The Truth Comes Out

This morning started out like any other. I got up and went to work, with a growers' meeting on my agenda followed by working in the poinsettias and doing the usual routine stuff. I know I mentioned our head grower left us; my supervisor has shouldered the majority of his responsibilities, so I've been picking up the daily ops at our plant until our new grower is hired/announced.
Anyway, I got to work this morning to find a note pinned to the office door. It said, in one gal's handwriting, for my boss to be at the 8:30 meeting. In another gal's writing below it was "He won't be in today. E, please meet at Plant 1 breakroom 8:30." I thought we'd just moved the growers' meeting over there for some reason, so off I went.
All the employees were there, along with the site manager and company counselor. We were informed that the northeast division of our company was on the market and they hoped to have a buyer by the end of the year. We'd been hearing rumors, but apparently no one could confirm it until after the shareholders meeting. Our CEO made the official announcement last night after that meeting.

So. We're for sale again. Last time, it was a privately-owned business bought by a large company and merged with other sites to form the regional division. That's when we "went public" and the shareholders came into play. Now, it's one of the largest horticulture companies trying to unload four sites at once. We were told if they couldn't sell it as a package deal, each site would be sold individually. It's all about the bottom line.

Am I worried? On the contrary; I'm optimistic and a bit excited. I think it's about time we get some new blood in there, someone who can revamp the business and sales models and expand our customer base. Maybe fix our benefits so we aren't paying out the nose for them, or have more than just an HMO to choose from. Someone willing to invest not just in materials and equipment, but in the employees as well. Morale is the lowest I've seen in 7 years. We need change, we need incentive, we need a reason to be happy about going to work again. We DON'T want to see the results of our butt-busting hard work going into dumpsters by the truckload. There are some darn good employees (myself included, if I may be so bold) who would be more than willing to continue on provided we don't feel like we're building houses of cards in the eye of a hurricane. And that's what it's been like... just one thing after another, most of it out of our realm of influence. It's so frustrating seeing it happen and not being able to do a thing about it! Maybe the new owners will give us more of a voice... I doubt it, but it could happen. At any rate, I hope they realize the value of our input and (what's left of) our dedication and keep our tight crews together.

If not, I get a six-month paid vacation. Wee!