Disgraced Covid Testing Lab, NorthShore Clinical Labs, Was Truly a Disgraceful Place to Work

I remember my first week working for NorthShore Clinical Labs. I was so irritated. I was irritated by the copious amounts of trash, by the dusty, single-stall bathroom which was only initially only ever seen somewhere between slipshod & dirty and not to mention the sexually explicit and N-word laden music being pumped through the speakers during work. Whilst venting to one of my friends she exclaimed that the place sounded pretty trash. I couldn't agree more.

When I started doing data entry for Northshore, twas the beginning of the nightshift. (Which in retrospect is ironic considering the current, news coverage which alleges NorthShore couldn't keep up with the flood of work due to staffing issues but I digress.) I started with what appeared to be a great group for me; quiet, loners who just wanted to get their money up. Period. Being someone who enjoys peace & quiet at work, based on the coworkers, at first glance, this seemed like a good fit. Then came the music.

This my d*ck and I want it now, Cardi hissed over the speakers in the office.

The loud, unedited profane music that my boss had no problem playing through the floor's loudspeakers nightly. I was a step past shocked. I had never worked anywhere where that was deemed acceptable. I was also unambiguously, uncomfortable due to most of the songs being played being laden with the N-word.

WTF? Now it's my turn to curse. As a black, queer woman working in a multicultural work environment with a white boss, I was sort of too stunned to speak on it at first. It kind a felt like, if this is being done as though it's regular, is it regular? Am I tripping? It's the, this shit is just so off the chain and being done in front of everybody, factor that makes a person second-guess their own reaction/instincts. My breaking point was hearing My N**ga by YG one day.

I had learned to cope with the fiasco at first by wearing headphones, then in one of the rare instances I slipped them off to approach the supervisor, it took everything in me not to go batshit during the shift. The supervisor simply smirked and laughed and said something to the effect that it was crazy how this song just played at work.

Now I gotta report your ass. I started by following the chain of command and reported my discomfort in writing to the supervisor. Twice. He'd change the music for a week then it would magically go right back. Then I went to HR.

A change cometh.

What I've learned from being the odd (wo)man out at many jobs - I mean by being too Black at the white offices and too gay at the Black ones, was to escalate everything. After a short stint with an organization that fights for workers' rights and that organization refusing to give me my pay for the hours worked without me threatening to report them to the labor board, I've learned that no one is above the bullshit. Report, report, report till you are able to resolve the issue.

That, along with the unkempt, initially fly-ridden break room, which would often be used as storage-overflow center for supplies, lack of supplies such as antibacterial, germ-killing wipes in a Covid lab, the garbages that always seemed to be overflowing, the rambunctiously, profane supervisors on virtually every shift, as well as being inundated with several loud-mouth, loudly prejudiced coworkers with no concept of work-appropriate banter, made me rue the day I came to the decision to accept this gig. That and the conditions of the potty.

One thing about NorthShore was that it was going to be an arduous task to use the bathroom. As a woman who no longer possesses the strength of Megan the Stallion when it comes to a squat, having an at least moderately clean toilet would've been the best selling point for this place. Either there would be someone in one of the two stalls reserved for the shift or the rooms would be so unkempt and pungent, at least one of my coworkers opted out and decided to just wait until she got home. I don't have that kind of constitution. I did deliveries as my sole source of income for a bit so I've learned the fine art of how to papier mache the toilet seat and go in complete squalor. I mean there was also an alley nearby.

Speaking of the illustrious alley, the alley was NorthShore's preferred method for employees to enter the office. Mind you, once news organizations began to shed a bit of light upon the alleged shady business practices, things began to change rapidly at the lab. Doors were secured. Key cards were given out to access different parts of the floor. Fridges were added and used to store specimens prior to testing (a process that was not implemented before per the pictures from CBS' coverage) and after they were accessioned.

So, the preferred method of entry prior to the news crews was to knock hard enough and hopefully someone inside would hear it and open the door. If not, the party stuck outside could send a message on the company-wide messaging app or text a friend and wait. In an unlit alley after midnight. If someone inside heard the knocking, that person could then opt to open the door without actually knowing who was other side of it. Seems pretty sketch and dangerous to be opening a door that leads straight to the alley without knowing who could be on the other side of it especially during an overnight shift but being just a tad sketch and dangerous seems to be the NorthShore way.

I'm just saying that it was sketch to be fired along with 70 or so employees without warning, which seems to be in direct violation of state law, or to have my hours unceremoniously cut the week the of the snowstorm without any warning, which seems to be in direct opposition of a city-wide ordinance prohibiting companies from sudden changes in scheduling, it's the delivery of a non-disclosure agreement and a document that releases NorthShore from any future lawsuits, disguised as a separation agreement that is required to be signed if the company is to provide employees with one week of severance pay. One week.

This is a fitting end to a shitty tenure with a super sus company. That's as eloquently as I'm willing to put it. Now let me go file to collect unemployment.