The company that I work for is a big contributor to United Way. Every year we receive a form that we MUST fill out where we have the option of having money taken out of our paycheck to donate. The company matches 75% of all donations, which is great.
What I don't like is that the incentive they use to get us to donate is a free personal day. Why does it bother me? Well, because I really want that extra personal day and I don't think that it is kosher that I have to donate to a company that I normally wouldn't just to receive it. Why can't I donate to the Susan G. Komer Breast Cancer Association or to The American Alzheimer's Association? Those are charites that are much closer to my heart as my mother works in Oncology and Alzheimer's runs in my family.
The other thing that they make us do is we have to increase the amount of our donation every year to qualify for that personal day. Because I have worked here for almost 8 years I pay 7-8x's more for that same personal day as someone who has been here for a year. Right now I am at about $80 per year for that personal day. It isn't much, but compared to someone else who pays $12 for the same day, it kinda chaps my hide.
Don't get me wrong, I like to donate to charity. I don't mind giving time to help others. What I do mind is being pressured into donating and the discrepancy in how much people are donating to receive the same benefit. I would rather they took the incentive of a personal day away completely so that I can donate the money that I grudgingly give United Way to a charity that I WANT to give to.
This reminds me of another thing that chaps my hide. Every Christmas Eve, the people who start their shift at 10:45 or later don't have to come in to work at all that day and get paid holiday pay for the entire day. Me? I have to come in at 8:45 and work until 12. I get paid holiday pay for the rest of the day and am not given comp time for the 3 hours and 15 minutes that I am required to work.
It just doesn't seem right or fair.
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8 comments:
I've been very leary of United Way since I found out that they pay the top guy half a million dollars a year. I thought it was supposed to be a charity, not an outfit that gives very large sums to millionaires.
Wow. I'm kind of glad I work for the state where they couldn't get away with any of that. Except the part where I don't hardly make any money working for the state.
If it were me, I would suck up the loss of an extra personal day and give my $80 or whatever to a charity I wanted to give it to.
it isn't right OR fair!
i'm all for people giving to charity (since i work for one that gets united way money) but it shouldn't be so unfair like that at your work place. hmphf!
I definitely think that's nasty that they keep hiking up the pay each year. It's like those charities that send you notices and they actually circle the amount they want you to give.
I agree... that is NOT fair! Paying extra for the personal day & not getting all the time off for Christmas Eve. Seems like your company just doesn't apprecaite their employees.
One other thing you forgot to mention is that to make it look like this company can boast of 100% employee participation we have to turn in the form even if we don't want to donate. This makes them look better in the community and then they can state that they are being more civic minded.
At this point it sounds like you may have to calculate and compare the cost of donating to one day of work. Unfair. I'm not a huge fan of United Way either, seems like a corporate scam.
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