Wednesday, November 11, 2020

The Way We Were Wednesday - Middle Brother


 Last week was my oldest brother.  This week my middle brother.  He will be 67 or 68 in December.  He called me recently, he calls a few times a year.  I prepare his tax returns, so I am sure to hear from him every spring.  When he calls, he often wants to talk, needs to talk.  I was surprised when he called.  He was on traveling to attend the wedding that I missed.  I was surprised that he was going to the wedding (I watched the wedding on Facebook.) 

I was really surprised when he announced that he has decided to retire in February, the day after his 43rd anniversary working for the Walt Disney Company.  That is right 43 years with one employer. I can remember when he first started.  He was on the hose and broom crew for a couple of weeks, scrubbing the streets of the Magic Kingdom - he hated it because it was wet and dirty, then he cleaned the windows on the Monorails for a couple of years - he loved that because he was able to touch and crawl all over the monorail cars.  He then worked in the warehouses for a few years, then his fantasy came through, Disney trained him drive trucks.  He has spent the past 30 years driving trucks for Disney.  Well most of the past 30 years, he spent a few months back the warehouse after he drove a 12 foot tall truck under a bridge with 11 feet of clearance.  Eventually he was forgiven and put back on the truck.   

I am very happy for him.  He had been saying for years that he was going to work until he was 70.  His health is not perfect, if he retires now he can enjoy life.  He says he wants to travel, see things he has never seen.   

Do you know anyone who has been 40+ years with one employer? 

20 comments:

  1. 40+ years with an employer with the newer generation will be a thing of the past I'm thinking. Friends younger then me don't seem loyal anymore to one place than more then 10 years.

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    1. Human capital is the hardest to raise

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  2. Anonymous11/11/2020

    Yeah me. Serious character defect to work for the one employer for more than forty years, but good on your brother. Reading between the lines, your bro has been treated well by Disney.

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    1. An he has treated them well, working really strange hours, and weeks at a stretch without a day off when they needed him

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  3. That's admirable! My brother has worked for the same drug store in Brooklyn for 44 years. He started part-time when he was 16. It changed ownership once in that time, when it was bought by Rite Aid, the owner/pharmacist eventually retired, but he is the one constant. In my entire career I topped out by working for one employer for 5 years. I was very impressed with my self.

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    1. Every place needs that constant

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  4. I can't say that I do know anyone that's been the same place that long. had a couple colleagues stay in one spot for around twenty, That was pretty impressive.

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    1. I am coming up on 12 years, my longest in one place

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  5. I'm going on 23 years in one agency and will top out at 28.5. I stayed too long and now it's too late to leave. I work with many people who have 30+ years with the agency, and I'm sure there's a 40+ employee somewhere. (One of our security staff is 98.) But I do think people like us are a thing of the past. There's little incentive to stay in one place anymore these days. Many of the benefits I enjoy are no longer available for the next tier of employees, and my benefits are less than those that came before.) Good on your brother that he found a career he could enjoy (or at least not hate) after so many years. I envy that.

    Sassybear
    www.idleeyesandadormy.com

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    1. He has been there long enough to have a real pension

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  6. longest I have ever been with one company is 17 years. I don't know anyone who has worked 30-40 years for the same employer. good for your bro!

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    1. He would have been lost without the Rat

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  7. I don't know anyone who has worked at one place that long. However when I was a little kid, I heard my parents celebrate different friend's retirements from places they had worked that long. Back then i was more common.

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    1. Rare today - one of grandfather's worked for Ford for about 30 years and left just before the pension plan came in.

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  8. Congrats to your brother -- may he enjoy his retirement very much! 40 years with the same employer is almost unheard of in our modern times!

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    1. He is hanging on to pass that 43rd anniversary,

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  9. Balder Half worked for a printing company as a machinist for 22 years. It changed hands twice and he became slave labor. Fed up, with three degrees under his belt, he went into fire services (prevention not suppression). He's been doing that for 21 years and counting. He's been out of work for a total of maybe five months since he started at 16. We're hoping for retirement in 2 years. I have an aunt that worked for the post office for 40 years, give or take.

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    1. Retirement - ahh, August 2023. Enjoy your time in the weekend.

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  10. Father worked for the same law firm that ;long

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