The person you're talking about appears to have meant "at-will" rather than "right-to-work".
Unfortunately, when you're given a written warning, especially when they checked "final warning", it's necessary to contact the regional HR manager right away and discuss it. You need to assume that when you're given a written warning, the person who gave it to you was first required to make her or his case to at least one of her or his superiors. It sounds like in your situation, that entailed telling someone who doesn't know you things that were perfectly false.

Nope, no first two write-ups, no process, nothing. It seems clear to me now that my GM doesn't understand what "at will" means or implies, nor how he is implicated in making the sorts of statements he's made in rooms full of people. I'd love to give specific and damning details here, but I think I should save that given the current nature of BINC and its people and what I hear about them. I guess I'm kind of slumming in this job, since I have advanced degrees and used my ability to transfer within the company just to get a foothold in my new city, but I'm also a stick in the mud about fair play and injustice, and the current GM has made a lot of careless (but also willful) mistakes that can bite him in the end. I hate how cynical I've become working in this current store; it really blows. The thing is, while I resent the GM's behaviors, I can't really say he's a terrible guy or anything--he tries to do the right thing; he's just not a Rhode's Scholar; he's made some things at our store better, and after he "laid down the law" with me (the ridiculous FW), I think he truly believes it's just water under the bridge now, and we can conquer all these looming problems at our store as a team (and, outwardly, I do work toward that goal) . . . but all this also speaks to the limited talents (IMO) of our DM that we even have the situation we currently have anyway. I sort of wish I was just dumb enough to not question any of their practices, and I'd probably go about this job just fine, but that's not how it is, and the GM's psychology is readily apparent to anybody with a couple of firing synapses. The hypocrisy is pretty heavy. But I'd be fool to think that working in the poo won't result in some stink. Part of me wants to sue the pants off these people because I know I'm in the right and have documentable proof of that and of management's wrongdoing, but an equal part of me just wants people to behave more ethically and be nice. Why this doesn't seem possible is often, frankly, beyond me. I don't know how business majors live with themselves, really. Sometimes I think they treat me the way they do because they want me to quit, but it's really more in my best interest to let them fire me so I can claim unemployment benefits . . . though I'd prefer to just have my job, do it well, and be left alone for as long as I'm there. I have no plans to spend my life with the store, but the GM sure does, and who am I to ruin that for him? Bleah . . . not so long ago I had grand ideas about helping my store achieve sales Nirvana and becoming some bright light in the company. Now, not so much.

John,

It is my experience that business majors do not work at Borders except maybe the HQ. All the GMs I know have been Literature, Creative Writing, Film or History majors. Only one of those ever spent any time reading books from the business section. Certainly none of them read books from the management or leadership sections. Also, few have business experience outside of basic retail. Whenever I discuss other methods for OEM sales, city involvement, networking groups, etc the GMs/Assist Mgr usually have no idea why such activities should be pursued. My GM was shocked to learn there was a zoning meeting planned for our shopping center and actually said "I wonder if legal knows about this?". Hello....it's your job to
monitor local issues and bring them to legals attention.

Thankfully my graduate degree is almost done and I can say goodbye to this company.

Thanks for the input, folks. I appreciate the perspectives. And sorry to crack on business majors; I wrote that comment in a moment of anger/ dismay. In truth, though, the GMs and management around here are neither biz majors nor lit majors . . . they're garden variety simple(tons). Fine for them, sure, but very frustrating to work with for anybody with an education. I think, too, I get frustrated on behalf of the people on my team--about nine folks--as I listen to and absorb as much of their voiced concerns and (very valid) gripes as I can and try to be the good soldier and rally my troops for each day at work. But I can't deny the erosion of what few perks these people have . . . and the hours cuts, and the bizarrely increased number of pallet deliveries we're getting, and the increased and more frantic expectations put upon them . . . and it makes me mad to be honest, to see earnest people mistreated (or at least taken advantage of) this way. I think much of this is a philosophical frustration I feel with The Miond oif American Business that is simply never satisfied, that dictates you must always want more more more, and that seems to also feel that the human costs are not as important as the dollars that go to upper management. I have not seen much recent evidence of my team being . . . just appreciated. I see employee morale plummet and I struggle to help them through. That exacts an emotional toll I hadn't expected going in to this job. Right now I think I'll just shine it on for as long as it takes for me to find a new job, but I'll always wonder about the folks who don't have the luxury of looking elsewhere so easily.

P.S.: Dylan, man, do you realize your habit of making every thread . . . about yourself?

Just so you know, even from the limited information you gave, I know which store you work for. If you leave out the state, it would be impossible to tell, but that and the new male GM/termed old GM give it away.