Letter to the Editor: Employee layoffs are part of life

Dear Editor,

I would like to address the impending and layoffs of federal employees. Welcome to the real world. Having your head on the chopping block is not fun, as I know well, having had my head on the chopping block many times.

I worked in the oil industry for 30 some years, and it seemed every three to five years we went through a round of layoffs and early retirements. In 1979 I and others were working for an oilfield contractor doing all kinds of roustabout work. One Friday around 4 p.m. we were told we weren’t needed and that was that. Immediate unemployment as the contractor couldn’t afford to pay us. In 1980 I got lucky and became a full-time Marathon employee.

Oilfields always go through rags to riches periods. In 1986 we went through a round of layoffs. Most of the WWII employees checked out and many contract employees just disappeared. I don’t remember the exact dates but around 1991, 1995 and 2000 we had many layoffs and offers to just leave. Life in the oilfield.

One time a list of names was put out as to who might be laid off, my name being one of them. This makes for a lovely working environment. Such is life in the good old oilfield. As it turned out I didn’t get laid off. You didn’t get a lot of sympathy as maybe two or three months before gasoline was selling for over $4 a gallon.

I have a niece who works remotely for the U.S. Forest Service. I believe she is involved in timber sales. Upon hearing she was required to submit a list of what she did for five days, she did not throw a baby fit and listed what she did for five days. It wasn’t that hard as she actually did work for five days.

The news likes to parade around laid off federal workers. Was much said about President Clinton’s 400,000 federal worker layoffs? When Biden shut down the XL pipeline were any of these employees interviewed by the news media? Did any of the XL pipeline workers have mortgages?

I’ve been told there are thousands of federal workers that nobody knows what they do or even where they work. I was a federal worker once. I was in the Navy, and they kept pretty close contact with me. Federal employees should be doing legitimate work or say goodbye. I still find it hard to believe federal employees get upset if they have to show up at the worksite.

If we don’t get a handle on our debt, our money could have the value of monopoly money maybe less as there is much less monopoly money. The USA needs to get a handle on what in hell we are paying for. I wish President Trump well.

The news always talks about unelected people in the DOGE group. Actually only two people are elected in the executive branch of government, President Trump and Vice President Vance. Of the approximately 3,000,000 federal workers only 537 are elected, the president, vice-president, congressmen and senators. Give me a break about unelected people having access to our sensitive information. 

Owen C. Wantulok

Cowley