Some Good, Some Bad

I landed a longer-term part-time assignment last month. At the time it happened I was told (twice) that the job paid at a rate of $17 per hour.

Not Walton money, but money that would come in handy, and money beyond the scale of the other jobs I'd been working for the district. As a classroom aide, I made $66 per day. As a substitute teacher, the rate was $80 per day; $85 after 20 days of service.

The job was to provide one-on-one monitoring and work with a troubled six-year-old boy with fairly pronounced anger issues. On May 16, the kid had a meltdown in the classroom, throwing items, screaming, and uttering a variety of colorful threats and expletives, the highlight of which was telling a girl he'd put something in her vagina.

I don't think I even knew that word until I was a teenager.

Anyway, this type of work isn't my favorite thing. It's unwinnable. The most optimistic outcome is to manage the situation, and hopefully provide enough guidance and oversight to let the class proceed somewhat normally.

After four of the five weeks, I'm fairly pleased with the results. He's reduced his outbursts significantly; the last few days of the week went quite well.

Just not for me. The district has decided to fuck me over, now saying that the person who told me (twice) that the rate for this gig was $17 per hour was mistaken, and that I'd get the sub teacher rate.

Now, odds are very likely that had they said at the time of the job that the rate was regular teacher sub pay, I'd have taken it.

But that wasn't what they told me. Contractually, I think this is no contest: they offered, I accepted, then they said they fucked up but too bad so sad. But I have no hammer. If I fight them on this, I could probably win. But it'd be the last time they let me work there.

Welcome to the Modern American Workplace, where you're going to eat it.

***

During class Friday, before I found out what was happening to my pay situation, I got a call. I quickly shoved it to voicemail, but the local number intrigued me. A little later I had the chance to listen to the message, and return the call.

Guess who's got a job interview Friday?