Why I Should Run for President of the United States?

Dead Broke
First of all, I know the definition of what is to be "DEAD BROKE."  For instance, I gave this young lady bus fare in order for her to get to a Walmart to return some items in exchange for some food and Pampers for her baby.  Now, do I consider this young lady dead broke? No, this lady does NOT fall into a category of "dead broke"  because at least, she had something of value to return to Walmart in order to get other necessities.

So for Hillary Clinton to mention to Diane Sawyer in a recent television interview that she was "dead broke" upon leaving the White House, she is too far removed from the "blue collar" working class in America.  According to the University of Buffalo, Hillary Clinton can command $275,000.00 per speaking engagement. You can not be "dead broke" ever when you can make $275,000 USD in one day.

I understand that everything is relevant to the context in which she was speaking; however, the reality is this:  if I do not consider the young lady who did not have bus fare dead broke in the above example, then Hillary Clinton should not utter those words anywhere in context to her own financial situation any time soon nor she should have uttered it in the interview with Diane Sawyer referencing her past tense.

Non-traditional family
Typically, Americans prefer the idea of the traditional family.  Husband, wife, and children.  However, the reality is that most families are blended families.  Different moms, Different dads, divorce as well as same sex partnerships.  The traditional family really is now "non-traditional."

With the pressures of the political office, making time for any type of family is hard.  So for me, I have a self-sufficient family base, and  I am already a workaholic.  So fellow Americans - I can devote overtime to the Presidency.

Privatized Prisons
According to the Centre for Research on Globalization, there's over a million manufacturing type jobs being completed by prisoners for $.25 cents per hour.  Prisoners are making military supplies such as helmets, bullet-proof vest, etc. as well as non-military items such as paintbrushes and other things.  The prisoners do not get vacation time nor labor negotiations.

Apparently, when taxpayers decided they did not want to support bonds to build more prisons, then Wall Street and private companies decided to get in the business of "cheap labor."  And our US media is always on top of other countries and their unfair labor practices or "sweat shops;" yet, we apparently got our own dirt happening in the form of the court systems.

You want more manufacturing jobs put back in to the working class?  I would look into the privatized prison sponsors.  They should have saved enough money using prisoners as cheap labor to start to re-investing into the regular working class Americans.

Human Resources
I remember when a company's Human Resources department actually wanted every employee to have a career plan.  I remember when the first line managers were your friend and looked out for their employee's work/life balance.  I remember when companies were afraid of being audited and having salaries unfairly distributed such that minorities were getting paid less.  I remember when companies invested in minority programs like INROADS in order to get top minority students working to show their commitment to diversity and inclusion.

I remember when job creation was nothing more than creating a job position code and a job description. The money to pay salaries was never a worry.  Companies would buy employee houses when they transferred to another city because they knew that they could re-sell the house at a profit because of the steady appreciation of real estate.  People could actually work from home without feeling like they were under constant monitoring.

Our economy has changed now, and we may never get back to a time when companies were loyal to the employees and the employees were loyal to the companies.  I can only hope that work relations will get better.

Congress Lawsuit and Vacation
So according to President Obama's weekly address on Facebook, he said that the House Republicans signed a bill to sue him and then went on vacation for their August recess.  Pardon me, but if the House Republicans have enough time on their hands to design and approve a lawsuit against President Obama- then our government should never ever have another shutdown nor furlough situation.

We complain about our children being desensitized to human rights, but the behavior of the Congressmen is hardly a role model.  They are highly paid, big kids running around without any parents to say "enough is enough."

As far as universal healthcare, our country is so large that there was no way that implication was going to go smoothly.  Even when Hillary Clinton pushed this agenda as a First Lady, it was not well received by the insurance companies. People need to be patient.  If we can fix the job market, then the Affordable Care Act will be a little easier to swallow.

My name is Benita Blocker, and this is my message.

Confessions? This Joke Isn't Funny Anymore

Photo credit:  http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/

In honor of  Independence Day, I wanted to share some thoughts . . .

To my Date Rapist:

You raped me on more than one occasion. You got comfortable taking advantage of me at your leisure until one day that one final encounter ripped me to my soul.  You were an expert in the hand position to inflict enough pain into the shoulder joint to make me and your obvious past victims cooperate without any signs of bruising.  You knew to keep an eye on me in case I made an attempt to call the police.  Then you knew when you were arrested at the hospital wearing your fraternity letters that:

This Joke wasn't funny anymore.

To my Townhouse Neighbor:

You wanted to have your fence built over my property line to avoid the extra charge of anchoring the fence to your concrete patio.  My "no" was not enough that you had to call over another neighbor to add to the confusion resulting in the police being called and the police finding "no signs of injuries."  Yet, out of anger,  you and  the other neighbor let your imaginations go wild allowing massive lies to be fabricated, and the story grew bigger and bigger.  After a newsletter to the entire subdivision stating the truth of the matter caused massive embarrassment for all the neighbors involved, and the fact that the encounter was dismissed.  You all had to realize that:

This Joke wasn't funny anymore.

To my Hair practitioner that overcharged and under delivered:

Upon collecting and organizing all of my supporting documentation that the final delivery was out of specifications, I repeatedly asked for a partial refund.  My cordial refund requests were repeatedly ignored.  The producers from the Judge Mathis show were repeatedly turned down.  Your attorney was slow to return my phone calls.  Finally, when the sheriff served you with a small claims complaint showing our local court date and then you realized:

This Joke wasn't funny anymore.

To the multi-billion dollar non-profit, public healthcare System Human Resource department:

I asked why the hairdresser position had to be posted when I had already been working there for five years as a hairdresser.  Your answer was that you preferred that managers post all positions. Then the position was filled solely based on preferential treatment which ripped me to the core of my soul.  Then the position came available for a second time within a year later, I asked when would the position be posted again, and your response was that you are not required to post all positions.  Well, after several EEOC complaints, several articles, several correspondence exchanges over a four year period and counting, your department has to have realized:  

This Joke wasn't funny anymore.

My grievance with Carolinas Healthcare System

So I completed seven years of employment with Charlotte Mecklenburg Hospital Authority d/b/a Carolinas Healthcare System with overall successful and exceptional performances.

So how did it come to a Court case filing?  Nepotism? Cronyism? A little of both? or just an incompetent Human Resources staff?  You decide.

My case on July 26, 2013 was dismissed without prejudice in order for both parties to re-group and allow me to re-file within the next year.  CHS wanted the case dismissed with prejudice, and they filed their motion to dismiss at 8:59am (an hour and one minute before the start of our small claims case.)

Questions came up about my failure to file with the North Carolina Department of Labor (NCDL).  It is my understanding that the NCDL is designed to help employees get their job back.  According to CHS, they had completely eliminated all employee hairdresser positions.  So there was no job available to get back.  In addition, by February 2013, both managers that I had filed EEOC complaints against were separated from CHS.  I believe that these terminations were considered "corrective action" on behalf of CHS.  So I did not see a benefit in filing with NCDL.

I tried to work out a settlement out of court with CHS, but they have been unwilling to compromise.

As of August 2013, CHS and I still have not agreed to any type of settlement of my grievances of retaliation and  unfair treatment.

I found my case to be handled recklessly by CHS Human Resources and its attorneys.

Even others in management have questions about the competency of CHS Human Resources staff.  According to my research,  Human Resources purpose is to retain good employees and recruit good employees.  CHS has had a high turnover amongst its employees for years, and based on some opinions as shown above, third party recruiters supply better candidates than internal CHS recruiters.

 Some people may think that I am expecting a handout, but I have proof that I was willing to work for pay.

My 20+ transfer applications were not forwarded to hiring managers for consideration nor was I granted any interviews within the last two years of my employment not even from my direct upline.  My complaints to Human Resources were ignored.  I wonder if they were just hoping that I would just go away empty-handed?

Well, according to my understanding, I was laid off, but we did not agree on the layoff terms.  So I do not know if that means that I was just involuntarily terminated?  However, I received an exit interview survey to complete as if I voluntarily resigned.   I am confused.  Human Resources seem to be confused.  Which makes me question why CHS does not have a corporate compliance department that can provide a "check and balance" over the Human Resources administration without reporting up to the Chief Human Resources officer which has been a conflict of interest.

Articles such as this one seems to be the only way for "my side of my story" to be heard because North Carolina is an "at-will employment" state.  That means the employment laws favor the employer not the employee.

I hope my story helps others to make sound decisions about working in North Carolina.

Reality Check: 2012 Job Search Tips

So you are looking for a job or even a career in 2012? Here's seven fresh tips!

1) Look for careers at manufacturing companies or healthcare organizations that are doing well as far as their annual reports.

2) Check their online vacancy lists at least every two weeks. The best jobs are flooded and closed within two weeks or less. Checking vacancies daily for three of your top places to work is actually a great idea! Within a month's timeframe, you can miss out on a lot of jobs. The companies may not hire quickly, but if they get 40,000 applications in one week, then they are going to remove the posting from the vacancy list before interviewing anyone. They figure that at least one of the 40,000 applicants should be a good fit.

3)If you can get "wind" of a job BEFORE it is posted, then you will be ahead of the curve. The beauty and barber shops sometimes can be a good source for job leads. If you overhear a conversation where someone got promoted or fired, then that means an opening or an organizational shift is slated to happen. Research it.

4)A paper resume or just your name specifically passed on directly to a hiring manager on top of your applying for the position online is a sure way to land the job.

5) Internal applicants and external applicants are fighting for the same positions. Just because you already work for the company does not give you any real advantage unless you have someone talking to the hiring manager for you.

6) If you take a position with a company, I suggest that you really, really like that position as a permanent career choice. Moving up from the "mailroom" to the "President" of a company is a thing of the past. If you do not have a career track on day one, then it may be a dead end job. The job search will start all over again when you are ready for a change. Seniority does not seem to be as impressive anymore. Progressive movement within your career seems to be the desired trend to look for amongst employers.

7) Human Resources recruiters are being told to look for recent, relevant, industry-specific experiences. Meaning: if the job is a courier for a healthcare organization, then a courier applicant from a "non-healthcare" organization is not industry specific enough. You can apply for the job, but if other couriers from other healthcare organizations are also applying, then you are not going to stand a chance unless someone walks your name into the hiring manager's office.

Well, Best Wishes on casually networking and listening out for leads. You can not get leads by staying home and job searching all day online! Go into a Panera Bread or a Starbucks and apply for jobs. Listen to the conversations that are going on around you.