The Worker is Worthy of His Wages

#2 Son has now had a MeJob for over a month.  A few days ago, he was finally able to access the money he has earned.

The whole situation has been one snafu after another.  For one thing, many employers of hourly wage earners pay their employees via a pay card issued by a big bank.  In theory, it's easy, just like a credit or debit card.  In practice, there are fees to get your money, fees for inactivity on the card, fees to make a purchase, tons of fees, all charged to people who can afford such things the least -- hourly wage earners who only get minimum wage or just above it.  There's an article about the practice here, and i don't like what i'm reading.

Then there's the whole explanation #2 Son was given when he asked about his pay after his first couple of weeks.  "You should have been given a pay card when you went to orientation.  Since you weren't, you have to go to the main office and talk to them."

Talking to them didn't do much good.  He was given a card that they said would work.  It didn't.  He was eventually issued a check for a portion of his pay, and sent another pay card overnight from the main company.

After countless hours online trying to activate it all and calling customer service over and over and calling the regional office over and over, he finally got the right card, and it was activated, and he got his full pay.

Because of all this, i asked if they offer direct deposit to a bank account.  It seems that they do, but they make that option harder to pick, and there is a ton of paperwork to fill out to have that done.  We are going to do it anyway.  He has had a savings account at the credit union since he was very young, and now that he's 18, we will go today and convert it over to a free student account with a checking account and his own debit card that won't have a ton of fees, unless he uses an out of network ATM.

Then we will wade through the work to get his money direct deposited.  Wish us luck.


Today is:

Alfred Hitchcock Day -- some internet sources say March 8, and no one knows who picked either day, but his genius is worth celebrating

Arbor Day -- China; Taiwan

Donkey Appreciation Day -- formerly celebrated, but the lowly donkey is no longer as indispensable as he was; if you share my fondness for beasts of burden, celebrate it anyway

Girl Scouts Birthday -- US

Huddling of Fairies of the Third Flight -- Fairy Calendar

Kronprinsessans Namnsdag -- Sweden (Name Day of HRH Crown Princess Victoria, the Heir Apparent; an official flag day)

Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries -- Ancient Greek Calendar (three day festival, dates approximate; celebrates the marriage of Kore and Dionysos)

Martyrdom of Hypatia of Alexandria -- in 415, she was murdered for the three crimes of being intelligent, female, and pagan

National Baked Scallops Day

National Day -- Mauritius (anniversary of independence in 1968)

National Decoration Day -- Liberia

National No Smoking Day -- UK (for help quitting, go here)

Plant a Flower Day -- sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation; now's a good time to give wildlife friendly perennials a head start, starting them indoors if you have to

Registered Dietitian Day -- US

St. Gregory the Great's Day (Patron of choir boys, educators, masons, musicians, popes, schoolchildren, singers, stonemasons, stone cutters, students, and teachers; England; Kercem, Malta; Legazpi, Philippines; Montone, Italy; San Gregorio nelle Alpi, Italy; West Indies; against gout and plague)
     note that Pope St. Gregory is also celebrated on Sept. 3, the date he was elected pope
     Graekarismessa (Mass of St. Gregory) -- Torshavn, Faroe Islands (traditional day on which the oystercatcher, their symbolic national bird, returns)
     Gregoru Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (Gregory's Day, similar to groundhog day for weather prediction)

St. Seraphina's Day (Patron of the disabled and handicapped, and of spinners)

World Day Against Cyber Censorship -- sponsored by Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International

World Maths Day -- International

Youth Day -- Zambia


Anniversaries Today:

Mick Jagger marries Bianca Perez Morena de Macias, 1971
Paul McCartney marries Linda Louise Eastman, 1969


Birthdays Today:

Frank Catalano, 1978
Aaron Eckhart, 1968
David Daniels, 1966
Darryl Strawberry, 1962
Marlon Jackson, 1957
Rob Cohen, 1949
James Taylor, 1948
Liza Minnelli, 1946
Al Jarreau, 1940
Barbara Feldon, 1933
Andrew Young, 1932
Edward Albee, 1928
Wally Schirra, 1923
Jack Kerouac, 1922
Gordon MacRae, 1921
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, 1881
Simon Newcomb, 1835
Charles Cunningham Boycott, 1832
Clement Studebaker, 1821

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Moses und Aaron"(Opera), 1954
"Fervaal"(Opera; d'Indy Op. 40), 1897
"Simon Boccanegra"(Opera), 1857


Today in History:

Martyrdom of Hypatia of Alexandria, philosopher, 415
Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Roman general, Belisarius, 538
Orvieto, Italy, rules it will behead and burn Jewish-Christian couples, 1350
Jews are expelled from Syria, 1496
New Jersey becomes an English colony, 1664
The first steam engine in America installed, to pump water from a mine, 1755
Andrew Watson makes his Scotland debut as the world's first black international football player and captain, 1881
In Vicksburg, Mississippi, Coca-Cola is sold in bottles for the first time, 1894
The first main line electric train in UK, from Liverpool to Southport, begins running, 1904
The Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA) are founded in the United States, by Juliette Gordon Lowe, 1912
The foundation stone of the new Australian capital in Canberra is laid, 1913
Mohandas Gandhi begins 200m (300km) march protesting British salt tax, 1930
The Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of Communism, 1947
The Church of England ordains its first female priests, 1994
Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO, 1999
Financier Bernard Madoff plead guilty in New York to scamming $18 billion, the largest in Wall Street history, 2009
The U.S. Census Bureau reports the world now has 7 billion people, 2012