What is G-JOBBING for Bethelites?????????

by JT 79 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  JT

  Had Enough asked :

  If you haven't already related to us the experiences at Bethel that you told to your mom-in-law, (or even if you already have told us) could you tell us about what you told her.....and...what is "G-JOBBING" (sorry for my naivity)
  Thanks...

  #################

  I didn't want to take away from SL post about his mother but I thought a little insight into the world of the bethelites would be interesting this AM

  Enjoy

  $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

  What is G-JOBBING___

  It is called Government work- it refers to GOV employees being lazy and just getting a check

  well it has to do with bethelites being too lazy to go out and get a real job so we do side jobs to make money while at bethel

  and you can make alot if you are in the right "Trade" electrician, plumber, tile setter, roofer, etc and it is all tax free

  the Congo in NYC would pay you to work on their halls since most jw in NY are white collar and not tradesmen

  we even did work for NONJW- using WT tools , supplies and Trucks and since it was always at COST it was cheap --can you imagine what it would cost to rent a FLATBED truck in NYC to hall Dry wall 2 blocks- smile

  all you needed to do was to get the guys who worked in that dept to requisition it under their name- they didn't even need to be there , but they would get their cut- lot of Elders headed up these work teams

  so we would use the buying power of the Society to get these supplies for halls and bro in there home many times

  some guys were clearing $3,000 a month tax free- bethel has cracked down on it by requiring you to sign a VOW OF POVERTY which is a form from the IRS saying you will not do any side jobs-

  also the waiters did lots of G-JOBBING if anyone has been to bethel for lunch they are always impressed with how over 6000, folks can be served in less than 20min- well this is were the waiters come in at

  folk like to use the bethelites at thier weddings to serve their guest
  and if you are talking references just watch the mothers and fathers who have daugthers getting married in a few weeks come up to you afterward and ask you to do thier kids wedding

  so the money rolls in beside everyone figures who BETTER TO HELP THAN THE LOWLY BETHELITES

  smile

  the BREAKER was some guys did a job and the person filed for it on his taxes --of course the IRS wants to know who do we get our money from

  well I'd be Damn-- if it ain't some guys who is suppose to be living off $90.00 a month smile

  so the society got involved and shut down most of the best money making jobs-

  from what I understand you can still do it but you have to go through a lot of hoops

  so many guys were missing meetings on the weekend and wiped out on Monday that flags started going up- we had this old nurse Called Sophie ----all my god she would worry you to death if you called in sick on a MONDAY were you out late Sunday night- what time did you get in, etc

  old bag man

  we had a plumbing job that was bidded out by a Congo in Queens with UNION NYC plumbers that was for $32,000, $36,000 and there was another bid price

  so the elders asked the bethelites could we do it- it was a complete job from the street to the inside of the hall to toilets and sinks and tile job

  well we could not ask for a set price but only tell the elders WHATEVER YOU BROTHERS WANTED TO GIVE US

  well they presented it to the Congo and they came back with $25,000 offer and it would be just 5 of us and they would supply all the manual labor through the local bros.

  we are talking $5,000 a piece - no taxes -in a weekend baby with a few follow up days to clean up any leftovers

  one of the guys was a MASTER PLUMBER SO HE always got the permits we needed from the city- due to the large amount we got cold feet so we talked with Ralph Walls about it and he told us we needed to consider how would it look with that sum of cash in 2days of work- where in fact it would have been no work at all since we would have merely been overseeing the local guys doing all the digging of the trenches SMILE HEY YOU GOT TO LOVE IT MAN

  so we turned it down- DAMN I SHOULD HAVE DONE IT

  there is one guy and some of the bethelites on the net know this guy he ran the ROOFING DEPT as the overseer and was (REMOVED FROM THAT JOB FOR THIS REASON) and since all the roofs in NYC on the halls are flat--they are always leaking due to water standing on them

  well he would take SOME OF his crew and knock out a roof over a weekend and man he was clocking over 3K amonth, not bad considering you don't have any expenses

  but the most famous G -JOBBER OF ALL TIME WAS a bro from out of Texas if I'm correct- any bethelites here will correct me if I'm wrong on the state he is from

  any way his name was James (JIM) Spencer he was the photography overseer and he had access to the society's $Million dollar cameras and film and processing equipment and he used to shoot WEDDINGS ON THE WEEKEND- hey like I said YOU GOT TO LOVE IT

  NOW CK THIS OUT I had a buddy who was in on the deal-- he worked at the Stanley theater- that is the most expensive assembly hall in the wt arsenal of assembly hall probably

  you all know it --the million dollar chandelier- anyway one of my boys was assigned as a keeper when they used bethelites---- now they have a pioneer couple over there --old Ricketts and he is a LITTLE HUSTLER as well

  anyway Jim would arrange to use the assembly hall to take couples pictures

  and I tell you-- to have your wife coming down the GRAND STAIRCASE IN HER GOWN hey man we are talking GONE WITH THE WIND TYPE STUFF

  well my boy could have folks over to the assembly hall after hours as long as they were his guests

  man he didn't even know some of the couples

  so Spencer would kick him a little "SOMETHING -SOMETHING" SMILE

  anyway old Spencer got caught not reimbursing the Society for the equipment and since he was the Overseer of the dept no one really questioned what he was working on late at night

  hey it was not your latest mag cover shot- smile

  so the "Shit hit the fan" and my man was BUSTED DOWN FROM PHOTO OVERSEER

  to working the Bindery lines in the leather gold bible section

  it was so embarrassing cause about a month after he got SHAFTED we had an Open tour of the factory were the office guys and the home guys could come over to the factory and see how the book and mags are made

  and you guessed it ---my man James Spencer is right on the tour route and all the office guys are walking through laughing their a$$ off at him sitting there sweating with a tee shirt and blue jeans on.

  his roommate was Robbie Vela from Hawaii the big island ---he worked upstairs in the bindery on the hardback line and he told us that Spencer would come home from work when he worked in photo dept and there would be TICKETS FOR him to fly to Japan or Rome or anywhere in the world just to take a couple of rolls of film and fly back

  man we are talking about living the good life- he flew almost as much as the guys with UPI or AP wire guys

  single man living the life and since he was the PO in his hall up in the Bronx he had the best of both worlds in the local hall and at the big house

  from what I understand HE MADE A KILLING

  well it is now bed time and no more bethel stories until later

  smile

  James

  PS this is the last one it's too good to let pass

  now i earned my money when i was at bethel others don't

  as you all know by now the spokesman for the wt is a guy named JR Brown as a black man we use to call the the Society's Louis Farrakan

  the most powerful speaker every to Grace a wt mike esp in the black community

  well anyway he is ACES with larry Graham and larry is always hooking him up along with 1000's of his fans

  anyway when he bought his new car alot of the Heavies and i don't mean to get racial,but some of the White boys were not happy

  As they would say in the black Hood ""This Negro went out and bought a $45,000 car"

  my man drives a top of the line fully loaded "Q45"
  now go figure how you and i can do that off $90.00 a month

  YOU TO TO LOVE IT
• 

  RationalWitness

  James,

  I LOVE IT! Yeah, I remember all the guys 'g-jobbing' back in the 60's and 70's. I never did (not because I didn't want to, but because I was not connected--and those who had the jobs weren't about to let me know of them.) Even in the offices there were what amounted to g-jobs even if they weren't called that. A couple of bros in the Service Department were always forming group-buying circles, with the organizer getting a hefty discount on the latest electronic gear. One even started a multi-level-marketing scheme selling "Slender Now!" inside and outside Bethel. I used to wonder how such supposed 'spiritual giants' could be so involved in making material gain off their brothers.

  Thanks for reminding me of the materialistic side of Bethel life. From what I've seen and heard, the "vow of poverty" is a joke (a tax ploy?). One local elder recently bragged to me about having paid a Bethel computer 'expert' to set up his office network.

  Cheers,
  Rational
• 

  jschwehm

  Hi-

  When I was at Bethel they had just started the vow of poverty thing. It used to be that they paid Bethelites 14.00 a month and of course that was not nearly enough to make it to your congregation. When they upped the allowance to 80.00 a month they supposedly did it to stop all of the "G-jobbing" but it still went on. It was my experience that most of the best G-jobbers were the ones who were overseers. They had access to the equipment as you describe and their authority was usually unchecked.

  Many of the Bethelites who used to do pretty well money wise with G-Jobbing were supremely ticked off when certain overseers would not allow them to accept jobs and then these same overseers would take the same jobs. It was a case of the fox guarding the chicken coop if you know what I mean.

  Those of you who see the double standards of the WTS at the congregation level have not seen anything until you have been to Bethel and experienced the politics, etc. of that place.

  Jeff S.
• 

  chester

  That is amazing!!

  I would never have guessed it.

  Chester
• 

  JT

  James,

  . One even started a multi-level-marketing scheme selling "Slender Now!" inside and outside Bethel.

  i never heard about that one i guess the boys in the office could keep stuff under raps bettter than we could

  kinda hard to hide a Flatbed truck sitting in front of 124 with Drywall on the back

  smile

  Thanks for reminding me of the materialistic side of Bethel life.

  ###### hey only ROOMBIDDING WAS WORST -- i recall this Heavies wife saying :

  "We need an EAST River view from our room."

  i love it

  From what I've seen and heard, the "vow of poverty" is a joke (a tax ploy?). One local elder recently bragged to me about having paid a Bethel computer 'expert' to set up his office network.

  I agree it has proved to be a joke- this one guy who works in the Barber shop his name will not be used SMILE

  HIS Wife is a software programmer and sister girl used to g-job at night over on Wall street for $95.00 and hour at some investment firm back in 98-99 ---not bad considering she was making in 1 hour what others were making all month

  only at the HOUSE OF GOD
• 

  JT

  . It used to be that they paid Bethelites .., a month and of course that was not nearly enough to make it to your congregation.

  #######

  MY WIFE COULD NEVER figure this one out= they give you $90.00 and you have to use half of it to get to thier meetings

  instead of giving you a Travel allowance in conjuction with the 90 they made you use it instead

  cold bloodied dudes man

  ########
  It was my experience that most of the best G-jobbers were the ones who were overseers. They had access to the equipment as you describe and their authority was usually unchecked.

  ####you hit the nail on the head with the above#######

  Many of the Bethelites who used to do pretty well money wise with G-Jobbing were supremely ticked off

  ######ticked off ain't even the word#######

  . It was a case of the fox guarding the chicken coop if you know what I mean.

  ######yes they are indeed guarding the house######

  chester:

  the life of a bethelite is very interesting indeed

  james
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  Maximus

  Stop it, stop it! I'm laughing so hard I'm crying!

  G-jobbing has a long and distinguished history, over many decades. The principal linotype operator used to moonlight at the NY Times at night and made a tidy fortune over many years. Don't get me started. Carpentry and bindery were the worst.

  JT has given you a rare look at how life really is at Bethel. He is telling it EXACTLY like it is.

  Now JT, quit ragging on my gal Sophie. She was a sweetheart whose motherly instincts knew no bounds.

  RW is only touching the tip of the iceburg. CW still has the buying group going, RW. Was a hallowed custom for certain Service overseers to sun themselves on the rooftop and miss lunch--and sharing the Wall Street Journal and financial reports from the Times.

  If you go to Brooklyn Bethel today as a businessman/elder/heavy, I guarantee you the first question long-time members will ask you about is the stock market. They just assume that everyone outside has some inside info or hot tip. Mutual buying groups. Bloomberg and all that.

  This can really be disillusioning to new boys. That's why the article on Bethel service says to ask yourself the question, am I easily offended? Do others find me easy to get along with?

  Thanks for the memories ...

  Maximus
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  unclebruce

  JT, Maximus, RW, John, Like Chester I'm gobsmacked - I've seen numerous little schemes in Australia but nothing on that scale and in Jesus #1 earthly home of all places! These are the kind of reports the average publisher needs to see. My straight as a gunbarrel father-in-law 'd flip.

  It's enough to make a man wonder if serving the society in poverty really is the path to true happiness ;)

  unclebruce

  PS: I love the way you name names #1 :)
• 

  Had Enough

  Hi JT:

  Thanks for answering my question about what is G-jobbing.

  Again I just sit here a shake my head. Oh yes some die-hards JWs, on hearing this little bit of info, might stick up for this practice by saying, "but what's wrong with making a little extra spending money?" But we're talking about "lots" not "little" when the purpose of going to Bethel in the first place was to live by their financial arrangement of "poverty" and "volunteer", and then there's all the principles of honesty to the gov't in declaring your income and using the WTS supplies, time, equipment, etc.

  It just smacks of shadiness to me in how some got those work contracts.

  Do you or anyone out there know if this kind of thing went/goes on in the Canadian Bethel or any others for that matter.

  Interesting.....

  Had Enough
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  Black Man

  By the time I got to Bethel they had cracked the whip on G-Jobbing. You had to report all earned income. You also had to make sure you did everything outside if you were gonna g-job. The busters bugged my phone line and found out I was doing some computer work for a company. I had to have a sit-down with a couple of bethel elders who made me stop working for them. It's not like any of it impeded on my meetings or work assignment. I would do this work on the weekends or during down time. They cracked the whip on me, but there were countless other bethelites g-jobbing on the down-low.

  It was all senseless. You only got 90.00 a month. Over 2/3 of that went on just subway tokens alone to the congo. The congo was poor so they really couldn't help a Bethelite out. Instead of looking for hand-outs I g-jobbed. It wasn't a lot, but damn......anything that came in was a big help.