In for a penny, in for a pound

Yup, I'm back on the "crusade for answers" again. Can't help myself. I see and hear others who feel the exact same way I do and there's got to be something, anything that we can get as an explanation so that those of us who've lost our jobs (many after long employments) don't feel like we've been kicked to the curb because we don't fit the ideal of a "nimble organization." And I see others who've kept their positions basically saying "Tough crap!" to those of us unlucky enough to fit in whatever arbitrary mold was used to select the "keepers" from the "losers." Even one person said, "If we want to fire you, we don't need a reason because the regulation says we can release you at any time for no reason whatsoever." That's a nice slap in the face to everyone who loved doing their jobs, did them very well, and enjoyed helping others while spending months away from home, family, and friends in austere conditions and are now basically told to "Get lost!"

What did I do today, you may well be asking. Today I got tired of waiting for the EEO representative to answer my email (he'd marked that he'd read it but I don't know if he really had or not) and no answers at the phone number I was given to contact the same person. So, I figured if I can't go any farther up in the organization, I might as well contact those who help fund the organization and see what they have to say or can find out for me. Yup, I contacted my Congressional Representative and the two Senators from my state. I sent them all the exact same letter explaining what's happened, the responses I've been given, and why I feel that I (and others, though I cannot speak for them) have been treated unfairly by the organization or, if not the organization as a whole, at least by the Region for which we used to work.

Do I expect much to come from this? Not really. Well, the biggest wish would be to watch all of the people who work in the Congressional Liaison Offices going batty because of an employee who has a better understanding of Equal Rights than they thought bringing in the "big guns" but that's not going to happen. They hate it when Congressional inquiries are made on behalf of constituents who feel they've been wronged. And, with it being an election year, many Representatives and Senators will be more willing to help those they represent in the hopes of gaining votes. And since I'm no longer an employee, I have every right to contact whomever I want. I "stayed in my lane" as long as I could. Now I'll do it my way.

Like the title of this post, if I'm going in for a penny I might as well go in for a pound. They've taken their pound of flesh over the years and I knew that they'd never pay back all that I've given. I'm tired of playing it safe and sitting along the sidelines hoping to remain under the radar to keep a job that I love because I could help others in their times of need and would certainly hope that there would be someone there for me if I were in the same position. I'll find a way to continue to help others somewhere down the road. Whether it's with this agency or another remains to be seen. But I'm just not going to sit and "take it" anymore.