Dede and Denny, I am so glad things are working out for you now. You had it so rough. I am glad that those who have tried to blackball are getting their just desserts. And that people get to learn that JWs are not as good as the religion claims to be.
Everyone, as for the issue of JW's workethics, my experience is that Witnesses are no better or no worse than non-Witnesses. Mine you, I have never hired Witnesses simply because they were Witnesses. Following the WT advice, I hired them based purely on business reasons.
The JWs I have worked with have always been dedicated and hard-working, including myself. I have always worked long hours and was known for top-notch work and for being a hard worker.
Two other JWs that I worked with did top-notch work; one was the resident expert and no one matched his quality. It was funny, because he personally was a total slob, but his work area and his work was completely clean, spotless and perfect in every detail.
One soon-to-be JW (and now a JW) was fired for being slow or something. I know he was guilty of talking too much, but alot of what happened was because his boss was not a nice person.
I was not in the habit of hiring JWs simply because they were JWs. I have only hired a few Witnesses.
One was simply a minor payment issue; but the brother did good work at a cheap price...he saved me hundreds of dollars.
The other was a brother who blatantly lied about when our bathroom would be renovated. He told us three days (or was it a week?? can't remember), knowing full well it would take him three weeks. But he did a beautiful job. He transformed a crappy bathroom into a showcase lavatory.
Oh, yeah there was one sister whom I hired based only on the fact that she was a sister who needed an income. She was lousy, and was soon not in my employ.
Anytime I have been blatantly ripped off, it was by non-Witnesses.
Richard