Need job help

[unlucky1 0]

Ok, here is the scoop. A hospital in Alaska paid me big bucks to move up here 9 months ago to work. During the middle of the winter they told me that our patient "numbers" were down. They threatened to lay me off during the wintertime until business picked back up in the summer. Scared the hell out of me (and pissed me off), after all, i've got a mortgage, bills, etc..... By the way...i signed a 2 year contract with this hospital last August. Last week, another medical facility offered me a job for a couple more bucks an hour. This facility is top of the line as far as technology goes. It has tons of potential and practically no chance of layoff. Since then the hospital has offered me a 6 buck an hour raise to stay. Do I take the chance of staying at the hospital that almost fucked me last winter? Or do I break the contract with them and go to the brand new medical facility with tons of potential for about $20K less per year?

[bob.dino 1]

Have you given any commitment (verbal or written) to the new hospital? If so, I'd go there.

If not, ask them if they can match the offer your current hospital has made. If they can, go.

If not, it gets trickier. My conscience would say go, but $20k/year is a powerful incentive to stay. If you do decide to stay, maybe ask for a contract extension?

[unlucky1 0]

That is the problem. I've got a written contract with the first hospital. The second hospital has my verbal agreement. The problem is in Alaska, this is a right to work state. This means that they can fire you anytime, any reason, for no just cause. But if I break the contract, then supposedly i have to pay them back the money they gave me to move up. Fucked up laws..... Anyhow, 20K sounds like a lot of money, but what if they lay me off this winter??? They didn't really help me out in the "trust" category.

[unlucky1 0]

BY the way, the contract states that because Alaska is the way it is.... they can break the contract anytime they want.....but i can't..

[chaoskitty 0]

Depends on why you were "threatened" to be laid off. Is part of your job to secure a certain percentage of occupancy? Or are you medical staff?

Sometimes when you quit a job to go somewhere else, you go out of the fire but in to the flames. I'd check that out as much as possible first.

Oh and I'd GTFOut of Alaska. 9 months there would be plenty for moi.

[unlucky1 0]

I'm on the staff here. The problem is the department is a two person department for 9 months a year, and a 1.5 person department for about 3 months a year (winter). The only problem for them is that they can't find somebody to move up to Alaska for 9 months at a time. Intead of biting the bullet for 3 months a year, they immediately react with a "layoff" threat. They tried to fill the job for 3 years before I came looking for a position in Alaska. They offered it to me right over the phone upon receipt of my resume. And they gave me 40K in moving expenses. It looked like they were desperate. Now that we are busy again, they are trying hard as hell to keep me. But how long will that last? Until winter again???? I hate corporate bueracracies. And hospitals can be some of the worst abusers of that type of system.

[dgm458 0]

First things first: right to work has nothing to do with your situation-It's simply a sham to screw unions, nothing more, nothing less. If you are affected by a state law, it's not this one.

Question-When you took the position at the "old" hospital, was it understood that in the Winter you would be idle or cut back on hours? If not, they may have breached the contract depending on your terms.

Other than that, you should stay where you are to avoid the paybacks you would owe. You should put back some $$$ now for this winter and when your contract is up, leave or renegotiate. If you renegotiate, take care of the Winter time situation and possible lay off-have guaranteed works hours or a guaranteed minimum weekly salary.

Even better, come back to dz.com during the negotiations and we'll hook you up.

david

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Failure to prepare is preparing to fail

[unlucky1 0]

yes, it was definitely understood that it was a Full-time 40 hour week, 52 week year. The hospital says they gurantee me that that type of thing will not happen again....although they also said they cannot gurantee that corporate headquarters can make the same type of promise. Turns out, I found out today, that 2 years ago they laid off 106 people. Most of these also were paid to come up from the lower 48. As anybody who has been to Alaska can testify, If you are laid off in the wintertime, it is virtually impossible to move back to the lower 48 until May arrives. The road is impassable, and you could fly out, but all of your household belongings won't get shipped to the lower 48 until a barge takes them south...usually in the early summer months as well. Try to uproot a family and move them 5000 miles back south when you have leave everything behind for several months...including automobiles. The hospital thinks that they can save money by laying these people off in the winter (cuz they have nowhere else to go) and then they can hire them back when they are in dire need before the road opens in the summer. My only problem is I LOVE Alaska, but I figured out that the corporations can really take advantage of people and families up here.

[lawrocket 3]

Get yourself a new agent and hold out.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[bob.dino 1]

Ask for a change in your contract so that if you get laid off between Oct & May that you get paid out the three months wages. Then it doesn't matter what corporate headquarters thinks .