Dear Guv: Are You on The Dole, Too?

Dear Readers,

I’m on the Dole. I’m getting a check from the State of
California for Short Term Disability. Recently the State went to a different
program for customers, the disabled California residents. We now are required
to enter all our disability information online, using Java Script, and instead

Below is a plea I sent, online to Governor Jerry Brown, on
November 2^nd. I didn’t get my Disability payment until December. I
applied in October. Now, for the record, while working at Autodesk in San
Rafael in 2011, my manager advised that I go on disability as I had such
searing back pain. I was attempting to drive into work, take a Vicodin, fix
software developer, programmer, and technical writer computer issues and image
hundreds of machines per quarter, work 40-45 hours a week minimum, make up any sick time taken for doctor’s appointments and physical therapy, and, of course, drive there and back. I changed all my medical to close to work so I didn’t
miss time.  Of course, it was my choice to work there for $70,000 annual salary, potential bonus, health benefits for my family, and stock options.

If I didn’t have my husband giving my $1500 per month to
cover my car payment and bills, I wouldn’t have had money for two months to
eat.  In December 2011, I got paid my disability within a few weeks, the old system of forms and faxing, compared to over 2 months this time, with the new, online, faster system.

Here’s my letter to the Guv. And, no, he didn’t answer it.

Am I mad? Oh yes. Am I impassioned to speak about this issue? Definitely,
definitely, yes. I’ve learned, by age 43, to make sure I backup what I say with
lots of data. I have worked in Information Technology for a long time.

Oh, and Guv? How’s your prostate doing? Did you go on State
Disability? Good luck getting through on the phone.

Dear Governor Jerry Brown,

I've been trying to get temporary disability or SDI. But,
alas, I can't get through to the EDD offices there by phone on the 800# line. I
searched the Internet, and looks like this has been an issue for at least three
years. There's a new online program for SDI, which I started. I printed out the
7 page form and took to my doctor's office to fill out and sign. But there's no
fax# or mailing address on the form. I called and called and called over 10
days, and can not get through. I sent an email, finally got a response and address
and fax#. After faxing, I tried to check on the online to see where it is.
There's some odd problem with my account, cathygodom  Instead of asking me for the password, it asks "What is the name of your fictional character?" And I can't go any further.

On Monday, October 29th, I called 916-654-0453 at 8:10AM (supplied by an email) and got a woman on the phone who was, unfortunately, not very pleasant. She put me on hold twice for 5 minutes and complained about her system "not being up". I finally got her in front of her computer screen, and gave her my social, and explained the problem, and she was short, rude, and didn't want to hear my problem, cut me off, and said "Jesus Christ, why are you calling me, we
don't do that." She thought it was a password issue and it (I believe) is
not. She only said my claim was "pending" and couldn't tell me
anymore. I needed to know if they got my fax OK and were working on it. I was
quite disappointed in her lack of customer service skills. So I composed
myself, and tried again on Wednesday, October 31st at 8:41AM. I did speak with
a nice, kind voice, named Colleen,(as I know government workers can be quite
kind, as I'd worked before for the City of Napa) and explained the problem and
she listed. She also went to the SDI logon page and typed in my user id of
cathygodom  and got the same issue. She said she would check on it and call me- she did call once, but said they were still "looking into it". She does have my phone number and hopefully she'll call back.

Governor, I am a regular person, needing assistance. I could
be a fellow neighbor, co-worker, friend. My family background is from San
Francisco, with my Dad's side being hard working Italian immigrants, working on
fishing boats at Fisherman's Wharf and living in North Beach. My Mom's family
were Polish immigrants, working in meat packing and later butcher shops in
Chicago, then near Yakima, and then in North Beach. Her father owned
"Speedy's" or "Spediacci's" up by Coit Tower, with both her
parents working there all day, and she taking care of her brother and sister, with
meals and cleaning. Both families worked hard to send their children to school,
to learn English, be good hard working citizens and raise families here in
California.

Governor Brown, I do respectfully ask, what is the plan to
help out EDD Disability and Unemployment call center and online? I ask as I
have 20 years of Computer and Information Technology background, with a degree from the University of California at Davis, working in corporate help desk and servicing fellow employees like Charles Schwab, MCI Systemhouse and Autodesk, a California based software company. Perhaps there is something I can do to help?