OK, first off, not sure I’m buying the nuclear power industry is evil thing…Secondly, I think that things that look really obvious to us now as discriminatory or unfair looked totally different to folks in the 1950s and 1960s…I’m not saying they couldn’t have seen it differently, but “enlightenment” is a process, not an event (unless, of course, you’re a soon-to-be-saint on the road to Damascus).
Most of us “learn” over time by working to keep an open mind – and if we didn’t, you wouldn’t have the “luxury” of these kind of forums and a career that positioned you to take advantage of them. We’re products of our time, whether we like it or not.
With my previous employer, everything was smooth until a new CEO took charge. He played favorites. Slept with the secretary. promoted her to HR Manager, etc etc. Anyone who disagreed with him was dealt with in such a way that one would feel incompetent and inadequate in his/her job despite a good track record.
The trainings, workshops and benefits were above industry average but I couldn’t work with that kind of boss. So, I quit.
I also met Vonnegut, through a similar connection. My high school English teacher was the guy who wrote this book: Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut. My last semester, I took a seminar on Vonnegut with him with a half-dozen other students, and Dr. Allen took us on a surprise field trip that involved meeting Vonnegut and Joseph Heller. We also wrote letters to Vonnegut throughout the semester, as we were working on our papers. He responded, with his goofy little drawings. Pretty amazing experience.
@jeff Really? He was old & creaky but seemed like a nice fella. It was two old guys in the front of the room, and I was a little scared of how old they looked!!
@adowling All these stories end with people quitting. It’s like the only way to take control of the situation is to leave. Own your own destiny. I give this advice to readers but I really wish someone would prove me wrong and get all Norma Rae on me.
@MarkF I work for money. In a situation like yours, it’s not enough money.
@Cathy I get either full agreement or blank stares, too. We are kindred spirits.
@Latina HR I think that’s the big wake-up call for Americans in this health insurance debate. Self-insured companies often claim to have procedures to protect your identity — but there are so many stories like yours. It’s such a shame.
@Nevin I dunno — nuclear power isn’t inherently evil but the power industry, as a whole, is pretty shady. Nevertheless, I think you’re right that Vonnegut was the product of a certain era.
@Puf C’mon. Your mail gets delivered every day, doesn’t it? Don’t hate on the feds. If anything, hate on the state level.
@Mari I’m glad you quit. You can only be expected to endure so much!
@Mary Ellen He was pretty amazing and goofy guy. He came to my school because some of his stories were being turned into a ballet. Really? Vonnegut? Ballet? Yup, he loved it.
Dude, they all suck http://bit.ly/Y9waT
Don’t make me get on my high horse about the Teapot Dome Scandal!
Damn you books – why must you fill me with this worthless trivia!
It might have been slightly clearer to Vonnegut if you had characterized GE as an arms merchant. They are, of course. Developing nuclear power is essentially always well-intentioned, even while there is disagreement about its wisdom. A key distinction is the death rate if the product woks well and is used correctly.
And so it goes…
In the company that I am working with, everything was fine until the ceo came onboard. He spends his time implementing favourism, dirty politics, gossips, etc into the company. The President is aware of it and chose to remain silent about it because he doesn’t want to admit that it was his biggest mistake to hire the ceo.
I am still there because at the mean time the money is still good and there are some great colleagues (who don’t choose to get involved with all those games the ceo is playing) to work with.
@Max Bank the money and look for another job. At some point, you’ll need to leave!
@BlueFlame I agree with you on the arms merchant comment. 100%. Nuclear is nuclear.
@Puf That list is golden. I wish I had a real job so I could get paid to spend time on the internet. I miss those days.
Awesome that you met him. If I’m not mistaken, Vonnegut lived in a hamlet just outside of Schenectady and was a member of the volunteer fire department, and the local papers highlighted his ties to the area when he died in 2007 (of course, there’s no trace of those articles on their Web sites now). Schenectady has had some rough years (what city in the Northeast hasn’t?) as GE jobs largely went elsewhere, but the city that once “lit the world” is trying to make a comeback.