The Martyr Returns

I rarely talk about work other than in vague references. I’m breaking w/that out of frustration. Beyond my ongoing EMT training, I’m a 911 dispatcher. I’m also a union officer for our local chapter. And for a change, my anger is directed at my fellow dispatchers rather than management.

Here I am literally leaving my friend, who is very ill, in the emergency room, to go speak at the rally and only two of my coworkers show up to lend a hand. Granted it was raining but two out of 110? That was like a kick in the teeth. I was initially very angry with my coworkers for such a poor turnout. Many of which bitch and whine daily about our problems. (I’m also of the mind don’t bitch unless you are part of the process.) I was so upset, in fact, I almost resigned my post. Why am I spending all this valuable time on people who obviously don’t give a damn. I’m not even gonna be in the same job a year from now.

After cooling off (and getting food in me), I began to see the bigger picture. Lately, I’ve been very frustrated w/the lack of leadership from our chapter president. She means well, but is very unorganized and doesn’t really fill the role effectively. This lack of direction is undermining our efforts. As clearly demonstrated by the poor turnout, our membership isn’t listening to us. That’s just wrong. And it’s not for lack of effort. All of the officers give of themselves to better our center. However, working hard and working smart are two different things. I’m a big believer in working smart first and hard second. And that’s not happening. Normally, I’d step up to the plate and offer to take over. However, with my focus on training to be a medic, I simply don’t have the free time the position requires.

Never being one to give up easily, I’ve called an informal meeting of the officers tomorrow. I’m hoping to express myself w/o pointing blame. Maybe my tizzy will spur the prez into action. If not, I’ll stick it out till the end of the year and after that, I’m done.