A hurtful situation

Not everything in life is always “good vibes”. Afterall, we all have to work and grind to make a living, and sometimes, no matter how hard we try or how good we do our job, we still have to deal with sticky situations.

I have unfortunately been involved in a very tough situation at my work, since January 19th, 2024. The job that I absolutely love and am passionate about, was literally ripped away from me, in one instance, for a ridiculous reason.

I can’t get into all of the details of the situation, as it is still in the hands of my union and possibly even further involving lawyers.

We are all human and we all have ideas. Regardless of our position, in the grand scheme of it all, we need to listen to each other, respect each other and most of all, check our egos at the door”

From day one of doing the job that I was doing for a local radio station, as a dj/radio host, I was extremely proud of my role and felt very privileged to be a part of something special. I am very passionate and I care deeply for the people that support this local station. I found great pride in connecting with the people through the airwaves, by creating good vibes and great playlists. When I say that, it does not come from my ego, it comes from from my soul. I am also echoing the direct feedback I am constantly fed by the listeners, which are the most important part of the business I am in. (Radio)

My only objective was always to create an experience for the people by uplifting their daily grind, while I kept them entertained every time I was on the air.

There were so many things said and done in the course of the few weeks before, that led me to be confused and frustrated as to the lack of appreciation for my work and for the level of engagement I created for the listeners. I was also thrown into situations that were not even close to being in the description of my job position, which forced me to have to deal with certain scenarios by using my time and resources for what was asked of me, or should I say, what was imposed of me! The whole situation has been a deception. I have lost an enormous amount of money and it has inevitably played on my mental health. Sadly, I have had to defend myself numerous times through my union and lawyers, which is time-consuming and extremely stressful. I have had to take a leave from work and be on unemployment. However, I am still responsible to pay for my medical benefits at work, which are NOT cheap by any means, so I am pretty much poor! Unfortunately, due to my congenital heart problem(co-arctation of the aorta), I have no other choice then to have medical insurance as I have had a cocktail of medication to take daily, since I was 11 years old. Its a shitty situation to be in, financially and I really don’t think the “people in power” realize the reality I have been faced with, since January. The most hurtful part of it all is that I have been left in the dark, for a period of four months now, without any resolution and having to answer to everyone who asks me what is going on and why I am not at work, in the most vaguest ways possible due to this situation not being dealt with properly by management and human ressources in a timely fashion. It sucks!

Not a day goes by that I am not being asked by someone, either through messages on Facebook, phone calls or emails, if I will return, if I am OK, if I am sick and if and/or when will I be back behind the mic. Its so hard to answer, because I don’t want people to turn against their community radio station. Its not my goal. I feel like a goddamn politician, having to work my way around the truth, to answer the people who deserve answers.

My only objective was to be paid fairly and to keep people dialed in to the radio station. This is a radio station that was created for the french acadian community, as their own. It is an emblem for our culture and our language, a staple for our community.

There is so many details that I had to leave out but, I know this, the community still wants me to be there and I still want to be there, so I am communicating to my union to ask management to talk to me, in the hopes that we could come to a more positive solution/ outcome. We shall see where this all goes next. Fingers crossed.

It just goes to show what happens when you simply want to stand up for yourself, your rights and for the people you represent.

These are the thoughts that go through my mind, awake in bed on another sleepless night. It’s hard to come to terms with being treated unfairly and losing everything because you fight for what you believe.

It is now 6:36 am. I will try once again to get some sleep to calm the anxiety. I have to drive my daughter at an appointment at 10:45 this morning so I’m hoping I can get 3 hours of sleep.

* Day 64 of not smoking weed

* 14 days before my open heart surgery

Good Vibes to you

Much love

MB