Get another job!

By Joel Thurtell

Just call me me Mitch.

Ever notice that trick the Bard of the Free Press uses to drive home a point?

In a church hymn, it’s called a refrain.

Well, I heard yesterday that Gannett, the nation’s largest chain of newspapers, has ordered a one-week “furlough” for nearly all its workers in the first quarter of this year.

Get another job!

The very word “furlough” is meant to mislead people into thinking there is something benign going on.

Get another job!

The meaning of “furlough” is “layoff.” The only difference between being “furloughed” and being fired is that this layoff is for a week. One week of unpaid “vacation.”

Oh, really?

Get another job!

Use of the word “furlough” is meant to calm Gannett’s workers into thinking this is not so bad, just a week of no salary and no job, tighten the belt a bit and then back to work.

Oh, really?

The “furlough” announcement was a blindside. Anyone who thinks this is just for a week is angling for another blindsiding.

Get another job!

What if next week the bosses announce their profits have fallen more than they thought. Oh-oh, you’re “furloughed” for two weeks. Or, you’re “furloughed” a week in the second quarter.

Get another job!

What if the “furlough” totals a month for the year? Or two months?

Easy to work out on paper for a whole chain.

Hard to work out a household budget when you don’t know how much is coming in.

Hard to figure the future, even near-term, when the bosses use words that soothe, not inform.

That’s why I say: Get another job!

Drop me a line at joelthurtell(at)gmail.com