Man works 42 years at minimum wage and barely gets a farewell – but there's a happy ending

A company has been slammed for barely recognising more than four decades of service by one of its workers who was retiring – and his co-workers had to step in to save the day.

An elderly American man John Bartlett worked in the warehouse of an unnamed firm for 42 years.

But all he got for his service was a certificate and a sub-par barbeque, his coworkers claimed. Fortunately, they took matters into their own hands.

Colleague Sonia shared a clip to social media of John, who is in his 70s, going into work on his last day. She felt his years of work had gone under appreciated.

“Today is my co-worker’s last day. He worked for this company for 42 years making minimum wage,” Sonia wrote in the video.

“The company only threw him a barbecue and gave him a certificate. He takes the bus and Bart (train) to get here every day on time. He’s 70+.”

“He loves working here so much he didn’t want to retire—[He got] No bonus, just a barbecue and a certificate. Don’t be a slave to your job. Thank you John for your loyalty.”

The video has now been deleted, but got hundreds of thousands of views and got thousands of comments from people on the internet who wanted to help John feel more valued.

Sonia started a GoFundMe in response, saying on the page that he would make it to work “rain or shine” and that he was extremely dependable.

He was “one of the most talented and hard-working” employees at the company, she added.

“He has no wife or kids, however, he does have a nephew whom he loves dearly,” she wrote in the fundraiser.

“It would be nice to give him some kind of company or something to do so he knows that he’s special and loved.”

Since the GoFundMe was created, it has raised $68,178.

Sonia plans to print out names and messages from John’s supporters. The money has already surpassed the retirement funds John had before.

“Happy retirement John! Your hard work and dedication is a motivation to all of us,” one person said in their donation.

“Happy retirement, John. You deserve more than what this company has offered you. Wish you all the best in your life and your future,” another said.

“Dear John, Your story has really resonated with me. I hope you read all of the comments from well wishes and know that your contribution to the world has been seen. I hope you take pride in that knowledge because you absolutely deserve to. I am honored to contribute to your retirement.”

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.