My Employer says "Leave your ev at home or you go home!"

7397 Views 44 Replies 27 Participants Last post by Wirecutter, Jul 13, 2009

Bluehair

Discussion Starter · Jun 29, 2009

I drove my '72 super beetle to work last week for the first time and with the encouragement of my supervisor plugged it in to an outdoor outlet to recharge. I also parked in a ride share spot to better access the power outlet.

Well, I have been given a letter saying "bring it again and we send you home" saying they feel the car is unsafe, but they don't say why. It is a 72 volt system with 12 golf cart batteries. Not rocket science but they act like it's a bomb waiting to go off. My supervisor now says he never encouraged me to do anything... to my suprise.

Anyone one else ever have this problem? Oh, I work for a government agency that is supposed to be green!

21 - 40 of 45 Posts

IamIan

· #21 · Jun 30, 2009

david85 said:
You can still do that, but by looking harmless and showing "no balls" as you put it, you get them to talk more and possibly incriminate themselves some more. Once you raise your voice, you are in for a fight. Timing is everything and you need to pick your battles wisely.

Agreed.

The old saying... 'you'll get more flies with honey than vinegar'.

Also agreed ... once you start the fight... the fight is on... and walls will go up... people take sides... people stop listening ... those not wanting to get involved will avoid you etc... you can always pick a fight latter after you start off polite and meek if that is what you choose to do ... but you can't always go back to polite and meek after the fight is started.

Bluehair

Discussion Starter · #22 · Jul 1, 2009

Well, this all took place in Bellingham, Washington. For my sake, I won't name what agency I work for, but they have a large part in alternative transportation in our region.

It has been suggested that I just park across the street and forget about it, but I want to win now. I am going to have a modified vehicle expert from the Washington State Patrol inspect the car and if they say it is safe and legal for the road then it's back to management with a letter. If they still say no then I call th ACLU!

My cousin helped me with the conversion and he wants to call the TV stations, but I want him to wait until I give the State Patrol experts a chance to look at it and inform my agency it is ok.

david85

· #23 · Jul 1, 2009

Let us know how it all turns out. Just be careful to make sure that you can't be identified from what you are posting here.

Powered By DC

· #24 · Jul 1, 2009

Hi Bluehair

If you work for a state run agency here in Washington, there is a law on the books that states that if you are an empoloyee of the state or are doing business with the state they have to allow you to charge if there is an outlet available. The law was written to encourage state employees to drive plug in vehicles. Let me know if you need the RCW and I will try to find it for you.

Dave Kois
EV Components, LLC
http://www.evcomponents.com
253-988-5020
Skype dkoisii

Voltswagen

· #25 · Jul 1, 2009

What a world we live in.
Here's a person exercizing their First Ammendment Rights to freely express an opinion about a veiled threat from his employer and he must take precautions to protect his identity and the identity of the employer.
A sad state of affairs.

Lordwacky

· #26 · Jul 1, 2009

Bluehair said:
Well, this all took place in Bellingham, Washington. For my sake, I won't name what agency I work for, but they have a large part in alternative transportation in our region.

It has been suggested that I just park across the street and forget about it, but I want to win now. I am going to have a modified vehicle expert from the Washington State Patrol inspect the car and if they say it is safe and legal for the road then it's back to management with a letter. If they still say no then I call th ACLU!

My cousin helped me with the conversion and he wants to call the TV stations, but I want him to wait until I give the State Patrol experts a chance to look at it and inform my agency it is ok.

Wow, I'm surprised that this is happening in Bellingham. My experience with Bellingham is that it is a very progressive and supporting when it comes to these matters. In addition to the State patrol you can contact WWU's VRI. I'm sure they can inspect your car and write a statement saying they think your car is safe. The VRI is well respected in the vehicle research community. Thier opinion should carry some weight.

namyzarc

· #27 · Jul 1, 2009

IamIan said:
Agreed.

The old saying... 'you'll get more flies with honey than vinegar'.

Also agreed ... once you start the fight... the fight is on... and walls will go up... people take sides... people stop listening ... those not wanting to get involved will avoid you etc... you can always pick a fight latter after you start off polite and meek if that is what you choose to do ... but you can't always go back to polite and meek after the fight is started.

And there's another saying that says "You'll get more with a kind word and a gun, than with just a kind word..." Not that I advocate violence, just saying if it were me, I'd stand up for myself. The meeker your attitude towards a person of power, the more you make them think they can take advantage of you.

PatricioIN

· #28 · Jul 1, 2009

Sad as it is to say, there are a lot of ignorant dumbasses in this world. And, unfortunately, they tend to be the ones who get positions of authority.

rillip3

· #29 · Jul 2, 2009

IamIan said:
Agreed.

The old saying... 'you'll get more flies with honey than vinegar'.

Also agreed ... once you start the fight... the fight is on... and walls will go up... people take sides... people stop listening ... those not wanting to get involved will avoid you etc... you can always pick a fight latter after you start off polite and meek if that is what you choose to do ... but you can't always go back to polite and meek after the fight is started.

Why do people even say that anyway? Who in the hell wants to catch flies? Is this some sort of obscure fishing reference? That's the only reason I can think of you could possibly want to catch flies for.

/off topic

Amberwolf

· #30 · Jul 2, 2009 (Edited)

Re: My Employer says "Leave your ev at home or you go home!"

(Because you might want to catch them to keep them out of your kitchen, food, off of you, etc. Think of flystrips!)

jlsawell

· #31 · Jul 2, 2009

Here is a thread by a guy here in AUS who jumped through several hoops to get access to a recharge point at the hospital he works at.

A business case is developed, you can use it as a template to develop your own document.

http://visforvoltage.org/forum/2911-arguments-electric-vehicle-recharging-stations#comment-15880

Best of luck.

tomofreno

· #32 · Jul 2, 2009

Very nicely and willingly conform with their request, apologize for any misunderstanding, look for another job, and get out of there as soon as possible.

Tom

IamIan

· #33 · Jul 2, 2009

rillip3 said:
Why do people even say that anyway? Who in the hell wants to catch flies? Is this some sort of obscure fishing reference? That's the only reason I can think of you could possibly want to catch flies for.

The expression is in reference to people statistically react better to you and you are more likely to get them to do things you want them to do when you approach them certain ways... and offer them things that they want... and they do not tend to react as beneficially and or to your liking when you only offer them things they don't like.

This is why Wal-mart despite any number of other methods they are happy to use to cut costs... choose to pay extra by the hour in order to have a 'greeter' greet you with a polite and pleasant way when you come in.

This is why Politicians don't yell at the public and try to use aggressiveness to 'force' them into voting for them.

This is why any successful salesman never opens up with an aggressive attack on the person they are trying to sell a car to ... and is pretty much always polite and pleasant.

etc...etc...

------------------

As for the origins ... I think it just kind of goes back to old trapping logic ... if you want creature A ... to do thing B... you offer them bait ... something they think they want.

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JRP3

· #34 · Jul 3, 2009

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. With the big push for EV's in the government your employers would be insane to take this anti EV stance.
Not to mention there is no good logical reason for them to do this.

Bluehair

Discussion Starter · #35 · Jul 3, 2009

If they would tell me what they feel is unsafe, then I would be able to address their concerns. Since they won't I am left to guess.

I had have of my thyroid removed yesterday and now I don't feel too great. The doc said no cancer, but then he called me when I got home and said the pathologist too a second look and did find cancer so ow I have to have a second operation to remove the rest of it as well as lymp nodes and who know what for follow up.

I'm not gonna let the bastards win, but I'm goona be unable to do much for a while. The good news is that I have a cancer policy that will pay me $5,000 that my wife does not know about! Some new LiFePo's would look really nice about now!

JRP3

· #36 · Jul 3, 2009

Sheesh, sounds as if you have bigger problems to deal with than what you drive to work. Hope it all goes well for you.

david85

· #37 · Jul 3, 2009

JRP3 said:
Sheesh, sounds as if you have bigger problems to deal with than what you drive to work. Hope it all goes well for you.

Dang.....+1 on that!

CPLTECH

· #38 · Jul 3, 2009

Bluehair said:
I had have of my thyroid removed yesterday and now I don't feel too great.

I side with the guys that say your health is #1 priority. I live in a state that just reached 11% unemployment and I feel that it will get a lot worse before it gets better. Therefore my advice, for what its worth, is stay put, be grateful for the insurance and sick pay.
Some yrs ago, there was a car salesman that got ticked off with the boss & left. His wife was 7-8 mo pregnant. Now with no insurance, the baby had health problems. Put them deep in debt for yrs. So, is now really the time to fight over this EV? As the saying goes, you can be dead right, but what are the consequences? As for manhood, a man does his best to provide for his wife & kids. At times like this, it may require that you grin and bear it. Besides in a few weeks, it may no longer be such an issue.
Get well wishes…

coulombKid

· #39 · Jul 3, 2009 (Edited)

Bluehair said:
I drove my '72 super beetle to work last week for the first time and with the encouragement of my supervisor plugged it in to an outdoor outlet to recharge. I also parked in a ride share spot to better access the power outlet.

Well, I have been given a letter saying "bring it again and we send you home" saying they feel the car is unsafe, but they don't say why. It is a 72 volt system with 12 golf cart batteries. Not rocket science but they act like it's a bomb waiting to go off. My supervisor now says he never encouraged me to do anything... to my suprise.

Anyone one else ever have this problem? Oh, I work for a government agency that is supposed to be green!

I've been hounding my Congressmen for tax breaks for employers that install e-car only parking spots. They do it by regulation for the gimps and they don't have the power deducted from their pay checks. I work for a University and our rail/bus pass is deducted from our check. I was turned down for a job 2 years ago because the commute would have been 30 miles. Here in Arizona it is illegal for the interviewer to ask if you have a car. They are allowed to ask if you have reliable transportation.

Evan

· #40 · Jul 3, 2009

Bluehair said:
...
I'm not gonna let the bastards win, but I'm goona be unable to do much for a while. The good news is that I have a cancer policy that will pay me $5,000 that my wife does not know about! Some new LiFePo's would look really nice about now!

Only someone here would look at it that way.

I don't know you but I hope treatment goes well for you.

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