We’ve reached the point of the grievance process where it will sit in a “No Man’s Land” between the Union and Management: Step A. When this occurs, Union leadership sends the evidence up the chain of command so Management cannot squirm out of the decision-making process on whether or not I still have a job.
Technically, I’ll still be Career, but I’ll be sitting in Limbo until they finally stop being stubborn. My experience tells me that this is how they get around the higher-level charges being set against them: they wait out the grievance. I’ve one coworker who’s been at this stage for nearly two years…
I can’t sit on my laurels and wait that long. I’m no longer involved in the grievance, so I’m left to my own devices. That left me with many late-nights pondering (despairing) on what to do.
But I have a lot stashed away, financially, so the family will be fed. It might get tight occasionally, but we have breathing room for me to decide on something:
“Should I go back to school and try a new stage in my life?”
I’ve applied for a course on Cybersecurity. It’s something that I’ve had an interest in for years, but when I started in the Post Office, it was a highly-restricted field. Now that it’s been made more available, I can finally learn and work in a new field.
So, there it is. I’m going back to school. Only took twenty years…
Going to be some late nights spent studying and handling homework. I have an assessment to take in a couple of days, but I’ll let you know how it goes. For now, it’s chores and budgeting.
Stay safe out there, folks.
-JB Swift
Swift's Corner 