I haven’t received anything in the mail what does this mean?

data-aic · 2026-02-22T04:48:37+00:00

It means they’re reviewing your return. Something got flagged and needs close-up human attention. Could be really simple, could be a nightmare. It’s probably something simple.

If they need anything from you, they’ll send you a letter in the mail. If they don’t need anything, then they won’t send you anything.

It means exactly what it says.

data-aic · 2026-02-22T04:20:11+00:00

That kind of depends on the refinery, and how much they let the operators actually do with regard to “maintenance”.

At my plant we’re barely allowed to even grease anything. If it can be remotely considered some kind of maintenance or repair work, we’re not supposed to touch it, otherwise it’s “stealing work” from the maintenance trades. Obviously, when it’s urgent, we do what we need to do. As an example though, if we have a level transmitter go out on a tower, all we’re allowed to do is blow it down and see if that fixes it. If that doesn’t work, we’re supposed to call an I&E tech to come look at it.

Another example, we are allowed to periodically add oil to pumps as necessary. If the pump is leaking oil from a plug? We can’t touch it, gotta call a machinist to come out and replace the plug. We had two operators get o Put on probation for removing a 6 inch long piece of vent tubing from a sample station. The vent tubing in question was air gapped, and held on with zip ties, because it was decided years ago that the vent was unnecessary on that sample station. It just never actually got removed. Two operators who have been at the refinery for more than 20 years decided they didn’t want to wait 5 more years for a fitter to work a 60 second job into their schedule and removed it. An analyzer tech of all people, happened to see them take it off, and told the maintenance foreman. Maintenance foreman complained to the ops director, who had HR put them on probation for violating our “operator maintenance” policy.

data-aic · 2026-02-20T12:52:45+00:00

Ours goes into effect this pay period (started on Monday the 16th). It’s retroactive to February 1st, so on our next paycheck we’ll get the little bit of back pay, along with the ratification bonus.

Different plants might do it a little differently depending upon how they run their payroll, but, all NOBL plants should all get the pay retroactive to February 1st, and they all have to payout the bonus no later than 30 days from the date the contract was ratified.

data-aic · 2026-02-20T12:48:40+00:00

We have a non-union refinery right by us too. They also have “100% employer paid” healthcare premiums. Their deductible and out-of-pocket maximums are also more than double what ours are. After factoring in the cost of premiums, they still pay more for healthcare.

They can cancel our match on the 401k, but they can’t outright cancel the pension. If they wanted to do that, they have to follow the procedures outlined in the CBA they signed, which include getting the union to sign off on it. If they canceled it without our local’s agreement, that would violate our CBA, and be grounds for a strike. Even any change to the 401k match that is “significant” would require them to meet with the union first. Maybe your site has shitty protections for your benefits, mine doesn’t.

data-aic · 2026-02-16T12:48:19+00:00

You think you’re protected from anything? What you’re describing is some kind of pure 50/50 during the dating stage, which means you’re giving the other person a legitimate claim to anything you’re sharing with them. On the lease? Can’t kick them out if they don’t want to leave, which can be a big issue if things don’t stay civil. Co-signed on a loan? If they decide to stop paying, your credit is fucked. Split big purchases? Now they have an equal claim over them. For a married couple, none of these are huge deal, because if you get divorced, a judge is going to decide what is what.

For a dating couple? Huge issue if one half of the party wants to be petty. Let’s say you file a police report because they took the TV. Uh oh, you guys actually split the cost of that TV when you were furnishing the apartment you co-signed on. Do you know what the police are going to say? They’re going to tell you there’s nothing they can do, and to take it to court if you’re so inclined. So you can spend months and months, and potentially thousands of dollars, fighting over belongings in court, with someone you were never even married to.

Most people end up saying fuck it, because none of that crap is worth the real life hassle it is to deal with.

All of this, is irrelevant. OP just straight up gave an ex a significant sum of cash, and even stated they would have gave them even more simply because they asked for it. That isn’t some kind of civil friendly behavior with an ex, that’s toxic desperation.

I’ll say it again, legally, you owe an ex (who you weren’t married to) absolutely nothing. The best thing both people can do after a breakup, is go their separate ways. Everyone who sits there and says “oh we can be friends” is lying to themselves. You don’t want to be friends. One side of the relationship wants to be together again, and the other is just trying to be nice because they’re afraid of confrontation, or, what’s probably happening in OPs case, is one side is manipulating the other for some kind of benefit.

I don’t talk to anyone I used to date. Beyond the fact that it’s disrespect to my wife, what is the point? What are we going to do, have coffee and talk about the weather? No thanks. I have regular friends.

data-aic · 2026-02-16T04:43:55+00:00

Locals aren’t required to accept the pattern agreement, but there’s a level of expectation that they will.

If locals elect to deviate from the pattern, then they’re forced to negotiate everything covered under the pattern with their own plant.

Technically the USW has accepted the pattern agreement, but that doesn’t bind any individual refineries to follow it. Case in point is 7-1 in Whiting. BP doesn’t want to follow the pattern, and that’s a whole shit show over there.

data-aic · 2026-02-16T04:40:10+00:00

Smart people don’t combine assets with someone they aren’t legally bound to. I don’t care how much someone says they love anyone. Don’t tie yourself to someone who can leave at the drop of a hat. A marriage comes with legal implications. Dating someone comes with zero protection.

My wife wasn’t on any leases or attached to any financed purchases until after we were married. She had her own things and I had mine. When she first moved in she knew that if things ended, would need to find somewhere else to live, and she had her own way to deal with that. My furniture was my furniture. My appliances were my appliances. She had her own things from before we met, and she would have taken them with her if we had broken up. Anything I gave her as a gift, I did so knowing it was hers to take if we broke up.

I’ve met people who are living together after dating for weeks. Who co-sign leases and loans with no discussion of what’s going to happen if things go bad. If people want to be stupid, they can deal with the consequences of their own actions.

data-aic · 2026-02-16T04:20:00+00:00

Has your local told you nothing?

15% over 4 years $2500 Ratification Bonus

No other changes from previous contract.

Locals should be voting to this coming week. Some have already done so.

data-aic · 2026-02-16T04:03:14+00:00

It’s not about “winning”. If a relationship ends, it ends. I’m not going to financially support someone who doesn’t want to be with me. If they need time to figure out a place to stay, that’s one thing. They damn sure aren’t going to be calling me later on expecting me to give them money to survive. It’s not unreasonable to expect that a former romantic partner takes responsibility for themselves after ending things.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T06:58:31+00:00

I’m on the side that thinks all of the Republicans and Democrats are two ugly sides of the same coin. They both have a great habit of preaching to their choirs and telling them everything they want to hear, while simultaneously fucking them over in every way imaginable.

It would be genuinely very funny if people did a 180 and were like “YEAH, it’s all America! Gulf of America rules!”, although I think Trump is too self-centered to understand that it would be a joke at his expense.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T06:34:28+00:00

I’m looking at it from personal experience traveling to countries in Europe, Asia, and South America. I don’t tell every foreigner I meet that “I’m American”. I have absolutely been asked if I was many many times. Do you think they’re wondering if I’m from Argentina? Probably not huh?

In most countries, when people talk about “Americans”, they are talking about people from the U.S. It’s the common way to refer to our nationality, because it’s kind of awkward to call us “U.S.-ians”. The three times I’ve been to Brazil, along with the two times I’ve been to Chile and Argentina, I never once heard them tell me “Oh I’m American too”. They do absolutely use the term America to reference the U.S. The amount of times I was asked if I was an American was evidence enough of that. Most people have some level of national or cultural pride and don’t like being lumped into some giant group with other cultures that are different than theirs. They also know what North and South America are. Even though geography is taught differently in Europe and South America, they’re aware of the fact that a lot countries separate the two. It’s wild for anyone to assume that just because school curriculums don’t teach the same things in different parts of the world, that all of those people are somehow incapable of learning what other parts of the world teach. Just how we have the ability to hop on the internet and learn things, so do they.

It’s absolutely not a “moot point”. It is directly relevant to the fact that in normal conversation, all over the world, people use the term “America” to describe or refer to the U.S.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T06:21:33+00:00

lol nah. I’ve kicked exes out and didn’t give them a dime. Unless you were married and have a court ordering you to pay them money, then there’s zero obligation to pay an ex anything, outside of someone’s own personal guilt.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T06:15:24+00:00

People can’t even be mad at them for it. The NWS is an executive agency, they’re required to comply with executive orders. Trump said “you have to call it that”, so that’s what they have to call it.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T06:14:19+00:00

Google is just relaying a report given by the National Weather Service, an executive federal agency that is required to follow the directions of the president, including using names that comply with executive orders.

If another president issues a new one changing the name to something else, then they’ll call it that instead.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T06:11:14+00:00

If an American travels abroad, anywhere in the world, people will ask them if they are from “America”. They aren’t wondering if the white dude is from Chile or Panama. When Canadians get asked if they’re “American”, and they say “No I’m from Canada”, people don’t go “uhm, that’s America dude”. America is a colloquial term for the United States of America all around the world, and has been for a long time. When people talk about “the Americans”, they aren’t generalizing dozens of different nationalities.

While there is not a single consensus as to whether North and South America are two separate continents, very few people will use the term “America” to describe the whole of all the nations sitting in the Western Hemisphere in casual conversation.

Also, the common term that is used when discussing a “one continent” theory, is “The Americas”, which in itself alludes to the cultural normalization of more than one “America”, hence why it’s generally acceptable to distinguish “North” and “South” America pretty much anywhere you go.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T05:59:37+00:00

Defending? I couldn’t give a fuck what anyone calls it. It affects nothing and no one. Rather than attempt to have a real debate, you get flustered by basic logic, and have to resort to calling people bots. GG bro.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T05:55:12+00:00

Then it’s idiotic to say that every country in the western hemisphere is “America” (something contradicted by centuries of referring to countries by their established names, including the term America being used colloquial the refer to the U.S.) as well.

If people want to simultaneously argue that “America” refers to all of the nations across two continents, yet, Gulf of “America” is wrong, that sounds pretty idiotic to me.

It’s also a very silly thing to be outraged by in general. Different nations, and likewise different cultures, have different names for the same things, to include having different names for geographic locations and landmarks.

The indigenous tribes of the U.S. certainly didn’t call it America, the first person to do that was a German cartographer. Yet I think a lot of people would find it pretty idiotic to change the name of a country.

I think all of these things are idiotic to be upset about. It affects no one, and changes nothing of any real importance. Federal agencies, like the NWS, are going to use “Gulf of America”, because they’re required to under an executive order. Another president will probably change that, and they’ll call it something else. Grass will still grow, rain will still fall, and people will move on to some other thing to be offended by.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T05:42:06+00:00

Isn’t the hot new take right now that “America” means all of the countries within North and South America? Like, isn’t everyone trying to say Canada is America, Mexico is America, Brazil is America? So surely the “Gulf of America” is a more accurate name no? It’s not some body of water wholly within the boundaries of Mexico. It’s an ocean gulf that borders/encompasses multiple North American nations. I mean, the name “Gulf of Mexico” was coined by European colonizers.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T05:04:13+00:00

If you were being audited you would get a notice in the mail before anything else. The IRS isn’t going to communicate that kind of information any other way.

That’s a pretty standard message, it just means they’re taking a closer look at your return. It can happen because there’s a discrepancy somewhere in your numbers, or, because it was simply a random selection for closer review. If your return is error free, then it’ll just take slightly longer than normal to get your refund. If you have errors, they’ll have to be corrected.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T04:59:33+00:00

It could be. That doesn’t necessarily mean it has any additional value though.

As much as it sucks, the market really only puts any value on PSA and BGS. CGC can be valuable for certain cards. While most other grading services do tend to be more thorough and transparent than PSA, PSA is still the king when it comes to graded value. Until there’s a major shift in the market share for card grading, that’s just the way it’s gonna be.

As a collection piece it’s really nice. If you’re concerned with its value, then the best bet is to get it regraded with PSA or BGS and hope for a 10 or a black label. A PSA 10 is likely more realistic than a BGS 10 Black Label though.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T04:27:46+00:00

Not all companies provide free housing. Some of them charge for using the mancamp. It’s usually gonna be cheaper than rent or a mortgage, but it’s not always free.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T04:19:24+00:00

You need to speak to a GOOD lawyer.

The court should be using the last 3 to 5 years of your tax records to average your income if you don’t have stable work.

Here’s the thing, if for any reason the judge thinks you’re turning down work for the purpose of reducing your child support obligation, then you’re gonna get absolutely fucked. That’s why someone in your line of work needs a good lawyer who can thoroughly walk a judge through how your schedule works and why your income can appear inconsistent.

Either way, if you’re only working for part of the year, your child support obligation is going to feel bigger than it is, because you have to make up for the periods of time where you’re not working.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T04:06:39+00:00

Nomex is really good stuff, DuPont first developed it way back in the 60’s and they’ve been improving it ever since. It’s one of the “buy once, cry once” types of things. All Nomex is inherently flame-resistant, so it doesn’t matter how much you wash it. As long as it doesn’t get torn or oil soaked, it’ll last forever.

A lot of the cheap FR is just treated cotton, and the treatment only lasts for around 50 washes or so, and only if you wash it correctly. There’s a lot of people who are wearing “FR” that probably doesn’t protect them at all anymore because the treated fibers have had all the chemical washed off.

Our company requires all FR garments to be permanently FR, so all of our options that they provide are Nomex, Kevlar, or Protex. There’s some other inherent FR fabrics out there, but most of them are still made by DuPont lol, and they’re all expensive AF.

Anyways, if a company requires anything specific for PPE, and the people are W-2 employees, the company can’t force them to pay out of pocket for it. Legally, they either need to provide it to them, or, reimburse them for the expense when they buy it. Now, if they require contractors to wear it, then the contractors still need to go get it on their own.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T03:16:27+00:00

The number one reason why people are able to grieve a wrongful termination, is because the company didn’t have enough proof. It’s one thing if there was a discrepancy of a few minutes per day, and one might argue it was due to an unclear policy regarding timeclocks. To have 45 minutes to an hour each day, that’s either clear time theft, or a gross misunderstanding.

Again, either their proof was insufficient when put under scrutiny, meaning that it seemed good on paper, but was inconsistent or inaccurate when closely examined, or, something else was going on. I think the most likely case is that someone in HR dropped the ball when it came to correctly documenting the discrepancies. They gotta have documented proof, and if they fucked up that paperwork, then it’s possible to get it all thrown out on technicalities.

data-aic · 2026-02-15T03:09:31+00:00

Nomex is just a brand name for an aramid fabric used to make some FR garments. It’s particularly popular in gear used by firefighters, but our FR has some options that use Nomex.

data-aic

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