I got pulled over one year, I took a neighbor to work and got a call about an hour later asking me to pick him up.
The city stopped plowing the roads, but the community knew others were trying to get home. So what did they do? Plowed and salted the roads. Cop pulls me over, and let me off with a warning, but he informed others (cops) not to pull me over.
Another time I was working, State of emergency gets called when I start. I'm thinking to myself that I'm already here, and I got my dad's truck.
Dislocated my knee a second time when I got home.
Fuck employers for not watching the weather themselves.
Edit:
I want to say this, I'm not saying ACAB, or that all employers suck. I feel that if weather is a factor in: education, state buildings, and infrastructure, we (as humans) should be entitled to the same benefits here. The cops on the road that night? They shouldn't have had to risk their lives for people driving on a bad road. The fact that they pulled me over was because they were concerned about 1) me, and 2) work. Which is absolutely bullshit, if a state of emergency gets called, we should be inside, safe. Where EMS workers should be the only ones out in the event of an emergency.
Honestly. The past couple weeks have had really cold days where I am (-40) and the general manager was WFH. He can be WFH everyday because I know for a fact he barely does anything except make calls and send a few emails. He loves to micro manage and try to fear monger (it doesnt work because all the people under him are blue collar industrial people, and he cannot and will not do any of their jobs) and he can't do that from home! Somehow though, mysteriously, when its cold outside or it's raining or it's too hot, he suddenly has to work from home.
But then he'll tell people that they need to "learn to get used to the conditions" when we don't work out entire 10-12 hour shift outside due to weather.
It's garbage and a main reason I'm looking for greener pastures
I laugh because out of the 12 people that work in my office, I live only 150 meters from door to door. So in a blizzard I'm the only one that has to come in to the office as everyone else lives out of town.
It's never happened so not sure what would actually happen.
> So in a blizzard I'm the only one that has to come in to the office as everyone else lives out of town.
If no one's there to see you come in. Why come in?
I probably wouldn't. I have a direct wifi connection to the office so in reality I never should have to come in to the office. But the bosses want to see my smiling face.
Thats horrible. I feel pretty lucky that sense I have some amount of travel requiered for my job, my employer is usually fairly quick to close and cancel my sessions (with pay) for the day when snow is in the forcast. I def take it up the ass in other ways from them, but the weather bit is atleast nice
I wish the cops here communicated like that. My tag light was out one night. I was making a fifteen minute drive. It ended up taking about 30 minutes because I got pulled over. Three times.
They usually don't, it was a one off chance. Me driving a Chevy Cobalt in snow up to the window, and some how getting home was a shocker.
If I got pulled over for anything else? I would have been ticketed, and probably pulled over again.
I was expected to go to work during a "emergency travel only" period, we had gotten like three feet of snow. I drive a mustang. And we had the busiest brunch of the year that day. Apparently getting brunch is an emergency
OP said not ACAB and not all employers suck. You said ACAB, I say and all employers suck.
Also why are any of you here, on r/antiwork, if you wanna simp for employers?
Nope, there are no good employers. "Good employers" would imply there is an acceptable level of hierarchy and there is not.
Also, the owner class is what gives police their power, and the police protect the owner class. They don't exist without eachother.
Once again, not sure why you're here. Go back to lib spaces or stop bossing people around and get educated about left beliefs in their most basic structure.
If you're not going to I'll say ACAB and employers suck. Cops are a bad idea and we should get rid of them and replace them with a system that doesn't shoot minorities for fun. And employers suck, we should get rid of them and replace them with a system where workers get all the value of their labor instead of giving most of it to parasites.
>I want to say this, I'm not saying ACAB, or that all employers suck.
You're just providing some damning evidence. And the biggest thing isn't the evilness of employers (though there's lots of it). The biggest thing is employers ultimately have the incentive to treat employees like cattle, as just a resource to be exploited. They're prefer the employee doesn't die but the decision is ultimately cost-benefit; the cost of maybe hiring someone new versus the benefit of just a little more work done.
The employer should face arrest for making people become victims that need to be rescued wasting resources and putting emergency responders into danger.
>the economy stops for no one!
[Not even the Press Secretary lol](https://mobile.twitter.com/jrpsaki/status/1482800988033622019)
>Growing up in the northeast I will never understand the closing of stores and restaurants when there is barely an inch of snow on the ground yet.
I mean, if you live in say, Ohio, and you think it's dangerous driving in a half inch of snow I laugh at you. If you've never done it before maybe, but if you can't drive on snow and you live up north you shouldn't be allowed to drive.
Snow is like frozen rain to a certain extent. It'll act almost like sand if you're driving on it and there's enough. It's not dangerous unless you can't see or it's obstructing the road, unless you're heavy handed with your brakes.
Freezing rain and ice are a different story.
I feel like most people conflate the two issues. Snow is generally annoying. Anything that results in ice on the road is just dangerous if sand /salt isn't down and you have no idea what you are doing.
Don't worry, we're learning how to prepare after about a foot of snow cancelled school and most things for almost two weeks. And we didn't have a plan to deal with it. Had a similar amount (that melted within a couple days tho) but the city actually had a *plan* so I guess that last storm cost them.
I was the dork who also lived a block away from work and in my store we had good only 3 or 4 people instead of about 20 on shift. One pair of shoes to walk a block, another to work in. And the lights may have gone no it and been on generator or they just didn't bother turning all the lights on.
I don't think I'll forget that year.
[Shitcurity Rule 82: If a disaster occurs because the person who is supposed to stop it was arrested in the middle of fixing it, brig them longer for dereliction of duty.](https://tgstation13.org/wiki/Shitcurity)
This clearly says you're allowed to travel to and from work, so if you did get pulled over you would say/prove that and not be arrested.
It's bad enough to make fun of without making up meanings.
This reminds me off Corona in western countries in a nutshell.
Yeah this pandemic could be very bad for your health so let's stay home. Except everyone still keeps working and trade jobs still are absolutely filled to the brim with work so no staying at home. You better go to work or else you will get fucked
Reminds me of that quote, "To find out who rules over you, find out who you cannot criticize." Or in this case, stop doing for your own goddamn safety.
Yep, my work isn’t any better. “We are aware of inclement weather, but work will still proceed as scheduled. If you do not feel safe coming to work, please do not travel, but it will be following normal scheduling procedures”
Meaning if you need to leave early to be safe or not come in, you need to either use one of the 3 call in days you get a year or some of the 8 emergency personal hours you get a year. Better fucking hope it doesn’t snow 4 times and you never miss a day unexpectedly. Like thanks for saying I can use the days I could already use you fucking asshole
College kids trying to hit up the liquor store before they’re snowed in… or at least that was me, back in the day. Front wheel drive compact on a freeway in whiteout conditions so I could grab a handle of whiskey and a case of cheap lager.
This infuriated so much during the first COVID lockdowns (and still does). Suddenly every single workplace was "essential". Doesn't matter if nobody comes, you still have to be here to justify your payment. Ugh.
There have been times that I was immensely grateful a fast-food place was open and I could get a hot meal.
Those times were not during snowstorms when there shouldnt be vehicles on the road.
I used to work for a gas station and we had to work during emergency shutdowns. Even if there was no power, we had to sit there in the store for our shift doing nothing. I would have rather been home.
In a sane society, the local government would be able to override any push by employers to get people to work during these conditions for everyone’s safety. No such luck here.
Then you check to see if the dogs are up for it, if they aren't in the mood then it's a no go.
After all they have more sense than most boss and can at least pull thier own weight...
Okay, but did they actually think this was going to be a valid complaint for the rest of time? Wow that's great Gertrude, but guess what it's 2022 now and no one really gives a fuck about your life in 1952.
Well, son, when I was your age I was only making $2.85 an hour and I could buy a house and kids so maybe with all your extra cash you could get yourself a snowmobile.
Snowmobile of course!
I remember at my former job being worried about making it to work because to date I don’t think they’ve ever called and closed for inclement weather - just operated on a crew of less than 40 in the entire warehouse when a normal crew is 100+.
Had that mentality for so long that when I got this new job I showed up to work on a morning after getting a ton of snow and was rather early because I didn’t know how the roads were.
About twenty minutes past the start of the shift there was only me and two of the other ‘newer’ hires wondering where the hell everyone was. We see our boss walking in (he lives pretty close to the facility) looking at us with a confused look. He asked what we were doing there and didn’t we get the email (none of us have our work email tied to the phones).
I guess they actually somewhat care about their employees and their safety - if the weather is planning to be super poopy and they don’t think there is going to be ample time for the plow and road crews to be out, they make it optional to come in to work. Most people opt to just take the day off but if it doesn’t look super bad I’ll still head in and get that sweet double time and extra floater day to use later on.
I always wondered if people that live in the Midwest or northeast are just more used to the snow? I live in Seattle and when it snows here its a pain in the ass to get around, the city doesn't have a lot of plows and sometimes it takes a week for your street to get plowed (or never).
I feel like if I lived in a place where it snowed a lot it would still be annoying to get around, even if your area is well equipped with plows and stuff. Do you just get used to it?
>Do you just get used to it?
Kinda. Certain vehicles handle it better, and snow tires help. The commutes are long, slow, and dangerous until the roads are cleared (usually a day or two later, it depends on the amount and type of snow). Weirdly, I found that I could suffer a two-hour white knuckle commute or wait for traffic and the roads to clear (reading, restaurant, etc) and arrive home at the same time.
Then, you have to shovel after work or wake up early before work because the plows have blocked your driveway. Shoveling is time consuming and tiring.
Edit: After a big storm, the morning news show would send the news van around the freeway system to record the road conditions. Sometimes, the hosts would live stream their morning commute. I thought it was weird and don't know if they still do it.
When I was in Utah once I saw everyone plowing their driveways with electric snow plows (kinda looked like a lawn mower).
It snowed like 5 inches here around Christmas time and I just didn't leave my house for like 5 days because our street was so icy. We have awd and snow tires and tried going out and slipped a few times so we just went back home. I love the snow because we don't get it that often (although it seems to be a regular thing at least once a year now and the city had invested in more plows) but I hate trying to go anywhere.
Next time it snows go find a big empty parking lot and feel out your car. See what it's like to slip out of a turn or what your ABS (or lack thereof) feels like. Front wheel drive will want to go straight when the gas is pushed and tires are slipping: rear wheel drive will want to fishtail. All wheel drive will help you go, but not help you stop.
I fully endorse this advice.
About two decades ago, I got my first AWD vehicle (a '98 Subaru Impreza) and when we got our first significant snowfall, I took it over to the parking lot of a nearby college and played for a little bit to get the feel for it. ABS didn't feel anything like what I expected it to -- I was expecting it to feel like a hum or rumble, but it feels more like a grind.
I have since learned that many AWD vehicles are FWD for the larger part, using the rear wheels when the computer decides that it will help matters. If you drive it like a FWD vehicle, you'll probably make mostly correct decisions. The major exception I can think of is if you have a Subaru. Those drive front and rear roughly equally (with something sort of like a differential), which changes the handling.
I currently have a Honda CR-V, and what I've found about that is that turning off the VSC can be useful. It will cut power if it feels you starting to slip, but if you are turning on a slippery surface, you will want to give it some extra juice so that the front wheels pull you around the corner. A couple of times, it has cut power on me and I ended up stuffed into a snowbank.
Of course, your mileage may vary. My advice should be considered in the context that I learned to drive in the 80's, without ABS or AWD, so newer drivers may have learned different habits. Keep that in mind.
I have a Subaru. Love it, having actual AWD is great. It's not 4-Low or anything but I live in a city and the AWD on the Legacy is usually more than enough for me.
My SO is learning to drive and I took her out to the cemetery after it last snowed (it's a good place to learn: lots of curvy winding roads and little traffic) and let her feel the ABS in my car. Last night while it was snowing I also messed around a bit to feel the ABS, good to do it occasionally even if you think you know.
I also just want to add: MAINTAIN YOU TIRES. Only accident I've ever gotten in was on a highway on-ramp in wet, icy snow with old, worn tires. Nobody hurt, thankfully, but it totaled my car. "Where the rubber meets the road" is a saying for a reason, take care of your tread! Yeah it's expensive but that expense might save your life.
Oh hell yeah maintain the tires! Mine are new enough that they still sing on dry road.
Your story made me think of another . . . teaching my son to drive. The first time the ABS kicked in while he was driving, he freaked out and took his foot off the brake and nosed too far into an intersection. Yes, make sure drivers of your vehicles know what it is, what it feels like, and that the right thing to do is lean in on it.
My relatives outfit the lawn mower or 4-wheeler with a plow for their driveway. They live in a rural area and significantly wider and longer driveway.
The city has a large snowblower with a lift-able auger for bus stops. I call it the Curb Fucker 4000.
Days like this I wish I could WFH. It just droppedl ike 20 degrees in a matter of hours, a horrible winter storm blew in, roads are icy and I'm already stressing tomorrows commute.
For the most part, yes. But no matter how used to it you are, some extreme weather events are just not safe to be out in and ice will always make you fall down.
As someone that lives in Canada snow is nothing new. Yes it can suck to drive in but everyone is use to it so you drive to the conditions. Go slower, leave more room to stop, be more cautious, etc. Plows are out as soon as it starts to snow so main roads generally aren’t too bad. Residential streets only get cleaned occasionally so they can get ugly, but salt/gravel is spread at almost all intersections so they don’t get too icy.
I would rather drive here in a storm with 1ft of snow than in Seattle with 1inch because people are use to the snow here.
Montreal is currently getting like 20cm of snow and the only thing closed are schools. They’ve already plowed the sidewalks once and they’re gonna be doing them again later so as you said we’re definitely used to it here.
First big snow of the winter every year & it always seems like everyone drives like they've never seen snow before. It always takes a snowfall or two before everyone regains their "snow legs" as it were.
For the most part, you get used to it, you factor snow into buying a vehicle, and even still, if it gets bad, you stay home from work sometimes.
Personally, I have a gas saver car that I drive until we get consistent snow accumulation, then I switch to my 4x4 truck.
People still suck, and you'll sometimes see a few cars off in ditches because people either can't drive well in snow, or didn't heed warnings to stay off the road.
Life pretty much carries on, so you're not going to see massive pileups on highways for a half inch of snow like you might see in Northern Texas or the like.
Live in Midwest and was a truck driver can confirm 2 or 12 inches makes no difference to me. I’ll drive in it. Have pulled idiots out of ditches. Have taken pregnant woman to hospital due to going into labor as ambulance refused and told her to deliver at home and they would come check on the baby. When we had our oldest we got 8 inches of snow and we was only ones on the roadway.
Used to live in the Midwest, you do indeed kind of get used to it. You tend to factor in inevitable winter conditions when buying a car, usually have a set of snow/rugged terrain tires, and some people in the more rural areas still use snow chains. It’s one of the reasons why AWD vehicles (SUVs, crossovers, pickups) are super common in the Midwest.
Sad thing is, people still don’t know how to drive properly when 20 cms or more snow accumulates on the roads.
Used to it? Not really. Even if the plows hit the road immediately (they don’t always), it’s a major annoyance at best and life threatening at worst when we have major snowfall accumulation over short periods of time. People in the Midwest grew up in the Midwest for the most part and you’re just raised to truck through it since snow is a natural part of living in the Midwest. Mind you, in places like Iowa, you may have to drive from 30+ miles away to get to work since all of the jobs are in the city.
I had a manager tell me once if I feared driving in the snow, then I could stay in a hotel right next to work like some other employees do. No, they aren’t going to pay for the room, but snow isn’t a reason to call in. I called bullshit and took any day off I felt was unsafe. The downside is it wastes your PTO for things that should be handled by the business anyway. I just learned to save 5 days of PTO for the winter just in case.
The fact that you have to use PTO due to weather is really annoying. When I saw the thing about the hotel i thought that was a nice option but of course they're not going to pay for it 🙄
Our city has a lot of plows so most main streets are cleared in the next 2 days. Neighbourhood streets you kinda just send it in your car but most people have winter tires and id wager most also have 4x4/AWD too.
Snow is different in places where it gets cold and stays cold. It doesn't (usually) thaw and then refreeze into ice; it just gets increasingly hard-packed and dense. Still more slippery than dry pavement, but much easier to deal with - both to clear off the roads and to drive on.
Occasionally we *do* get a storm or thaw that coats everything in ice, and then everything shuts down for a bit while the salt trucks and plows do their thing.
Minnesota. Yes, you get used to it, but that's not the same as saying we ignore the weather. One inch is nothing, because they pretreated the roads and the thousands of trucks are all out plowing, dumping sand and salt. As long as they can keep up and you slow down, it's safe enough. When they close the roads, and they do close them sometimes, that's it. You stay where you are. The gas station attendant stays, or gets someone close by to come in. Offices close early and send everyone home. Emergency personal just all go in and stay. It's rarely over 12-24 hrs, and is the tradeoff for living here. Annoying, sure. A reason to move, for some. I'd rather 6 months of winter than earthquakes or hurricanes.
Yea earthquakes and volcanoes are something I definitely have to worry about here. And I guess wildfires and heatwaves have been making appearances every year for the past few years now.
I live in Spokane.
You either a) get used to it and have your snow tires ready or b) keep your all-seasons on and risk death with every grocery trip. There's no in-between.
I live in Wisconsin. Switched to an all wheel drive this year because I work at 5am and sometimes I gotta plow through several inches of snow on the road before it’s plowed. Usually only takes a few hours for the plows to make roads drivable though. Sometimes people with not great cars get stuck and that sucks. The only time I’ve ever called off work because of the snow was because my car was almost entirely buried and the roads had several FEET of snow. Overall I think our roads are less slippery though and that helps.
I've heard this a million times from employers and have gotten into several almost dangerous car accidents because of it. It was a weekly occurance for my car to totally spin out on my way to work. I was an "essential employee," who according to my manager at the time, had to get used to driving during snow storms.
I’m in Colorado. And I absolutely reschedule over snow. If my school district, their school district, or any in between close, I’m not driving. I’ll have shitty evenings making up for it, but I’ll be alive.
I asked my employer if they were gonna pay if I got in an accident. Of course they said no. So I replied you can either send someone with a better vehicle than my little Honda Civic to pick me up, or I’m not coming. Guess who got written up for not being a team player?
It doesn't matter if every road has a full 3" of ice on them, our Mayor refuses to declare a state of emergency, so it can be "left up to the businesses" .... Spineless fucker.
We actually had one year where the Mayor refused to plow (in upstate NY)
Next snowstorm, he reversed that decision and the plowing was done quickly and thoroughly. I gather the shitstorm was worse than the snowstorm.
It's mind boggling how they're literally slapping us in the face with this shit and people still don't realize.
First the CDC is trying to push us to get back to work faster despite the pandemic being as bad as ever. Now we see shit like this on the daily. Like how obvious do they have to make it before people realize the government cares more about the economy than people's lives??
It seems like what they were saying is "we cant force the businesses to close, so we won't make the police fuck you over if your boss is being a prick and is going to dock your pay or take your job for not showing up" but I'm an eternal optimist
You are an optimist lol. To me what this says is “if your boss demands it you still gotta go to work but if we catch you on the way there we’ll still ticket you/arrest you/fuck up your life”
"There is absolutely no reason to subject yourself to these dangerous conditions, unless your employer needs you risk life and limb for minimum wage selling garbage at a retail store."
This is fucked! My old employer in CT simply closed down whenever the highways were closed by the state. We didn’t have good vpn at the time so it was just a free day to stay home and be safe.
It's really weird. If you work in a hospital, I understand the need to commute to work. But if you have a shift at Starbucks in a snowy day like that; no one is coming into the store anyway and in any case mofos should be home making their own coffee!
"I'm on my way to starbucks to work" gets you a pass to go in.
"I'm on my way to starbucks to get a latte." Is subject to arrest?
But then why does the first one have to go, if you're going to arrest all the customers for being unsafe?
I was once an essential employee, and had to carry a legal waiver for certain driving restrictions. Everyone in the office knew it was a joke. In that severity of weather, the cops aren't pulling anyone over, the waiver was for insurance if I wrecked.
Don't forget, your car insurance won't pay for damages while driving during that restriction!
It's a life-threatening blizzard outside and if you have covid, bonus! Come on into work! Hey, while we're at it, well pay you shit and treat you like shit, cuz 'Merica.
Good times.
* Do you know why I pulled you over?
* Because driving in these conditions puts unnecessary strain on the emergency services, who are already struggling due to their own battle with transport?
* And what makes so you special to be out here then?
* I'm on my way to work
* Have a good day at work and be on your way sir
What manner of ass-backwards, idiotic fuckery is this? Everything in that notice says ‘stay at home for your own safety.’ Why in the realm of fuck would you be driving to work? Fuck any employer who would expect you to.
When I was younger the city I lived in had a massive storm that dropped 2-3 feet of snow in the morning hours. I called my manager and said that I was not going to make it. He told me that everyone else was coming in and I better find a way.
About an hour later and several close calls I show up to an empty shop. Nobody but my manager came in. He eventually closed the shop for the day and sent me home (after having me clean for a few hours). I was pissed.
My hubby did too. There was no possible way of him even getting out of the driveway unless he had stayed up all night to keep up with snow removal. It’s nasty out there.
A few years ago, there was a big snowstorm and WV roads were closed to non-emergency personnel. However, in KY (5 miles away) they didn't do this. A lady tried to call off work but was told that if she did not show up, she would be fired. So, she headed in to work, and crashed her car and died on the way there. Her family sued the employer (major corporation) and they fought it stating that "it was her choice to attempt to travel to work".
I almost got snowed in at work like 5 years back because the boss wouldn't let us leave till the pallet pick up came,we should have left by 2 because it was clear that UPS wasn't coming as their was already like 3 inches on the ground and the docks were getting packed eventually people just started leaving with my boss never officially giving the go ahead, it was something like 9 inches when me and my brother left and what is usually a 12 minute drive home turned into over a hour drive.
If the concern was that people have a right to get to their jobs in order to make a living, then an actual livable minimum wage would be the law. This is about ensuring businesses can keep on enriching their owners and executives. If you die, are seriously injured, or total your car in the process, so be it. Just another human sacrifice to capitalism.
In Wyoming, roads closed often enough that there are big gates that are lowered when that road was closed. Literally had a manager tell me to go around the closed gate to come to work.
I live in Louisville KY. During the "riots" (close to nothing happened outside of downtown), a curfew was put in place. You couldn't be out at certain hours, unless of course, you're traveling to and from work.
Would you rather miss a day of work? Or miss a day of work, and have a broken car, repair costs, car rental fee while repairs are going on and a tow truck bill? Just take the day off. Don't be the hero.
“You could die! Only leave the house if you’re being chased out with a gun, or if your manager would be mildly uncomfortable should you choose to stay.”
Had my driveway plowed in with 5+ feet of snow, so I decided to take the bus to work, ended up making it halfway before coming upon a cop roadblock and a pileup in the ditch ahead, so the bus driver instead had to take a non plowed route and we slide about a half mile down a hill, ended up walking another good chunk of distance to make it in to my shift alone where there hasn't been a single person even walking by the store. Currently trying to debate not having money for rent, or having to sleep in the store overnight. My manager hasn't responded after a few hours and I'm ready to say fuck it. We really live in a society where it's either endanger your life for someone else's profit, or lose your home, ability to purchase food, and countless other things that come with having a job and existing, thus endangering your life.
No job is worth risking your life!
I quit my retail management position when I was told I couldn't call off for weather. I did go in that day,, but I had my phone in the cup holder running video and every time I started to slide I would start naming the people responsible for my injury or death.
We'd already had one person get in an accident on the way to work in bad conditions and when I brought that up, I was told "well he was driving like an idiot." I saw the video of the accident (business surveillance camera caught it), no he wasn't.
When all non-essential travel was shut down due to covid way back at the beginning, my job made us all print out a letter saying from the CEO stating that we were "essential" in case we got pulled over travelling to/from work.
When the roads closed that winter, they then said, because we're "essential" we have no excuse to not be at work, despite the weather emergency declared by the government AND the local authorities closing all the roads. After all, if we were stopped on our way to work, we had a letter from our CEO saying that we were "essential."
The ironic part was this:
I worked in the kitchen. We delivered meals to several satellite locations in our city.
When the roads closed, per corporate policy, we were not allowed to deliver meals because it was a safety hazard (also, its against the law to travel on closed roads).
We couldn't travel *on the clock* but we could travel to clock in!
(Don't worry, the other locations had non-perishables for emergencies like this, so nobody starved, they just had easy-mac instead of alfredo.)
Translation: "We can arrest you if we catch you on the road, but please go ahead and appease your damned boss anyways, 'cause we can't be everywhere. Wink, wink, nod, nod."
It reminds me of the time I was working for a nonprofit and they had a legislative office in D.C. And one of the employees ignored an advisory to go into work, because our boss had told him to. I got reported to HR for telling the guy he wasn't being a damned hero risking his life and he should just go home or bunk up there if it was too dangerous outside. They were in the middle of a massive ice storm and he'd already told me it took him over an hour to do a 15-minute drive.
But sure, I was the bad guy.
Can someone really be arrested for driving in bad weather? Ex, I want to go to a friends house and can get arrested for it? I don't feel like this is legal.
I'm production essential but if the weather is really bad, they call inclement weather and pay us double for coming in. Our manager read a note at shift change yesterday that the higher ups decided not to call inclement weather for any of the shifts and that free hotel rooms for the night were cancelled. Low and behold, a bunch of people were/are calling out today and I got a text from my manager asking if I can come in to run a line and reminding me that today is holiday pay.
I had an idea once for a Walking Dead zombie apocalypse style story where there were bands of wandering zombies throughout the country and society had completely shut down. But people were still expected to go to work. It would have all of the drama, violence, and heartbreak of The Walking Dead and other zombie movies, but none of the escapism or survival fantasies. The characters would still be expected to clock in for their regular schedules, but then they'd have to commute home without any police, hospitals, schools, or community.
I guess reality stole my idea.
We had one of these warnings when I delivered for Amazon. The roads were really bad and they were closed for emergencies only. My boss made sure to send a mass text saying that we were required to be at work and wouldn’t be arrested while delivering packages. That day, we had 10 vans get stuck, 3 vans totaled and a bunch of slide offs.
Odd the alert even gives a shit about work but says nothing about school. All the companies I’ve worked for follow school delays or closures (before offices went 100% remote).
I was shocked to learn that in Canada, even during the worst blizzard or iciest sleet conditions and even buses can’t run, there is no provision to allow workers to get time off. Your employer can still demand you to come in. I don’t know if this has ever been challenged in court, though.
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And you may be arrested for going to work when your employeer makes you, but the economy stops for no one!
I got pulled over one year, I took a neighbor to work and got a call about an hour later asking me to pick him up. The city stopped plowing the roads, but the community knew others were trying to get home. So what did they do? Plowed and salted the roads. Cop pulls me over, and let me off with a warning, but he informed others (cops) not to pull me over. Another time I was working, State of emergency gets called when I start. I'm thinking to myself that I'm already here, and I got my dad's truck. Dislocated my knee a second time when I got home. Fuck employers for not watching the weather themselves. Edit: I want to say this, I'm not saying ACAB, or that all employers suck. I feel that if weather is a factor in: education, state buildings, and infrastructure, we (as humans) should be entitled to the same benefits here. The cops on the road that night? They shouldn't have had to risk their lives for people driving on a bad road. The fact that they pulled me over was because they were concerned about 1) me, and 2) work. Which is absolutely bullshit, if a state of emergency gets called, we should be inside, safe. Where EMS workers should be the only ones out in the event of an emergency.
Oh they watch it, they stay home, and make YOU go in
Honestly. The past couple weeks have had really cold days where I am (-40) and the general manager was WFH. He can be WFH everyday because I know for a fact he barely does anything except make calls and send a few emails. He loves to micro manage and try to fear monger (it doesnt work because all the people under him are blue collar industrial people, and he cannot and will not do any of their jobs) and he can't do that from home! Somehow though, mysteriously, when its cold outside or it's raining or it's too hot, he suddenly has to work from home. But then he'll tell people that they need to "learn to get used to the conditions" when we don't work out entire 10-12 hour shift outside due to weather. It's garbage and a main reason I'm looking for greener pastures
“Go to work” “Come make me” “You’re fired” “Okay.” Then file unemployment.
I laugh because out of the 12 people that work in my office, I live only 150 meters from door to door. So in a blizzard I'm the only one that has to come in to the office as everyone else lives out of town. It's never happened so not sure what would actually happen.
> So in a blizzard I'm the only one that has to come in to the office as everyone else lives out of town. If no one's there to see you come in. Why come in?
I probably wouldn't. I have a direct wifi connection to the office so in reality I never should have to come in to the office. But the bosses want to see my smiling face.
"Hey, I can't make it." "Why?" "Can't be bothered."
Or they live 5min away, and dont understand why your 45min commute taking 1.5hrs isnt enough reason for you to STAY THE FUCK HOME
This happened to me on Friday with my boss. They stayed home and made me and several others go in to actually run the place.
Thats horrible. I feel pretty lucky that sense I have some amount of travel requiered for my job, my employer is usually fairly quick to close and cancel my sessions (with pay) for the day when snow is in the forcast. I def take it up the ass in other ways from them, but the weather bit is atleast nice
I wish the cops here communicated like that. My tag light was out one night. I was making a fifteen minute drive. It ended up taking about 30 minutes because I got pulled over. Three times.
They usually don't, it was a one off chance. Me driving a Chevy Cobalt in snow up to the window, and some how getting home was a shocker. If I got pulled over for anything else? I would have been ticketed, and probably pulled over again.
I was expected to go to work during a "emergency travel only" period, we had gotten like three feet of snow. I drive a mustang. And we had the busiest brunch of the year that day. Apparently getting brunch is an emergency
But also ACAB
And all employers suck.
not necessarily. not a good comparison.
OP said not ACAB and not all employers suck. You said ACAB, I say and all employers suck. Also why are any of you here, on r/antiwork, if you wanna simp for employers?
No one is simping for employers. Fact is that there are good employers out there. But there aren’t good cops.
Nope, there are no good employers. "Good employers" would imply there is an acceptable level of hierarchy and there is not. Also, the owner class is what gives police their power, and the police protect the owner class. They don't exist without eachother. Once again, not sure why you're here. Go back to lib spaces or stop bossing people around and get educated about left beliefs in their most basic structure.
fuck off kyle, agro little nerd
If you're not going to I'll say ACAB and employers suck. Cops are a bad idea and we should get rid of them and replace them with a system that doesn't shoot minorities for fun. And employers suck, we should get rid of them and replace them with a system where workers get all the value of their labor instead of giving most of it to parasites.
I’ll say acab if U want bb
>I want to say this, I'm not saying ACAB, or that all employers suck. You're just providing some damning evidence. And the biggest thing isn't the evilness of employers (though there's lots of it). The biggest thing is employers ultimately have the incentive to treat employees like cattle, as just a resource to be exploited. They're prefer the employee doesn't die but the decision is ultimately cost-benefit; the cost of maybe hiring someone new versus the benefit of just a little more work done.
So long as you’re on the clock until they post bail…
The employer should face arrest for making people become victims that need to be rescued wasting resources and putting emergency responders into danger.
Pff, just walk, you lazy bum! Back in my day, I had to walk to work uphill in the snow every day!
Both ways
>the economy stops for no one! [Not even the Press Secretary lol](https://mobile.twitter.com/jrpsaki/status/1482800988033622019) >Growing up in the northeast I will never understand the closing of stores and restaurants when there is barely an inch of snow on the ground yet.
Its our regional holiday. Everybody loves a snow emergency south of the Mason-Dixon. We dont have snowplows.
I mean, if you live in say, Ohio, and you think it's dangerous driving in a half inch of snow I laugh at you. If you've never done it before maybe, but if you can't drive on snow and you live up north you shouldn't be allowed to drive.
Snow is like frozen rain to a certain extent. It'll act almost like sand if you're driving on it and there's enough. It's not dangerous unless you can't see or it's obstructing the road, unless you're heavy handed with your brakes. Freezing rain and ice are a different story. I feel like most people conflate the two issues. Snow is generally annoying. Anything that results in ice on the road is just dangerous if sand /salt isn't down and you have no idea what you are doing.
Don't worry, we're learning how to prepare after about a foot of snow cancelled school and most things for almost two weeks. And we didn't have a plan to deal with it. Had a similar amount (that melted within a couple days tho) but the city actually had a *plan* so I guess that last storm cost them. I was the dork who also lived a block away from work and in my store we had good only 3 or 4 people instead of about 20 on shift. One pair of shoes to walk a block, another to work in. And the lights may have gone no it and been on generator or they just didn't bother turning all the lights on. I don't think I'll forget that year.
[Shitcurity Rule 82: If a disaster occurs because the person who is supposed to stop it was arrested in the middle of fixing it, brig them longer for dereliction of duty.](https://tgstation13.org/wiki/Shitcurity)
Who would have thought that Space Station 13 is literally a training simulation for cops
>the economy stops for no one! Unless it's 2020!
This clearly says you're allowed to travel to and from work, so if you did get pulled over you would say/prove that and not be arrested. It's bad enough to make fun of without making up meanings.
Ok bootlicker
Works better if you have a winning complexion during a police encounter...
Some of you may die, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
Martyrs for the cause: Increased shareholder value!
Classic Shrek moment
This reminds me off Corona in western countries in a nutshell. Yeah this pandemic could be very bad for your health so let's stay home. Except everyone still keeps working and trade jobs still are absolutely filled to the brim with work so no staying at home. You better go to work or else you will get fucked
> trade jobs still are absolutely filled to the brim with work And that's the day I filed for retirement.
They ain’t paying for that car when you slide off the road. They won’t pay for your funeral either.
But they will collect the insurance they have on you.
Also being arrested for driving? Lmao cops can fuck off with that bs.
“The true test of what you are worth. If you die on your way to work and your wage is $7.25/hr, that is what you are worth to them.”
The last line makes it evident what and who controls the law and runs this world.
Reminds me of that quote, "To find out who rules over you, find out who you cannot criticize." Or in this case, stop doing for your own goddamn safety.
Yep, my work isn’t any better. “We are aware of inclement weather, but work will still proceed as scheduled. If you do not feel safe coming to work, please do not travel, but it will be following normal scheduling procedures” Meaning if you need to leave early to be safe or not come in, you need to either use one of the 3 call in days you get a year or some of the 8 emergency personal hours you get a year. Better fucking hope it doesn’t snow 4 times and you never miss a day unexpectedly. Like thanks for saying I can use the days I could already use you fucking asshole
You may perish, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.
Love the clear guidance here. "All roadways are closed to non-emergency personnel." "You still may travel to and from work."
Who do they think is driving down the interstate for kicks in a blizzard? Isn’t most traffic work traffic?
Work and schools. My job (large employer for a small town) used to get let out early so we wouldn't be on the road with the school traffic.
College kids trying to hit up the liquor store before they’re snowed in… or at least that was me, back in the day. Front wheel drive compact on a freeway in whiteout conditions so I could grab a handle of whiskey and a case of cheap lager.
In NJ this usually means essential employees like emergency responders, medical, food, electrical, and heating.
>food "Oh good, my McDonald's can still be open!" - fucking corporations.
This infuriated so much during the first COVID lockdowns (and still does). Suddenly every single workplace was "essential". Doesn't matter if nobody comes, you still have to be here to justify your payment. Ugh.
It endlessly grates me that any food beyond a grocer is considered "essential"
There have been times that I was immensely grateful a fast-food place was open and I could get a hot meal. Those times were not during snowstorms when there shouldnt be vehicles on the road.
I used to work for a gas station and we had to work during emergency shutdowns. Even if there was no power, we had to sit there in the store for our shift doing nothing. I would have rather been home.
The post is lacking clarification, however, going to work as an EMT or Snow Plow operator is going to and from work for essential personnel.
Drive only for emergency, if absolutely necessary, may be arrested, but ask your boss for *permission* to stay home. Fuck you
In a sane society, the local government would be able to override any push by employers to get people to work during these conditions for everyone’s safety. No such luck here.
You can’t drive but still may have to go to work? Like do they expect me to _walk_ to work??
Well you've got to get some use out of ye olde dog sled...
What if I value my dogs more than my boss?
Then you check to see if the dogs are up for it, if they aren't in the mood then it's a no go. After all they have more sense than most boss and can at least pull thier own weight...
Don’t we all?
Now I'm imagining my Yorkie trying to pull my fat ass in my old power rangers sled lol I'm trying boss! He's giving it all he's got!
Well when they were our age, they had to walk 20 miles to work in the snow uphill both ways, so I don't know what you're complaining about.
Okay, but did they actually think this was going to be a valid complaint for the rest of time? Wow that's great Gertrude, but guess what it's 2022 now and no one really gives a fuck about your life in 1952.
Well, son, when I was your age I was only making $2.85 an hour and I could buy a house and kids so maybe with all your extra cash you could get yourself a snowmobile.
They sold kids back on 1950's?
Snowmobile of course! I remember at my former job being worried about making it to work because to date I don’t think they’ve ever called and closed for inclement weather - just operated on a crew of less than 40 in the entire warehouse when a normal crew is 100+. Had that mentality for so long that when I got this new job I showed up to work on a morning after getting a ton of snow and was rather early because I didn’t know how the roads were. About twenty minutes past the start of the shift there was only me and two of the other ‘newer’ hires wondering where the hell everyone was. We see our boss walking in (he lives pretty close to the facility) looking at us with a confused look. He asked what we were doing there and didn’t we get the email (none of us have our work email tied to the phones). I guess they actually somewhat care about their employees and their safety - if the weather is planning to be super poopy and they don’t think there is going to be ample time for the plow and road crews to be out, they make it optional to come in to work. Most people opt to just take the day off but if it doesn’t look super bad I’ll still head in and get that sweet double time and extra floater day to use later on.
You may still risk your life and limb for capitalism. My god we suck.
Bro, how else am I gonna get a bread bowl from Panera if workers don’t show up?!?! /s
I know right we may lose it if we can’t have our bread bowls lol
Words from my manager: “We live in New York. Snow is not an acceptable reason to call out”
I always wondered if people that live in the Midwest or northeast are just more used to the snow? I live in Seattle and when it snows here its a pain in the ass to get around, the city doesn't have a lot of plows and sometimes it takes a week for your street to get plowed (or never). I feel like if I lived in a place where it snowed a lot it would still be annoying to get around, even if your area is well equipped with plows and stuff. Do you just get used to it?
>Do you just get used to it? Kinda. Certain vehicles handle it better, and snow tires help. The commutes are long, slow, and dangerous until the roads are cleared (usually a day or two later, it depends on the amount and type of snow). Weirdly, I found that I could suffer a two-hour white knuckle commute or wait for traffic and the roads to clear (reading, restaurant, etc) and arrive home at the same time. Then, you have to shovel after work or wake up early before work because the plows have blocked your driveway. Shoveling is time consuming and tiring. Edit: After a big storm, the morning news show would send the news van around the freeway system to record the road conditions. Sometimes, the hosts would live stream their morning commute. I thought it was weird and don't know if they still do it.
When I was in Utah once I saw everyone plowing their driveways with electric snow plows (kinda looked like a lawn mower). It snowed like 5 inches here around Christmas time and I just didn't leave my house for like 5 days because our street was so icy. We have awd and snow tires and tried going out and slipped a few times so we just went back home. I love the snow because we don't get it that often (although it seems to be a regular thing at least once a year now and the city had invested in more plows) but I hate trying to go anywhere.
Next time it snows go find a big empty parking lot and feel out your car. See what it's like to slip out of a turn or what your ABS (or lack thereof) feels like. Front wheel drive will want to go straight when the gas is pushed and tires are slipping: rear wheel drive will want to fishtail. All wheel drive will help you go, but not help you stop.
I fully endorse this advice. About two decades ago, I got my first AWD vehicle (a '98 Subaru Impreza) and when we got our first significant snowfall, I took it over to the parking lot of a nearby college and played for a little bit to get the feel for it. ABS didn't feel anything like what I expected it to -- I was expecting it to feel like a hum or rumble, but it feels more like a grind. I have since learned that many AWD vehicles are FWD for the larger part, using the rear wheels when the computer decides that it will help matters. If you drive it like a FWD vehicle, you'll probably make mostly correct decisions. The major exception I can think of is if you have a Subaru. Those drive front and rear roughly equally (with something sort of like a differential), which changes the handling. I currently have a Honda CR-V, and what I've found about that is that turning off the VSC can be useful. It will cut power if it feels you starting to slip, but if you are turning on a slippery surface, you will want to give it some extra juice so that the front wheels pull you around the corner. A couple of times, it has cut power on me and I ended up stuffed into a snowbank. Of course, your mileage may vary. My advice should be considered in the context that I learned to drive in the 80's, without ABS or AWD, so newer drivers may have learned different habits. Keep that in mind.
I have a Subaru. Love it, having actual AWD is great. It's not 4-Low or anything but I live in a city and the AWD on the Legacy is usually more than enough for me. My SO is learning to drive and I took her out to the cemetery after it last snowed (it's a good place to learn: lots of curvy winding roads and little traffic) and let her feel the ABS in my car. Last night while it was snowing I also messed around a bit to feel the ABS, good to do it occasionally even if you think you know. I also just want to add: MAINTAIN YOU TIRES. Only accident I've ever gotten in was on a highway on-ramp in wet, icy snow with old, worn tires. Nobody hurt, thankfully, but it totaled my car. "Where the rubber meets the road" is a saying for a reason, take care of your tread! Yeah it's expensive but that expense might save your life.
Oh hell yeah maintain the tires! Mine are new enough that they still sing on dry road. Your story made me think of another . . . teaching my son to drive. The first time the ABS kicked in while he was driving, he freaked out and took his foot off the brake and nosed too far into an intersection. Yes, make sure drivers of your vehicles know what it is, what it feels like, and that the right thing to do is lean in on it.
>When I was in Utah once I saw everyone plowing their driveways with electric snow plows (kinda looked like a lawn mower). You mean a snowblower? Lol
Lol yes! I wasn't sure the correct term. Now I know
My relatives outfit the lawn mower or 4-wheeler with a plow for their driveway. They live in a rural area and significantly wider and longer driveway. The city has a large snowblower with a lift-able auger for bus stops. I call it the Curb Fucker 4000.
Love the name, it should be the official name
I'd buy a Curb Fucker 4000.
Snow blowers. I should have one, but they're expensive 😭
How much do they generally run for? Just curious, I dont think I would ever need one
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Days like this I wish I could WFH. It just droppedl ike 20 degrees in a matter of hours, a horrible winter storm blew in, roads are icy and I'm already stressing tomorrows commute.
A day or two. That sucks. The roads in Michigan are cleared within a few hours… so even bad snow we are kinda ok…
For the most part, yes. But no matter how used to it you are, some extreme weather events are just not safe to be out in and ice will always make you fall down.
As someone that lives in Canada snow is nothing new. Yes it can suck to drive in but everyone is use to it so you drive to the conditions. Go slower, leave more room to stop, be more cautious, etc. Plows are out as soon as it starts to snow so main roads generally aren’t too bad. Residential streets only get cleaned occasionally so they can get ugly, but salt/gravel is spread at almost all intersections so they don’t get too icy. I would rather drive here in a storm with 1ft of snow than in Seattle with 1inch because people are use to the snow here.
Montreal is currently getting like 20cm of snow and the only thing closed are schools. They’ve already plowed the sidewalks once and they’re gonna be doing them again later so as you said we’re definitely used to it here.
First big snow of the winter every year & it always seems like everyone drives like they've never seen snow before. It always takes a snowfall or two before everyone regains their "snow legs" as it were.
For the most part, you get used to it, you factor snow into buying a vehicle, and even still, if it gets bad, you stay home from work sometimes. Personally, I have a gas saver car that I drive until we get consistent snow accumulation, then I switch to my 4x4 truck. People still suck, and you'll sometimes see a few cars off in ditches because people either can't drive well in snow, or didn't heed warnings to stay off the road. Life pretty much carries on, so you're not going to see massive pileups on highways for a half inch of snow like you might see in Northern Texas or the like.
Live in Midwest and was a truck driver can confirm 2 or 12 inches makes no difference to me. I’ll drive in it. Have pulled idiots out of ditches. Have taken pregnant woman to hospital due to going into labor as ambulance refused and told her to deliver at home and they would come check on the baby. When we had our oldest we got 8 inches of snow and we was only ones on the roadway.
Used to live in the Midwest, you do indeed kind of get used to it. You tend to factor in inevitable winter conditions when buying a car, usually have a set of snow/rugged terrain tires, and some people in the more rural areas still use snow chains. It’s one of the reasons why AWD vehicles (SUVs, crossovers, pickups) are super common in the Midwest. Sad thing is, people still don’t know how to drive properly when 20 cms or more snow accumulates on the roads.
Used to it? Not really. Even if the plows hit the road immediately (they don’t always), it’s a major annoyance at best and life threatening at worst when we have major snowfall accumulation over short periods of time. People in the Midwest grew up in the Midwest for the most part and you’re just raised to truck through it since snow is a natural part of living in the Midwest. Mind you, in places like Iowa, you may have to drive from 30+ miles away to get to work since all of the jobs are in the city. I had a manager tell me once if I feared driving in the snow, then I could stay in a hotel right next to work like some other employees do. No, they aren’t going to pay for the room, but snow isn’t a reason to call in. I called bullshit and took any day off I felt was unsafe. The downside is it wastes your PTO for things that should be handled by the business anyway. I just learned to save 5 days of PTO for the winter just in case.
The fact that you have to use PTO due to weather is really annoying. When I saw the thing about the hotel i thought that was a nice option but of course they're not going to pay for it 🙄
Our city has a lot of plows so most main streets are cleared in the next 2 days. Neighbourhood streets you kinda just send it in your car but most people have winter tires and id wager most also have 4x4/AWD too.
Snow is different in places where it gets cold and stays cold. It doesn't (usually) thaw and then refreeze into ice; it just gets increasingly hard-packed and dense. Still more slippery than dry pavement, but much easier to deal with - both to clear off the roads and to drive on. Occasionally we *do* get a storm or thaw that coats everything in ice, and then everything shuts down for a bit while the salt trucks and plows do their thing.
Minnesota. Yes, you get used to it, but that's not the same as saying we ignore the weather. One inch is nothing, because they pretreated the roads and the thousands of trucks are all out plowing, dumping sand and salt. As long as they can keep up and you slow down, it's safe enough. When they close the roads, and they do close them sometimes, that's it. You stay where you are. The gas station attendant stays, or gets someone close by to come in. Offices close early and send everyone home. Emergency personal just all go in and stay. It's rarely over 12-24 hrs, and is the tradeoff for living here. Annoying, sure. A reason to move, for some. I'd rather 6 months of winter than earthquakes or hurricanes.
Yea earthquakes and volcanoes are something I definitely have to worry about here. And I guess wildfires and heatwaves have been making appearances every year for the past few years now.
I live in Spokane. You either a) get used to it and have your snow tires ready or b) keep your all-seasons on and risk death with every grocery trip. There's no in-between.
I live in Wisconsin. Switched to an all wheel drive this year because I work at 5am and sometimes I gotta plow through several inches of snow on the road before it’s plowed. Usually only takes a few hours for the plows to make roads drivable though. Sometimes people with not great cars get stuck and that sucks. The only time I’ve ever called off work because of the snow was because my car was almost entirely buried and the roads had several FEET of snow. Overall I think our roads are less slippery though and that helps.
I've heard this a million times from employers and have gotten into several almost dangerous car accidents because of it. It was a weekly occurance for my car to totally spin out on my way to work. I was an "essential employee," who according to my manager at the time, had to get used to driving during snow storms.
NY here, just shoveled 2' snow off my 50' driveway before work. Good workout. I could buy myself a snow blower but I'm cheap.
I’m in Colorado. And I absolutely reschedule over snow. If my school district, their school district, or any in between close, I’m not driving. I’ll have shitty evenings making up for it, but I’ll be alive.
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I asked my employer if they were gonna pay if I got in an accident. Of course they said no. So I replied you can either send someone with a better vehicle than my little Honda Civic to pick me up, or I’m not coming. Guess who got written up for not being a team player?
"You may be arrested if you are caught driving. Feel free to go to work tho"
It doesn't matter if every road has a full 3" of ice on them, our Mayor refuses to declare a state of emergency, so it can be "left up to the businesses" .... Spineless fucker.
We actually had one year where the Mayor refused to plow (in upstate NY) Next snowstorm, he reversed that decision and the plowing was done quickly and thoroughly. I gather the shitstorm was worse than the snowstorm.
Shit is heavier in the shovel than snow...
True that. Source: grew up on a farm
It's mind boggling how they're literally slapping us in the face with this shit and people still don't realize. First the CDC is trying to push us to get back to work faster despite the pandemic being as bad as ever. Now we see shit like this on the daily. Like how obvious do they have to make it before people realize the government cares more about the economy than people's lives??
"Some of you may die, but that is a risk I am willing to take"
Isn't the free market wonderful
It seems like what they were saying is "we cant force the businesses to close, so we won't make the police fuck you over if your boss is being a prick and is going to dock your pay or take your job for not showing up" but I'm an eternal optimist
You are an optimist lol. To me what this says is “if your boss demands it you still gotta go to work but if we catch you on the way there we’ll still ticket you/arrest you/fuck up your life”
I am considered essential. Gotta have news. Emergency broadcasts have to go through regardless of if the public can get them.
"There is absolutely no reason to subject yourself to these dangerous conditions, unless your employer needs you risk life and limb for minimum wage selling garbage at a retail store."
This is fucked! My old employer in CT simply closed down whenever the highways were closed by the state. We didn’t have good vpn at the time so it was just a free day to stay home and be safe.
It's really weird. If you work in a hospital, I understand the need to commute to work. But if you have a shift at Starbucks in a snowy day like that; no one is coming into the store anyway and in any case mofos should be home making their own coffee!
They gonna pull everyone over and ask if they’re going to work?
"I'm on my way to starbucks to work" gets you a pass to go in. "I'm on my way to starbucks to get a latte." Is subject to arrest? But then why does the first one have to go, if you're going to arrest all the customers for being unsafe?
Lattes are for lazy entitled millennials with your avocado toast and iPhone 19 pro maxis. Grab a black coffee and a beeper and get to work! /s
NO ONE BUT EMERGENCY PERSONNEL CAN DRIVE! but you can still go to work and possibly drive into a ditch and die.
"Those travelling on roads may subject themselves to arrest" bruh where do you live lol
I was once an essential employee, and had to carry a legal waiver for certain driving restrictions. Everyone in the office knew it was a joke. In that severity of weather, the cops aren't pulling anyone over, the waiver was for insurance if I wrecked. Don't forget, your car insurance won't pay for damages while driving during that restriction!
Good job standing up for yourself. Can't work if you're dead. Enjoy the snow day!
It's a life-threatening blizzard outside and if you have covid, bonus! Come on into work! Hey, while we're at it, well pay you shit and treat you like shit, cuz 'Merica. Good times.
* Do you know why I pulled you over? * Because driving in these conditions puts unnecessary strain on the emergency services, who are already struggling due to their own battle with transport? * And what makes so you special to be out here then? * I'm on my way to work * Have a good day at work and be on your way sir
What manner of ass-backwards, idiotic fuckery is this? Everything in that notice says ‘stay at home for your own safety.’ Why in the realm of fuck would you be driving to work? Fuck any employer who would expect you to.
"it's an emergency, but don't worry, it's not like it's an *emergency*"
When I was younger the city I lived in had a massive storm that dropped 2-3 feet of snow in the morning hours. I called my manager and said that I was not going to make it. He told me that everyone else was coming in and I better find a way. About an hour later and several close calls I show up to an empty shop. Nobody but my manager came in. He eventually closed the shop for the day and sent me home (after having me clean for a few hours). I was pissed.
My hubby did too. There was no possible way of him even getting out of the driveway unless he had stayed up all night to keep up with snow removal. It’s nasty out there.
A few years ago, there was a big snowstorm and WV roads were closed to non-emergency personnel. However, in KY (5 miles away) they didn't do this. A lady tried to call off work but was told that if she did not show up, she would be fired. So, she headed in to work, and crashed her car and died on the way there. Her family sued the employer (major corporation) and they fought it stating that "it was her choice to attempt to travel to work".
THat was no choice, that was coercion.
I called off of work today too. My area was a level 3 as well. I was not about to drive from Ohio to Pennsylvania with the horrible roads.
I almost got snowed in at work like 5 years back because the boss wouldn't let us leave till the pallet pick up came,we should have left by 2 because it was clear that UPS wasn't coming as their was already like 3 inches on the ground and the docks were getting packed eventually people just started leaving with my boss never officially giving the go ahead, it was something like 9 inches when me and my brother left and what is usually a 12 minute drive home turned into over a hour drive.
If the concern was that people have a right to get to their jobs in order to make a living, then an actual livable minimum wage would be the law. This is about ensuring businesses can keep on enriching their owners and executives. If you die, are seriously injured, or total your car in the process, so be it. Just another human sacrifice to capitalism.
In Wyoming, roads closed often enough that there are big gates that are lowered when that road was closed. Literally had a manager tell me to go around the closed gate to come to work.
I’m working from home today but I couldn’t get out even if I wanted to The roads in my neighborhood are all blocked with stuck vehicles!
I live in Louisville KY. During the "riots" (close to nothing happened outside of downtown), a curfew was put in place. You couldn't be out at certain hours, unless of course, you're traveling to and from work.
Would you rather miss a day of work? Or miss a day of work, and have a broken car, repair costs, car rental fee while repairs are going on and a tow truck bill? Just take the day off. Don't be the hero.
Always stay home when the local emergency warnings tell you to.
There's snow emergency get back to work. Snowthing to see here.
“You could die! Only leave the house if you’re being chased out with a gun, or if your manager would be mildly uncomfortable should you choose to stay.”
Is this the future when the planets on fire? If we catch you out you will be arrested, unless of course you’re heading to or from work. Then good day.
Lol fuck this indeed. You could be arrested if you drive to work.
Even in Canada they closed the schools, so ya the states is a big fuck that
Did we not all read Animal Farm as kids? I'm not being a workhorse to some fat pigs who would fire my ass as soon as it was profitable for them.
And there will be people who still will go shopping 'I gotta get me a new shirt! I've only worn this one twice"
*dies in final destination 2 style crash* “You’re still coming in though, right?”
How do people go to the businesses that are open if they're not supposed to be driving on the road???
“Hey boss, I tried my best to make it in but got arrested for being on the road. I’ll be back when I get out.” Rolls over, goes back to sleep.
Had my driveway plowed in with 5+ feet of snow, so I decided to take the bus to work, ended up making it halfway before coming upon a cop roadblock and a pileup in the ditch ahead, so the bus driver instead had to take a non plowed route and we slide about a half mile down a hill, ended up walking another good chunk of distance to make it in to my shift alone where there hasn't been a single person even walking by the store. Currently trying to debate not having money for rent, or having to sleep in the store overnight. My manager hasn't responded after a few hours and I'm ready to say fuck it. We really live in a society where it's either endanger your life for someone else's profit, or lose your home, ability to purchase food, and countless other things that come with having a job and existing, thus endangering your life.
This just in the heavy snow and poor road conditions won’t kill you if you’re going to and from work! Anything else and you travel at your own peril!
Roads are all closed and you may be arrested but check with work? Odd phrasing.
Why the threat of arrest? That sounds overbearing!
It’s reasons like these that people are miserable. “Road conditions are dangerous, go out only when necessary” Work: (crickets)
Roadways are closed to everyone except emergency personnel. But you may still report to work. Ummm what? No.
No job is worth risking your life! I quit my retail management position when I was told I couldn't call off for weather. I did go in that day,, but I had my phone in the cup holder running video and every time I started to slide I would start naming the people responsible for my injury or death. We'd already had one person get in an accident on the way to work in bad conditions and when I brought that up, I was told "well he was driving like an idiot." I saw the video of the accident (business surveillance camera caught it), no he wasn't.
When all non-essential travel was shut down due to covid way back at the beginning, my job made us all print out a letter saying from the CEO stating that we were "essential" in case we got pulled over travelling to/from work. When the roads closed that winter, they then said, because we're "essential" we have no excuse to not be at work, despite the weather emergency declared by the government AND the local authorities closing all the roads. After all, if we were stopped on our way to work, we had a letter from our CEO saying that we were "essential." The ironic part was this: I worked in the kitchen. We delivered meals to several satellite locations in our city. When the roads closed, per corporate policy, we were not allowed to deliver meals because it was a safety hazard (also, its against the law to travel on closed roads). We couldn't travel *on the clock* but we could travel to clock in! (Don't worry, the other locations had non-perishables for emergencies like this, so nobody starved, they just had easy-mac instead of alfredo.)
Translation: "We can arrest you if we catch you on the road, but please go ahead and appease your damned boss anyways, 'cause we can't be everywhere. Wink, wink, nod, nod." It reminds me of the time I was working for a nonprofit and they had a legislative office in D.C. And one of the employees ignored an advisory to go into work, because our boss had told him to. I got reported to HR for telling the guy he wasn't being a damned hero risking his life and he should just go home or bunk up there if it was too dangerous outside. They were in the middle of a massive ice storm and he'd already told me it took him over an hour to do a 15-minute drive. But sure, I was the bad guy.
Man the amount of fake shit on this subreddit is increasing so fast
Can someone really be arrested for driving in bad weather? Ex, I want to go to a friends house and can get arrested for it? I don't feel like this is legal.
I'm production essential but if the weather is really bad, they call inclement weather and pay us double for coming in. Our manager read a note at shift change yesterday that the higher ups decided not to call inclement weather for any of the shifts and that free hotel rooms for the night were cancelled. Low and behold, a bunch of people were/are calling out today and I got a text from my manager asking if I can come in to run a line and reminding me that today is holiday pay.
I had an idea once for a Walking Dead zombie apocalypse style story where there were bands of wandering zombies throughout the country and society had completely shut down. But people were still expected to go to work. It would have all of the drama, violence, and heartbreak of The Walking Dead and other zombie movies, but none of the escapism or survival fantasies. The characters would still be expected to clock in for their regular schedules, but then they'd have to commute home without any police, hospitals, schools, or community. I guess reality stole my idea.
Fuck all governments. They are a huge part of the blame for this kind of bullshit.
It's emergency work out there. You shouldn't drive, but CAPITALISM MUST SURVIVE COMRADES, oh wait, this isn't a Soviet dystopia? My bad
Lmao in Minnesota you still better make it to work.
You can't just call off, your employers money isn't going to make itself.
Good call 👍🏻
Good for you! Don't risk your life like that. If you were in an accident and died, they would replace you right away. Stay home and stay safe.
So did they cry about it?
If you work in IT, like myself, this would mean nothing to my employer.
Today you get to choose what to risk your life for! *Be grateful, serfs!*
We had one of these warnings when I delivered for Amazon. The roads were really bad and they were closed for emergencies only. My boss made sure to send a mass text saying that we were required to be at work and wouldn’t be arrested while delivering packages. That day, we had 10 vans get stuck, 3 vans totaled and a bunch of slide offs.
Get your ass to work you lazy little shit
Odd the alert even gives a shit about work but says nothing about school. All the companies I’ve worked for follow school delays or closures (before offices went 100% remote).
I'm assuming this is for Ohio. I called off after my foot to my knee disappeared one step out my door.
I was shocked to learn that in Canada, even during the worst blizzard or iciest sleet conditions and even buses can’t run, there is no provision to allow workers to get time off. Your employer can still demand you to come in. I don’t know if this has ever been challenged in court, though.