Pierogi racer complains about Pirates on Facebook, is fired by Pirates; Latest: Pierogi rehired (reply #11)

[hawing]

Reminder of why not to friend your boss.

 

In the Post-Gazette story, the former racing pierogi also admits " the races are not, in fact, always fixed."

 

 

[joepepsi]

Interesting story. But it's just weird that people still don't understand they are responsible for what they post on the web.

[dlk9s]

Pierogi Tells Employer to Stuff It?

[Invader3K]

The article mentions he had some sort of prior "offense", so it sounds like he wasn't just fired because of this one incident.

 

Still, it's not like he was saying something the vast majority of Pirates fans aren't thinking.

 

What a joke that once great franchise has become.

[1992casey]

It's not unusual for companies to have social networking policies. I wouldn't be surprised if all MLB teams had a policy similar to that of the Pirates. As Invader3K says, in this case, it looks as if the offense itself wouldn't have caused the firing had there not been a "prior."

 

Here's one author's set of things to for a company to consider when creating a social networking policy:

 

10 things you should cover in your social networking policy

[TooLiveBrew]

The article mentions he had some sort of prior "offense", so it sounds like he wasn't just fired because of this one incident.

 

Still, it's not like he was saying something the vast majority of Pirates fans aren't thinking.

 

What a joke that once great franchise has become.

Or the Pirates could just have made up the "prior" so they don't look like complete tools. I actually think the Pirates are headed in the right direction, but their MLB club doesn't reflect that just yet.

[rluzinski]

The article mentions he had some sort of prior "offense", so it sounds like he wasn't just fired because of this one incident.

 

Still, it's not like he was saying something the vast majority of Pirates fans aren't thinking.

 

What a joke that once great franchise has become.

Or the Pirates could just have made up the "prior" so they don't look like complete tools. I actually think the Pirates are headed in the right direction, but their MLB club doesn't reflect that just yet.

It's not like they are claiming he recieved some undocumented verbal warning. he was suspended. The pirates are not going to fabricate a suspension.

 

And if I choose to publicly declare that my employer's product is bad and will continue to be bad, why shouldn't I get fired?

 

 

[TooLiveBrew]

Oh whoops, my fault for not paying better attention

[JimH5]

The guy is at the very bottom of the organization and he starts popping off publicly about them, it shouldn't come as a shock that he's dumped on the spot. Lots of guys can fit into a costume and run around, they don't need to hold a spot for a malcontent.

 

Maybe he'll learn from it, I just wish he didn't think of himself as a martyr.

[brains and braun]

Sounded to me like he was speaking more as a fan than employee. I think it's understandable, especially from a younger kid. Not like this pierogi thing was a career, either. Seems like the kind of thing that could be resolved without termination.

[Polish Falcons]

I don't really like the racing pierogies idea because you can't really distinguish between them. Sometimes when I'm at the Polish restaurant I will order a plate of mixed pierogies and until I bite into it I never know if I'm going for the potato pierogi or mushroom and kraut. Also, what do pierogies even have to do with Pittsburgh? Is that town known for it's pierogies any more so than, let's say, Brooklyn or Milwaukee? At least Milwaukee is known as a sausage town and especially for the bratwurst, and the Washington DC President's connection is clear... Until now I didn't realize the pierogi's visit Miller Park once a year. I'd like to see the Presidents race the Sausages when the Nats come to town. Anyway, too bad for this kid to make the facebook mistake. Sounds like he is a lifelong Pirates fan and now he may feel shamed everytime he watches his team.

[Funketown]

^ Pittsburgh is definitely a pierogi town.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5318009

 

Apparently he was just re-hired. The Pirates are now my favorite to win the central.

[hawing]

Maybe the pierogi racer's mom played a role in the rehiring:

 

"My son always was a big Pirates fan," said his mother, Mary Kurtz. "He

took pride in being a pierogi runner. Since when, in this country, are

you not allowed to state an opinion? Well, here is my opinion: The

Pirates came through again and let go one of their biggest fans and

dedicated workers."

I'm not sure I'd want to make a Pittsburgh mother mad. Those ladies can be tough.

[TooLiveBrew]

[Pirates communication director Brian Warecki] says bad publicity played no part in the decision.

Rrrrriiiiight

[PKBadger]

"My son always was a big Pirates fan," said his mother, Mary Kurtz. "He

took pride in being a pierogi runner. Since when, in this country, are

you not allowed to state an opinion? Well, here is my opinion: The

Pirates came through again and let go one of their biggest fans and

dedicated workers."

Since forever, when that opinion is a negative one directed at your employer. This is not a freedom of speech issue, ma'am.

 

Here is my opinion: if you plan to be Facebook friends with people from work, adjust your privacy settings so they can't read your status.

[JimH5]

Where's Randall Simon when you need him?

 

I'll use my free speech rights right now to say that Mary Kurtz is a rockhead. And her son Andrew Kurtz is a wuss for having his mom do his bidding in the press. He's 24 and should be old enough to handle an employment dispute without his overbearing, ignorant mother, Mary Kurtz sticking her big fat nose in it.

 

If my mother were Mary Kurtz, I would beg to have a pierogi costume on 24 hours a day, just so I could escape her far-reaching, helicopter parenting.

 

Because let's face it, it is far better to be an anonymous goof dressed as Sauerkraut Saul than to be known as Andrew Kurtz, son of Mary Kurtz.

[brewinb_2_2]

If my mother were Mary Kurtz, I would beg to have a pierogi costume on 24 hours a day, just so I could escape her far-reaching, helicopter parenting.

To be fair, this was a somewhat big story in an otherwise dull time in sports news in Pittsburgh. I'm sure multiple news outlets sought comments from his mother, and eventually people are bound to talk. A bit defensive towards her son? Sure, but it's a giant leap to attack her parenting style or methods from a few lines of quoted text.

 

That being said, they should have stuck with their original position and kept him fired.

[BCZF]

Imagine the smell in these things...Shudder... I think they Fabrese the sausages.. (theres a statement that'll turn your head)