‘Death is No Excuse’ and More Bad Boss Horror Stories

by Mike Hall, Jun 19, 2006

There are a lot of bad bosses out there. Since the AFL-CIO community affiliate Working America launched its My Bad Boss Contest a few days ago, more than 100 people have written about their tyrannical, egotistical, idiotic and downright mean bosses.

Workers have sent in stories about a boss who said, “Death is no excuse” to miss work; a boss who tricked his Pennsylvania workers into writing manuals for workers who replaced them—in India; and a Missouri boss who forced his workers to stay in a sewage-flooded office.

The contest is an opportunity for workers to speak out about the difficulties they face every day on the job.

If you have a horror story or maybe one of those rare “My Boss is Great” tales, click here. If you have the best Bad Boss story, you can win a week’s vacation in a resort condominium, courtesy of UnionPlus and $1,000 for airfare.

Click here to learn more about the contest that runs through Aug. 10.

As a bonus, several celebrities—including author, comedian and Air America host Al Franken, best-selling author Barbara Ehrenreich and populist commentator Jim Hightower—will share horror stories about some of their bad bosses.

Gather around. We’ve got some more stories to tell:

• When a worker in Minnesota, who prefers to remain anonymous, discovered her dental clinic boss was charging the state for work on patients who had not seen clinic dentists and other insurance scams, she went to the clinic’s director. Two days later, the seven-and-half month pregnant worker was fired for “an attitude problem.”

• Jeanette from California tells about a boss who wouldn’t spend the money for an emergency portable toilet after all the pipes froze at the small manufacturing company where she worked. His reason? He and his wife couldn’t afford it because they were buying a new golf course house, including a $20,000 chandelier.

• Russ in Maryland sends in a tale about a boss of a growing, profitable and productive company who one day went ballistic in a department meeting, screaming about more productivity and the need to instill fear in the workers. He eliminated bonuses, cut overtime and made managers work off the clock on weekends. Russ found out what set off the tantrum: a local competitor who was able to afford a more expensive imported luxury car. The bad boss even admitted that during his tirade.

Check here for more My Bad Boss tales.

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