America's Work Stories

We would like to award the following people with the EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR AWARD. This award is based on your dedication to your profession and your persistance of informing the public about our country, REPORTING & PROSECUTING criminal activity, the politicians and the goings on in Washington DC. We reserve the right to add people to the list at any time.

1. JOHN CONYERS (D- MI, US House of Representatives) - for your persistance at gathering evidence of criminal acts of the Bush Administration. You never stop and just keep going. Your persistance is so admirable. You will always go down in the history books as a Congressman who stood for the working people of the United States and for what is right and good about this country. You need to be elevated to sainthood. You are amazing and are greatly appreciated for your work and dedication.


2. MAUREEN DOWD (NY Times Columnist) - because you never give up pounding on the Bushies, their criminal activity and this criminal White House. You and Keith Olberman are the only respected journalists who report the facts and are willing to say it like it is.


3. RANDI RHODES (Air America Radio Host) - your persistance and energy on Air America Radio where day after day you CONTINUOUSLY go after the Bush regime and you just keep pounding. Your reporting to the American people about the wrongdoing and criminal activity of the Bush Mafia is OUSTANDING unlike the main stream media who have neglected their duties as journalists and have FAILED the American people.


4. Keith Olbermann (Countdown Host on MSNBC) - Keith continues to tell the truth and reported on what was transpiring in Ohio right after the November 2004 Selection. He also continues to report the news that other networks are refusing to share with the American people. Your honest and persistance at TELLING THE TRUTH is very admirable and should be awarded. America's Work Stories is looking forward to Keith's coverage when major historical events transpire this year.

Enclosed is a post we found on Craigslist.com in the jobs section. These two organizations need to be REGULATED. They are posting FAKE JOB ADS.

Dear Barry Personnel: < jobbyjoberson > 12/14 07:43:38
I am so M***** F**K*** SICK to DEATH of opening ads and seeing the name of your GOD FORSAKEN agency! CAN you PLEASE either: a) Limit the number of ads you post here. or b) Go to a paying site like a normal F***K*** agency! Obviously you aren't having THAT much success here if you have have to constantly innundate this board with your postings...don't expect me to believe that your demand is that great, what with the fact that there aren't THAT many jobs out there AND there are like seven THOUSAND staffing firms in FREAKING Chicago. SO, Barry Personnel, don't make me get ugly. STOP posting your fake job ads here. Any job seekers as sick of them as I am? P.S. Northbridge Staffing, you're next.

This is something we received from a VERY VERY SEASONED HR person who was OUTRAGED at the HORRIBLE HORRIBLE interviewing skills of Greg who is the Technical Recruiter at Eloyalty in Lake Forest, IL. Enclosed is the letter so you can read it for yourself:

Dear America's Work Stories,

I had the WORST interview with Greg who is the Technical Recruiter at Eloyalty.com. Jackie the VP offered him a full time position and I can't understand it. However, it speaks LOULDY about her judgement. He told me several times in my interview "You're LYING to me". I almost fell on the ground when I heard this. I've NEVER EVER said this to a candidate.
He openly confessed that he's treated other people and STILL he doesn't stop and is ALLOWED to interview people with such a condescending, arrogant, HOSTILE, AGGRESSIVE, RUDE AND BRUTISH manner. He also said he was from a Big Five and was ARROGANT about it. He said that he was a contracter as if he had been promoted to a VP position. HE WASN'T FULL TIME YET. He COULD NOT FOR HIS LIFE understand that some people like to work in smaller organizations and not exist in a large organization. He COMPLETELY FORGOT that he was talking to someone who was seasoned. He said "Now, do you know what type of interview I just gave you.". It was a behavioral interivew and the question was degrading and humiliating. He was COMPLETELY socially UNINTELLIGENT and HAS NO CONCEPT AT ALL of himself. The VP of Recruiting Jackie and the Recruiting Manager who is ARROGANT AND RUDE TO THE JOB CANDIDATES. SHOULD HAVE THEIR HEADS EXAMINED. They both are keeping him and endorse this behavior by retaining people who are incompetent and give the company a bad image. It was like a scene out of the usual Bush headlines of the incompetent people running around the White House.

I don't understand Corporate America's thinking when they retain people like this. They function like the White House, THEY KEEP BAD PEOPLE IN THEIR ORGANIZATION. I know deep down that this bad behavior and their INCOMPETENT management decisions will all come back to bite them you know where!!!!!


STAY AWAY FROM ELOYALTY. THEIR INCOMPETENT AND ARE PRACTIING THE WHITE HOUSE PRINCIPALS OF KEEPING BAD PEOPLE AND REWARDING BAD BEHAVIOR!!!!!

We have intelligence that Norma Williams, who's the CEO, screens candidates over the phone without a resume infront of her. She asked a stupid question about dates of employment and the candidate replied to her "don't you have the resume infront of you?" and she replied "I'm the CEO.". THIS IS UNPROFESSIONAL AND UNCALLED FOR. That wasn't the question and her reply was ABSURD.

Norma, you're supposed to have the resume infront of you when you screen someone over the phone. You don't talk to someone without that material infront of you. The excuse "I'm the CEO." DOESN'T FLY. THAT DOESN'T WORK.

NJW Associates
35 East Wacker Drive
Suite 3450
Chicago, IL 60601
E-mail: info@njwassociates.com
Tel: 312.464.1999
Fax: 312.464.1559

Hewitt has HORRIBLE HORRIBLE issues with the way they recruit and the way they manage their resumes. This situation came to us from someone who emailed them a resume and received an email saying "please go to our website and apply online". If the job market was NOT in favor of the employers, SHE SURE WOULDN'T BE TELLING THE JOB CANDIDATES TO GO ONLINE AND APPLY. This is a HERRENDOUS practice when dealing with the candidates. This is Carrie's email address, please write her an email and let her know what you think of this practice: carrie.carpenter@hewitt.com.

Dear America's Work Stories,

I had a HORRIBLE encounter with one of the recruiters over at Hewitt. I emailed Carrie Carpenter my resume and she emailed me back "to go online and apply on the company website." I was FLABBERGASTED at her response to me. I went to an Ivy League School and have ALOT of great experience. If the job market was in favor of the job seekers, she would of NEVER EVER of treated me like this. Thanks to your website, you have given us the opportunity of sharing with everyone what is happening to the job candidates.

Thank you,

Really Disgusted.

We got this email from someone who interviewed with this agency and said that Anita didn't time the test properly and said she "wasn't good at math" but is giving the test anyway. RIDICULOUS!!!!!

Anita Kurz of The O'Hare Search Group (http://www.osgglobal.com) is administering the Wunderlic test which is ALL Algebra and Geomentry. She said herself she's not good at math and she didn't time the test properly. She came in after the 12 minutes were up. (How's that for professional)

The Wunderlic test DOES NOT measure intelligence. If you haven't been working and studying with the formulas (and who does in the business world? Who is studying the algebra and geomentry formulas when working with financial figures and salary numbers???? How much more stupid does the business world become?) you're not going to remember this from school.

This is a a post I found over at democraticunderground.com. the University of Michigan students asked some tough questions which got Coke to examine their labor, environmental and business practices. Good for them!!!!!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1564940
Coke to Examine Overseas Labor Practices (boycotts works)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- The Coca-Cola Co. says it is willing to examine its labor and business practices in India and Colombia to keep $1.3 million worth of contracts with the University of Michigan.>>>snipAtlanta-based Coca-Cola has for years faced questions about its labor practices abroad, and college students have levied some of the most vocal complaints. The company has repeatedly denied allegations of environmental and human rights abuses, but officials said they would look into the matter.

The student group accused Coca-Cola of draining the water table in India, causing farmers' crops to go dry; distributing bottling plant sludge containing contaminants to Indian farmers as fertilizer; selling products that contain pesticides in India; and conspiring with paramilitary groups in Colombia to harass and harm union members."The main issue ... is that the university is pandering to corporate interests and not necessarily to its constituents, the students," said Saamir Rahman, a 19-year-old junior and member of the group.http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/COKE_COMPLAINTS?...
Boycotts work folks these students show that it does http://www.colombiaactionnetwork.org/boycott.html

The reasons to boycott coke http://killercoke.org/crimes.htm

This is someone who had an interview with Lyssa over the phone..and Lyssa showed how obnoxious and rude HR people can be.

Dear America's Work Stories,

I had a phone interview with Lyssa Bernstein and as an HR professional I was FLOORED at the way she handled herself and the interview. She was the epitome of arrogant, snotty, snappy, RUDE, hostile and outwardly aggressive. I'm ashamed that she's part of our profession.

I would urge all other HR professionals to NEVER EVER interview with her. Tweeter is not getting my business anytime soon.

This is another story of an employee who has no boundaries set for them. McKinsey has a NOTORIOUS reputation for the people they retain in their firm.


Dear Americ'as Work Stories,

I don't even know where to begin. McKinsey has to be one of the worst consulting firms to work for. Beth is the most obnoxious, rude, self centered, competitive person I've ever met in my life. Her family is on the phone with her for multiple amounts of hours of the day and all she does is talk about herself. This place is like a zoo. No one sets any boundaries and is not very intuitive or observant. It's almost lawlessness (kind of like the White House). I thought McKinsey is supposed to be an elite firm? They make PricewaterhouseCoopers look good and that place is a CATASTROPHE inside.

Her supervisor Chris (who's a woman and goes through multiple amounts of nannies because her employees leave her because of her miserable behavior) is one of the most openly aggressive people in the firm. I would NEVER EVER recommend working her for anyone. This group has so much turnover and Mike who's head ALSO has employees get up and leave because he's so unbearable to work with.

If this isn't illegal, unethical and unprofessional in the recruitinng process, I dont' know what is.

Anyone in HR? 06/17 10:25:16
This is a question a few of my friends and I have been fighting over. On a recent interview, the HR person asked for the candidate's previous pay stubs. He was wondering if he forged them, is there any online database that could be used to verify them? I say yes, he says no. What say you?

This is a link that has another link to Colin Powell and Condaleeza Rice saying that there are no WMD's in Iraq and that Iraq DID NOT pose a threat to anyone else.

Please consider this an open thread.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/17/111153/393

This is an email from someone who is in the position of knowing that another employee who is horribly unpleasant is padding their overtime. The employer, who is unobservant and not paying attention, is not aware of what is happening. This poor employee who wrote is pondering whether they should say something. The person who had this Accounting Supervisor position ALSO knew what was happening but was scared to say something also. When is Corporate America going to pay attention to their business?


Tattletale or Professional? 06/16 13:47:15
I am the acctg. supervisor of a small co. with about 40 employees. One of my job duties is to processt he payroll. There are only 5 total employees in the office. We are all salaried, but 2 of my co-workers are non-exempt so they're eligible for overtime. I've been here a year now. I have become suspicious in the last few months that one of these people is heavily padding her overtime. Sometimes she's in the office only 4 or 5 hours a day but when she reports her hours to me she always claims several hours of overtime. She is allowed to work from home.

She doesn't know it but I have access to a report that shows how many hours per day she's actually logged into the system. Based on the time I know she's in the office and the time reflected in these reports, it would appear she is definitely falsifying her time.

This person has been with the co. for over 17 years and has a key role, she does all our billing and they have never cross-trained. Also, she is not a pleasant person at all and has verbally abused me on multiple occasions.

My gut tells me I need to report this to my boss(she and her husband own the co. and are only in the office a for a few hours 3-4 days per week) but I am also afraid of the backlash this will cause once this person is exposed. I have been looking for another job just to get away from this stressful situation, but so far no luck. I recently found out that my predecessor was aware of this situation but was too afraid to expose this.

This reader has found out that Whole Foods doesn't offer time off for holidays.


Whole Foods Vacation? 06/16 18:12:58
Hi all, I know I'm in a better spot than many, as I was offered a job. It was with Whole Foods, but they stated that there are no holidays and one only gets 2 weeks off per year. Does that sound right to folks, or did I misunderstand? I'm used to 10 or so holidays (Thanksgiving, Xmas, etc) and then 10-15 days off or vacation days. 10 business days total (vacation, personal, sick, holidays - everything) sounds low. Have you all heard anything? It seems odd to me for a company that is so highly regarded.

This is an email that came to us from someone who has very intelligently observed one of the greatest obstructions to getting work done in corporate America today....an employee who hasn't been disciplined and is unaware of how he or she is affecting the workplace and others within the workplace.


sticky situation at work 06/16 12:34:08
I was given a major project to run and my manager/mentor warned to me to run with it to make a name for myself. I trust him implicitly. He also warned me that a woman who has zero intelligence but has a lot of tenure with the company (and kisses the head boss' ass daily) will try to take over my project.

She keeps saying she's "not in charge," just a "guide" in helping me through this (since I'm a relatively new employee and she's been here 20 years) but she has a poor reputation and she tends to take other people's work and present it as her own.

I'm in a bind because she's been allowed to oversee the progress of my project so she keeps asking me for ideas to "brainstorm with" but I don't want to! Then again, how can I avoid it? Also, she gave the other key member of this team (a guy I'll be working with on a daily basis in the future) the impression she needs to be in the loop on every conversation we have! When she found out the guy and I were talking back and forth, she goes, "I want to be included in the loop whenever you talk to him... not trying to be 'in charge' just want to keep abreast of the situation." YEAH RIGHT!

I spoke with the guy and diplomatically said, "let's not bog her down with details - she's here to guide the general proces." I was trying to let him know - don't cc her on every e-mail and tell about every conference call we're going to have. I wanted to say, after all, I'm going to be managing this, not her. This one is sticky! My manager's on vacation. I can't wait until he comes back!

This is an email that came from us from someone who has a scoop about the inner workings of a company in Northbrook, IL.

Dear America's Work Stories,

The HR Manager over at Belmont Trading, Karen Ludovice, who's not college educated is the WORST HR Manager I've ever met. She doesn't know how to work with people, doesn't ANYTHING about Human Resources and is just CLUELESS. She's incompetent and unprofessional. This company is very poorly managed and they don't how to work with people in addition to knowing how to function as a great organzation.

Nina at PinnaclePros.com embodies the lack of professionalism and knowledge of how to talk to a job candidate. Her statement of "you just cost me thousands and thousand of dollars" is OBNOXIOUS and absolute the WRONG way to speak to a job candidate. This is just disgusting and give the recruiting profession a bad name and a HORRIBLE reputation.


recruiter vent 06/16 07:48:40
I contacted a recruiter who listed an ad on craigslist about three weeks ago. I left a nice message and waited but got no response. So, I searched online, and found the job posted somewhere else. I applied, the company got back to me promptly that they were looking for someone with specific experience that I did not have (that's another story for another day!), but here's the vent: The recruiter finally called me yesterday...three weeks later! I said, that that job didn't seem like a good fit, maybe she knew of others. She said, "do you realize that you just lost me potentially thousands and thousands of dollars by not applying through me?" I was shocked!

So I fired back that my number one priority was me, not her commission and the nerve she had even mentioning that. She said that she could not take me on as a client because I obviously did not have respect for her--I said, duh...of course I have no respect for you...you didn't call me back and now you admit that all you cared about was your commission? I thought the golden rule in recruiting was to make it appear that all you cared about was helping me get a job (no matter if you didn't even look for me!) What a bitch....oh yeah by the way, her name is Nina at Pinnaclepros.com.

This is a post from a reader who went to an interview with a staffing firm and came away with not not being interested in the job. These staffing firms are the ones filling job orders for companies. This is truly amazing.

should i interview? 06/16 07:58:52
I got called for a second interview at a major staffing company like Manpower. It's for a sales job. The woman who interviewed me was the director and kind of a robot. She talked really loud and I never felt like she was human. Anyway, she described the sales position as working in a "bullpin" atmosphere where there a cubes and you can hear other sales people. and the the other sales people will challenge you etc. etc. It sounded horrible to me. But the money might be pretty good. But i would then be stuck in the staffing industry. Anyone have any advice about what to do. I need to call this person back soon.

Chat Away!!

JP Morgan and Citibank are some of the banks who have some of the worst people working for them and some of the most unethical business and labor practices in the banking world right next to Goldman Sachs...who let's just say LEADS THE PACK!!!!!


Pressure on Banks to End Enron Litigation
Yahoo Link To Story

By KRISTEN HAYS, AP Business Writer 2 hours, 8 minutes ago
HOUSTON - Now the pressure's really on. News that bankers JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup will pony up a collective $4.2 billion to make a conglomeration of Enron Corp. shareholder lawsuits go away lights a settlement fire under other banks and brokerages still named as defendants, legal experts said Wednesday.

"There will be scrambling among the remaining banks to settle now," said Thomas Ajamie, a securities lawyer in Houston. "There's clearly enough money to fund the litigation from here to eternity and that just adds more and more pressure."

But shareholders won't see checks in the mail anytime soon, because who gets how much still must be calculated and then approved by a judge.

"No matter how successful we are, we will never get all the money back," said William Lerach, lead lawyer for the University of California, the lead plaintiff in the litigation. "We will get good recovery for people. How much we get remains to be seen."

Enron spiraled into scandal-ridden bankruptcy in December 2001 upon revelations of hidden debt, inflated profits and widespread accounting tricks. Thousands of workers lost their jobs and its once high-flying stock became worthless.

JPMorgan Chase announced Monday it would pay $2.2 billion to settle allegations that the bank colluded with Enron to skirt accounting rules when the energy company counted loans as income to puff up reported earnings. Last week, Citigroup announced it would pay $2 billion to settle similar allegations of participating in dubious deals.

Neither institution acknowledged any wrongdoing, and said they struck the deals to put the litigation behind them. Those who have followed the Enron scandal and other corporate quagmires, such as the WorldCom collapse, say that reasoning isn't just a public relations ploy.
"To me, it doesn't relate to the merits of the Enron case. The possible outcomes are very murky, and it's going to take years to litigate this," said Paul R. Brown, professor of accounting at New York University's Stern School of Business. "In the meantime, it's a drag on the firm from a stock price perspective, a drag on morale, and you end up with a tainted name. These firms have concluded that the drag is too big a price to pay."

That lesson should be ingrained within JPMorgan, which in March became the last major bank to settle the major class-action WorldCom lawsuit, agreeing to a $2 billion payment. JPMorgan had a chance to settle the case in 2004 for $1.37 billion, but held out in hopes of a better deal, which never materialized.

JPMorgan's accord in the Enron case marks the sixth and largest such settlement of the litigation filed in October 2001. Another $491.5 million in settlements have already been reached with Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Bank of America Corp., Andersen Worldwide, 17 former Enron outside directors and former Enron vice chairman Ken Harrison. They, too, didn't acknowledge any wrongdoing.

James Holst, the University of California's general counsel, hinted Wednesday that more deals were coming.

"We're going to see accelerated activity in the weeks ahead," Holst said, declining to elaborate.
Remaining defendants in the case include Merrill Lynch & Co., Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Barclays PLC, Credit Suisse First Boston, Toronto Dominion Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Deutsche Bank AG and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

More than two years ago U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon in Houston and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez in New York ordered the plaintiffs and banks to try to settle and appointed a mediator to help. Those efforts, at least initially, produced no results.
But now the biggest targets are bowing out, said Anthony Sabino, an associate professor at Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John's University.

"This is all about who's going to be left holding the bag and no one wants to do that," he said. "It will probably be hard to see such extraordinary numbers again, but no one wants to go to trial on this."

He added that Merrill and CIBC may have more urgency than the other remaining defendants. In 2003, Merrill and CIBC each paid the SEC $80 million in 2003 to settle allegations of participating in murky deals with Enron. Both banks also struck deals with the
Justice Department' to avoid prosecution by acknowledging that employees may have committed crimes and implementing reforms to prevent such transactions.

Lerach said the plaintiffs are preparing for trial in October 2006 and will be ready "to go ahead with whoever is left standing at the end and we're working on that every day."
Other remaining defendants include Enron founder Kenneth Lay, former CEO Jeffrey Skilling, and former Enron accountant Arthur Andersen LLP.

All the settlements still must be approved by Harmon, who will determine a formula under which some 50,000 claimants would be paid. A hearing for her to consider the Citigroup and JPMorgan settlements hasn't yet been scheduled, and investors might not see any funds for more than a year.

Enron's collapse caused $40 billion to $45 billion in market losses, but securities laws allow investors to seek tens of billions of dollars more in additional damages.
Lerach said investors should keep their records and be ready to claim their share. He said he didn't want to characterize what they would actually receive as pennies on the dollar because "it depends on how much they bought, when they bought, when they sold and how much they lost."
___
AP Business Writers Michael J. Martinez and Joe Bel Bruno contributed to this report.

Bristol Meyers Squibb is up to their usual no good. In another post, someone witnessed one of their employees confess that this person had their credit report cleaned. The amount of dishonest and slimey people in this organization blows my mind.


Bristol-Myers Reaches $300M Settlement
By JEFFREY GOLD, AP Business Writer 1 hour, 17 minutes ago
NEWARK, N.J. - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. agreed to pay $300 million in a deal to defer federal prosecution of a conspiracy charge stemming from an accounting scandal, the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey said Wednesday. Two of its former executives also were indicted for their alleged roles in the same scandal.

Frederick Schiff, Bristol-Myers former chief financial officer, and Richard Lane, former executive vice president and president of the company's worldwide medicines group, were indicted on charges of conspiracy and securities fraud.

The company said that it would record an additional reserve of $249 million in the second quarter related to the settlement. Its shares fell 26 cents to close at $25.20 in trading on the
New York Stock Exchange near the high end of the 52-week range of $22.22 to $26.60.


With Wednesday's payment, Bristol-Myers has doled out about $800 million to settle lawsuits and investigations tied to the incentives it paid wholesalers to stockpile inventory, inflating sales and earnings. In March 2003, Bristol-Myers restated $900 million in profits and $2.5 billion in revenue reported from 1999 through the first half of 2002.

"This is a case where Bristol-Myers Squibb failed to disclose relevant information to its shareholders that would have affected its stock price," said Christopher J. Christie, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey.

Christie declined to answer reporters' questions about why more executives, including Bristol-Myers Chief Executive Officer Peter Dolan, were not indicted. He said the investigation is continuing and more charges are possible.

As part of the agreement, Dolan will relinquish the title of chairman but will remain CEO. Longtime board member and former American Express Co. Chairman James D. Robinson III will become chairman of Bristol-Myers. The company also agreed to have former federal judge Frederick B. Lacey act as an independent monitor of its accounting practices and financial controls. He is already working with the company under a previous agreement with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bristol-Myers reached the deal under what is called a deferred prosecution. Under such arrangements, prosecution is delayed and will be dropped if certain terms are met. Bristol-Myers' prosecution will be dropped after two years if it meets standards such as retaining Lacey, appointing an additional director, introducing more financial controls, and cooperating with the investigation.

The company must also endow a chair at Seton Hall University Law School in Newark dedicated to teaching business ethics and corporate governance. The person holding that position will conduct an annual seminar for Bristol-Myers executives.

As part of the agreement, the company "accepts and acknowledges responsibility" for the scheme, called "channel stuffing," in which drug wholesalers are given incentives to purchase large amounts of product to make it appear that demand is high.

"BMS promoted a corporate culture in which meeting or exceeding company budget targets and the consensus (Wall Street) estimates was considered mandatory. Achieving these goals was known as `making the numbers' or `hitting the numbers,'" according to a statement of facts in the deferred prosecution agreement.

In a statement, Dolan said he was "very pleased" to have an agreement with the U.S. attorney.
"We are determined that the mistakes of the past not be repeated and that the company's reputation for adhering to the highest standards for ethical business practices be fully restored," he said.

Christie called Schiff the company's "chief concealment officer" and said that Lane was "a cheat." If found guilty, the two face up to 10 years in prison and $1 million in fines.

The former executives were charged with instructing staff to create the incentive packages to inflate sales and profit figures, while misleading Wall Street analysts and investors about those measures.

They "brushed aside and ignored concerns expressed by BMS employees about the use of financial incentives to the wholesalers, the costs BMS was incurring from the sales incentives to the wholesalers, and the build-up in excess inventory at the wholesalers," according to the indictment.

It cited, among others, an e-mail Lane wrote May 19, 2000, to worldwide medicines personnel: "Sales continue to be concerningly weak. We need to make our May target! (W)hen will this start to happen??"

Schiff lawyer David Zornow, in a statement, said his client denies any wrongdoing and expects to be cleared. "Mr. Schiff did not operate in a vacuum; his conduct was appropriate at all times and known to many others both inside and outside the company," he said.
Lane's lawyer, Richard Strassberg, said his client is innocent and will be "fully vindicated" at trial.

"The government is attempting to prosecute Rick Lane for innocuous, cautious statements made during routine telephone conference calls with professional Wall Street analysts. Indeed, a federal judge rejected nearly identical claims in a civil case in New York just one year ago," Strassberg said in a statement.

"Anyone closely examining these charges will see a frightening example of government overreaching that sends the clear message that executives should not speak to the public. This is the wrong message to send to corporate America, and it is fundamentally unjust for Mr. Lane," his lawyer said.
___

Here's another merger. Let's see how many American people get laid off? Results should be interesting!!


BNP Paribas pays 1.12 billion euros for US bank Commercial Federal
Yahoo Link to Story
Tue Jun 14, 4:18 AM ET
PARIS (AFP) - French banking group BNP Paribas said that it would acquire US retail bank Commercial Federal for 1.12 billion euros (1.36 billion dollars) under an agreed bid subject to regulatory approval.

BNP Paribas said that the purchase, at a premium of 27.0 percent to the average price of Commercial Federal stock, over the last six months, was to further its strategy of expanding in retail banking in the United States.


Shareholders in Commercial Federal would receive 34.50 dollars per share on the basis of 34.0 dollars in cash and an exceptional dividend of 50 cents per share.


BNP Paribas said that it was mounting the deal via its US subsidiary Bank of the West, and that it expected to save 54 million dollars a year before tax through economies of scale arising from the acquisition. The deal would create value from 2006.


Bank of the West is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas subsidiary BancWest. Once the takeover had been completed, BancWest would manage 4.2 million accounts through 739 branches. Banking under the name Commercial Federal would come under the brand of Bank of the West.
The deal was expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2005, but was subject to approval from shareholders in Commercial Federal and from US authorities.
BNP Paribas said that the board of Commercial Federal had approved the offer for 100 percent of the business. The offer had also been approved by the boards of BNP Paribas, Bancwest, Bank of the West and of Commercial Federal.


BancWest operated through 541 branches in 17 states in the west of the United States, and mainly in California and Hawai under the brands of First Hawaiian Bank in Hawai and Bank of the West on the US mainland, BNP Paribas said.

Commercial Federal, based in Omaha, Nebraska, was quoted on the
New York Stock Exchange operated through 198 branches in the United States and made a net profit in 2004 of 76 million dollars, BNP Paribas said.

This is a letter from someone who's stressed out, is able to look around and knows what needs to be done.

Dear America's Work Stories,

I'm working in a work environment that is incredibly stressful with some very dysfunctional people and a management that is only concerned with the bottom line. There are so many people with poor communication skills and herrendous internpersonal skilils. I'm a father who also has duties at home. I can't sleep and this work environment gets only get worse. The worst part is that the job market is so bad, you can't move anywhere else. I can't believe that we live in a country where there are no checks and balances in the workplace and a Department of Labor who just isn't doing their job. This company has also been in legal trouble.

I'm also hearing from other friends that their companies (in addition to mine) aren't providing any training or development for anyone. This is just something else. The American workplace is in very bad shape. The mainstream media IS NOT talking about this but we thank you for giving us a place to talk about these issues.

This is an article that we found on about.com. It covers the issue of the Toxic Boss.

The Toxic Boss Syndrome
http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/ToxicBoss082697.htm


From F. John Reh,
We all know them. The supervisor who constantly berates their people. The team leader who creates division within the group instead of harmony. The manager who condescends to talk to the individuals in their group, but never listens to their input. These are toxic bosses.
They sap the energy of the individuals in their groups. They are belittling, petty and loud. They consider themselves better than everyone else and they don't care who knows it. All they care about is "getting the job done". Or maybe it's "straightening this place out". In their drive to achieve their goal they ignore or overlook the other people in the organization. And in the end it hurts them too.

It is important to you, as a manager or executive, to be able to recognize these toxic bosses.
They can significantly decrease production and increase cost. They can make a large company an unpleasant place to work, and they can kill a small company.
How to uncover a toxic bossOften all you have to do is walk around. Out of your office, employees may seek you out to point out their toxic boss. If this doesn't happen it may be due to the fear that the toxic boss generates in the organization. Then you have to get the information in other ways.

Talk with clients, or even former clients, of your company. Listen to the side comments they make as they answer your direct questions about something else. Ask them about the managerial strengths of the organization and be sensitive to what or who they leave out.
Look into overhead costs. One of the biggest costs of a toxic boss is in personnel issues. Often these costs are collected into overhead accounts rather than charged to operating units. Even if your company's annual turnover rate is within norms for its industry, look into the numbers.
Does one group have more people quitting (or retiring) than the others? Have there been instances where several individuals from the same unit have left the company in a short period of time? Does one department have higher overtime costs than the others. Have the employees in a particular section been using up all their vacation and more of their sick days than the average?

What to do?An individual who is a toxic boss didn't get to where they are without being good at something. If they weren't good at some particular facet of the business they would have been let go long ago. You need to assess the value of this individual to the company and weigh it against their cost to the company.

If the toxic boss has increased production by ten percent over the past year the stakeholders may not care if the turnover rate in that department is higher than average. However, if you document that the cost of goods sold has increased by five percent during the same period, because of increased training costs, payments to employment agencies, sick leave costs and increased overtime, you will get their attention.

Your actions with respect to a toxic boss will depend on the circumstances. You can recommend coaching or advanced training for the toxic boss. Maybe the individual should be transferred to a position with less responsibility for people. Perhaps the goals set for the individual are unreachable, which has caused their toxic boss management style, and should be adjusted.
Be sure to document and quantify the measurements that you use to determine that a toxic boss is hurting the company. Use overhead expenses as well as direct costs to demonstrate true bottom line impacts. Finally, use the same measurements to quantify the benefit to the company when your actions resolve the toxic boss problem.
-------

The Downing Street Minutes story has legs and a hearing is scheduled for Thursday. These sites are covering what's happening in this story of a war that's was PLANNED month and months in advance: http://www.downingstreetmemo.com, http://www.afterdowningstreet.org, http://www.bigbrassblog.com/bba/.

This is a website that would help employers and executives with many of the different issues that are before them in today's work world. We would especially like to point out that there's a section on leadership that they might find helpful in dealing with other people.


Enoy!!!!

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/index.jhtml

This is a job listing on craigslist.com. Please stay away from this person.


WORKING GODDESS?? 06/14 13:50:11
STAY AWAY FROM THIS WOMAN!
she lists her property for rent all the time on craigslist and steals money from innocent people. do a search and you'll see all of the stuff written about her. her name is lisa miceli, and she lists her email address as studiochezvincent. busy professional mom seeks p/t ast to develop web and manage carreer/personal ast. live in or out. house on beach and mid-city artist studio avail=free rent for right person. less then 20/hrs week gives you time to work other gigs and have your rent covered. please send resume (including recent photo) and any interest, motivation, talent and skills, expreience, education and references ---need as soon as possilbe, but will consider fall and students. Prefer live-in, non-smoker, unencumbured, stable, single profesional.

The Labor Lawyers have sung... and it's not a pretty tune. In fact, what they're reporting is not good. The American people are just being treated horribly inside and outside the American workplace. The following is the information that we've gathered from the attorneys.

1. Sexual Harrassment complaints are UP!!

2. Employers of 50 or more ARE NOT training their employees for sexual harrassment awareness.

3. If someone claims (due to an accident) disability/workman's compensation they are being outrightly fired because the employers don't want to pay the workman's comp cost.

4. Exempt employees are sueing in large numbers in the form of class action law suits because they are not being compensated for the longer hours that they are working. The settlements are ENORMOUS and in the multi million dollar range.

5. Discrimination is OUT OF CONTROL for those over 40 and for those with Masters Degree and Ph.D's who are searhing for a position. Those with a post graduate education are having a HORRIBLE time finding a position because they're well skilled and educated. These are the people who give great advice to the C-level of the organization.

6. The employees are not being treated legally and fairly.

7. Older Workers are being eliminated because they are making to much.

8. Cases with EEOC are moving much slower. Under President Clinton response was better, the response was much quicker. Labor processes (internally) have broken down in some areas of government. The investigative process has to be quicker at the EEOC andthat would take care of a lot of issues. They need to hire additional investigators. Companies get served and it takes 1-1.5 yrs for the case to be heard and that amount of time before the employer is told to remedy their behavior. The EEOC takes too long and is undermanned. There is no urgency to make changes in the way the employers are treating and managing their employees. They’re becoming bolder because EEOC doesn’t do their job. There has to be a provision in federal employement that also providese for quicker remedies such as discrimination in the workplace. They have made it harder for attorneys to get involved in initial stages of the case.
Sexual Harrassment or discrimination goes months without being addressed.

Transportation Security Administration which deals with airports, security..IS ABSOLUTE LAWLESSNESS. There are sexual harassment AND disability discrimination. People have no recourse. People are being fired for no reason at all. A person was forced to take leave of absence because of an injury and an accommodation wasn’t given. This person was put on indefinite leave of absence and was governed by workers compensation. He wasn’t able to work. Then he was dismissed and he was fired. It took A YEAR to get him back on the books. There are alot of unhappy people and the work environment at TSA is in very bad shape.

9. One agency said to someone who they thought belonged to a certain demographic but wasn't a part of this ethnic group "to bad your not hispanic". Those comments are completely uncalled for.

A reader has written in with an experience from the North Shore Staffing Group. This will make you cringe!

Dear America's Work Stories,
I went to apply for a temporary position with the North Shore Staffing Group and when asked where I went to High School, I said the name of the town and the person who interviewed me said "oh my brother-in-law is from there" and made a face that communicated "yuck...you're from there?". This was so unprofessional and illegal. I wish I had some type of recording device so I could of recoreded her body language and facial expressions so everyone could see it. I was appalled. I'm writing to let everyone know about these people so they can avoid them like the black death. Thank you for this blog.

This is a sad story and details the shape of the American economy and the American Workplace.


Trying to understand why I can't find a job 06/13 09:15:37
I have been struggling for over a year now to find a job after graduation. I found a job shortly after graduation, but the circumstances at work were horrible. They hired me in high season, hardly trained me and my boss, the same age without university degree, felt threatened by me and bad-mouthed me to the owners of the company in my presence. I left. Then I was jobless for some more months.

Then I met someone who pulled me into a research project, but expected me to volunteer my time. How can I survive? I worked on a temporary assignment, which is over now. Why do I have such a hard time finding something?

Here my questions to you. Is it because I am a European immigrant (that came here only because my husband is American), is it because of the bad economy, is it because of the degree I have (MA in Social Science) or is it because I don't have many contacts because I did not go to school here? I still have contact to friends in Europe and it seems to go well for them. My cousin works at a film project as a political science major, my sister is one year younger and makes 5000 a month.

Are things so bad here or are my personal circumstances working against me? I am grateful for any input.

When I read this post on Craigslist.com, I was just stunned. They need some consulting something fierce!!! I would think twice if you want to work there!!


*BEWARE* Bally Total Fitness(SF) 06/13 10:22:35
I want everyone to know about this scam and unfair employment that bally has.the process on how bally run the sales structure is a scam. So let me try to explain this the best way i can. when you open a membership there is hidden fees that the sales person does not tell you at all, and sometimes its not even stated on the contract, until you recieve your first bill, which is not even close to the price you agree too. Then the sales guy will tell you that, yea ill go and refund you the money, which wont be done for like 4-5 months. while ur waiting for you refund you are still being charge a over price. And at the end you dont even get your refund back, because bally will tell you all these regulations and rules.

One rule is that if you cancel your contract early you will be charge a extra $325.87. The sales people also pressure you into signing stuff you dont want to sign. The sales people would also lie infront of your face. How do i know all this??? I had a close friend that had a account with them and he told me that bally total fitness his charging him way too much for the monthly payment. At that time i had work for bally and i was trying to help my friend out. When i confronted the managers, they would give me the break down on how they would try to get more money out of customers. But i told them that this is one of my close friends. Managers reply that "friends" are the easiest people to make money from and scam from.

They are also a very racial employment place. The managers of the same race would stick together. And when you have a customer that want to open a membership with you, the managers will steal that customer so he can get the commision. I could'nt bare with the scams and racial status that i encounter at bally total fitness, so at the end i quit that job. By the way i did'nt even get my full pay check for the 2 weeks i work for the, i only got less than half of my pay check. There is so many things that is wrong with bally total fitness that i cant even name them all. Everything that i had said is true! and i can back it up 100%. If you want more info on how bally do these scams! plz feel free to E-mail me. Thank You all for taking the time to read this!

I found this on dailykos.com. United Airlines is up to their usual no good. I refuse to fly with them anymore. Taking pensions away from hard working people is just wrong.



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/13/132911/211

United Airlines Denies 9/11 Pilot's Widow Pension (follow-up)by profmarcus
[Subscribe]Mon Jun 13th, 2005 at 11:29:11 CST[cross-posted at And, yes, I DO take it personally}
the washington post article this morning on the united airlines pension default is a long-overdue acknowledgement of the horrors united airlines has visited on its hard-working employees for as long as most of them can remember... i'm also delighted to see ellen saracini featured... you may remember that i posted her letter two weeks ago saturday both here on kos and on my own blog... i'd like to think that posting and the great group of kossacks had a little something to do with the washington post's decision to write the article... i'm also most grateful for the compassion mrs. saracini obviously has for all the others in the same boat...


"My own situation is not a crisis -- I have my husband's life insurance to keep us secure in our house," she said from her home in Yardley, Pa. "But a lot of other people have real hardship -- medical costs they won't be able to afford, houses they won't be able to keep. If I can help draw attention to them, I'll do it in a heartbeat."
(more on the flip) Diaries :: profmarcus's diary :: :: Trackback ::
i've been threatening to post my perspective on united airlines for weeks and, even though it isn't in the depth i would like, i want to seize the moment... it's gonna be a little long so bear with me...


in the mid-90's after the employee buy-out, when the pilots (and virtually everyone else) insisted that miserable excuse for a human being, stephen wolf, be sent packing, there was a brief period under the new ceo, jerry greenwald, that gave everyone cause for hope... all of a sudden, the front-lint employees were being recognized for what they were - the grunts who make the airline work day-to-day... the buzzword was "employee involvement" and lots of good things started to happen... well, jerry's heart was in the right place but he didn't have a plan, he didn't clean house, and he didn't have a clue about sustainability ... in my role as internal consultant at the time, the phrase i heard repeatedly from senior officers while greenwald was at the helm (always behind his back, of course), was, "this, too, shall pass and then we can get back to running this goddam airline the way it SHOULD be run..." when jerry announced his resignation exactly when he had said he would, the kita (kick-'em-in-the-ass) crowd that had been lying in the weeds, waiting, leaped back into action... sure enough, no sooner had the door closed behind jerry, kita was "re-born," to the tune of "enough of this employee-coddling shit, we're gonna play HARDBALL..."


to show they weren't kidding, senior management opened the pending pilot contract negotiations with a take-it-or-leave it proposal which, everyone agreed, was an insult... all employees had received only bare minimum salary increases for years to support the employee buy-out and in lieu of employee stock awards and most employee groups were considerably behind in industry salary comparisons... probably at least a few of you remember the summer of 2000 when the pilots, in an expression of their anger over what was happening, started to "work to rule..."


anyone familiar with the airline biz knows that there are only two people who can make a departure decision for an aircraft, the lead mechanic and the pilot... the mechanic certifies to the pilot that the aircraft is airworthy and the pilot decides whether or not to accept the aircraft that the mechanic has just certified... if the mechanic decides that the aircraft isn't airworthy, the pilot can't override that decision... but if the pilot decides that he/she thinks the air conditioning mechanism isn't running properly, for instance, the mechanic is required to go back and check... you can see how this this can be turned into a very effective technique for delaying flights... the internal productivity slogan at that time was "on-time zero," meaning all flights needed to depart on time... the pilots slogan became "zero on-time..." needless to say, the summer of 2000 was a nightmare for anyone who was unfortunate enough to fly united...


in late 1999, early 2000, the value of my employee stock was roughly $40K... i was extremely pleased and grateful to have it as it was going to be the core and substance of my retirement assets which, with social security (are you listening, bushco?) and what i anticipated would be a small pension, would keep me off the streets in my old age... by the end of 2000, that stock had lost well over half of its value... like any "prudent investor," even though i was vested, i decided to hold on to it out of the belief that the company, in no small part due to the work that i and my colleagues in organizational development were doing, would turn around and be the company we all believed it could be... all the way up to 9/11, however, the stock continued to depreciate and rumors of doom abounded...


then came 9/11... i was working at dulles airport at the time on an organization development project that involved a teaming approach to the on-time departure of international flights... i was at the airport that day and, without going into the details (i intend to write that up eventually and post it on my other blog), i decided that i needed to do something besides sit behind my desk and wring my hands... i assigned myself as a lobby supervisor and proceeded to work the next 18 days straight, at between 15 and 18 hours a day, helping scared, lost, and hugely delayed and inconvenienced passengers and beleaguered customer service agents navigate the new post-9/11 world... after that grueling stint, i took a long weekend and flew to visit my son and daughter-in-law in tucson... the day after i returned, i was given a layoff notice...


again, without belaboring intervening personal details, united's stock value continued to decline and, on my birthday, december 9, 2002, the airline declared bankruptcy, rendering what little stock value remained worthless... in january, 2003, i filed a claim for a pension that was pitifully small but, i figured, was at least something... i opted for a ten-year payout until age 65... i have collected a little over two years worth now and it appears that may well be all that i will see...


the reason i post this is not to gain sympathy for myself or for anyone else although there are certainly those who not only deserve it but whose plight is far worse than mine... again, i am pleased to see mrs. saracini's situation being used as a lever to pry open the united can of worms... but why i think this information needs to be out there is because united is no more and no less than a reflection of what businesses and the social fabric of the united states has become - monuments to greed and to the insatiable desire of the "have's" to "have more..." it needs to stop but how and when that will be accomplished is the question...

Well, things are just getting worse for Tony Blair and George W. Bush. Another document has been leaked that said that "conditions must be created for the legality of the war". I don't know how much more illegal and wrong it gets. Below is the link that you can read for yourself.

This is an open thread.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1648758_1,00.html

This is an article about how staff data was STOLEN from Motorola. I had to scratch my eyes when I read this because I'm an HR professional who can't understand in this day and age how a computer gets stolen from within an HR department. This one is mind blowing.


http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=8760726&src=rss/domesticNews
In this story headlined "Two computers stolen with Motorola staff data" please read in paragraph 12 "Iron Mountain Inc. an outside data manager for Time Warner Inc. also lost tapes holding information on 600,000 current and former Time Warner workers." instead of "Time Warner Inc. lost equipment holding information on 600,000 current and former employees."

A corrected repetition follows
By Wei Gu and Sinead Carew
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two computers containing personal information on Motorola Inc. (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) employees were stolen from the mobile phone maker's human resources services provider, Affiliated Computer Services (ACS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , the latest in a series of incidents of companies losing control of employee data.

The data on the stolen computers included names and Social Security numbers but no financial information, according to Motorola. The number of employees affected was not disclosed.
"All employees were notified, but to this date there is no indication that any personal information has been compromised," said ACS' chief marketing officer, Lesley Pool. "It is clear that it was just an amateur burglary."

ACS said thieves broke into its office in the Chicago area over the May 38-30 Memorial Day weekend and stole the computers. Police are investigating, it said.
Motorola agreed to transfer part of its human resources systems to ACS in December 2002 under a 10-year contract valued at $650 million.

Motorola said it had e-mailed all of its U.S. employees alerting them to the incident. No personal financial data was in the computers, said Motorola spokeswoman Jennifer Weyrauch.
She also said the computers had strong security safeguards that made it difficult to access the information.

Employees affected by the theft are mostly in the United States, home to about half of Motorola's global work force of some 68,000, Weyrauch said.

The company offered affected employees fraud insurance coverage at no charge, she said. She would not comment on whether the break-in would affect the company's relationship with ACS.
"Right now, we're in the process of finding out how this happened," said Weyrauch. "We're working with the third party provider and the local authorities."

The theft follows a spate of breaches of customer and employee data in the United States. Citigroup Inc. (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday said computer tapes containing account data on 3.9 million customers, including Social Security numbers, were lost by United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) .

MCI Inc. (MCIP.O: Quote, Profile, Research) last month lost a laptop that stores Social Security numbers of 16,500 current and former employees. Iron Mountain Inc. (IRM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) an outside data manager for Time Warner Inc. (TWX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) also lost tapes holding information on 600,000 current and former Time Warner workers.
Other companies that have had similar problems include ChoicePoint Inc. (CPS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Reed Elsevier Plc's (ELSN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) (REED.L: Quote, Profile, Research) LexisNexis Unit.

My heart goes out to everyone who has to deal with these employers who behave like this. This is a story from Craigslist.com



I need advice please 06/10 10:31:22
I recently quit a part time job that I had for 3 years while I was in high shcool. I gave my two weeks notice, worked up until the last day...did everything right.

But the next week, I didn't get paid for the 27 hours I worked. It turns out my boss did something wrong and terminated me too early. One month later (today), I FINALLY got my last check. I was pretty much over the fact that I had to wait so long- I was just happy that I got my money. Only when I opened it, I see that my boss paid me for 27 regular hours, when 7 of them should have been time and a half (Sunday pay). I'm PISSED. It's not so much the $20 or so bucks that I'm short but it's the principle! And $20 is a full tank of gas for me! Should I go back and tell her? It's been such a hassle to get me my last check, it will probably take another month to get this one. What do you think I should do?

It's Friday...

Enclosed is an article from nytimes.com about some management devleopments over at Nortel.



President and Chief Operating Officer of Nortel Resigns
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Nortel-Networks.html
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 10, 2005
Filed at 10:02 a.m. ET
NEW YORK (AP) -- Nortel Networks Corp., the Canadian telecommunications-equipment company trying to recover from an accounting scandal, on Friday said its president and chief operating officer resigned after less than three months on the job due to differences with the company's chief executive.

After the news, shares of Nortel fell 23 cents, or 8.2 percent, to $2.58 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Chief Executive Bill Owens, who is also the company's vice chairman, will assume the duties of Gary Daichendt, the outgoing president and COO.

''It has become apparent to Gary and me ... that we have divergent management styles and our business views differ,'' Owens said in a prepared statement. ''I respect him for his decision and I wish him every success in his future endeavors,'' Daichendt, formerly Cisco Systems Inc.'s executive vice president of worldwide operations, took over as president and chief operating officer on March 14.

The company also said Friday that Chief Technology Officer Gary Kunis, who joined Nortel after Daichendt's appointment, will also be leaving the company. Kunis had previously worked with Daichendt at Cisco.

On June 1, Nortel posted a first-quarter loss of $49 million, hurt by $21 million in charges from restructuring activities. But the company said that quarterly report marked a ''turning point'' because it had caught up with financial reporting requirements after restating results dating back to 2001.

In January, in a long-delayed report to clean up a multiyear accounting scandal, Nortel slashed its audited profit for 2003 by 40 percent to $434 million while reporting that a dozen senior executives would repay $8.6 million in bonuses and five board members would resign.

This is an article I found on freep.com. The poor unions are working overtime to help everyone save their job.


http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/delphi9e_20050609.htm
UAW jobs in peril; fear grows at Delphi
Worried union leaders meet today
June 9, 2005
BY JEFFREY McCRACKENFREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
The ongoing angst at Delphi Corp., the country's largest auto-parts maker, and the equally troubling times at General Motors Corp., which this week said it will eliminate 25,000 manufacturing jobs, are bringing UAW plant officials from across the country to Detroit today.
Their likely focus will be how and whether the UAW can help Delphi, either by allowing for more buyouts of Delphi-UAW workers, allowing for more Delphi workers to return to former parent company GM, or allowing Delphi to more quickly sell off certain money-losing plants, say three union officials who spoke to the Free Press.


One UAW official who asked to remain unnamed said a priority at this meeting will be the Delphi plants the Troy-based parts supplier has singled out as unprofitable and pushed into a separate entity that Delphi calls Automotive Holdings Group. That business unit includes 11 plants, seven of which have UAW workers. The UAW represents 7,000 of the 11,100 union workers at the 11 plants, according to Delphi.

"We need to do something for the people at those plants if Delphi wants to sell or close them," said the UAW official.


Today's meeting, at 10 a.m. at the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources, will bring together UAW plant-floor presidents and chairpersons from more than 100 GM and Delphi plants across the country. GM and Delphi management will not be in attendance, though Delphi management sent out letters earlier this week to bring some of the same UAW officials back to Detroit on June 21 for a meeting with Delphi executives, plant managers and plant-level personnel heads.
The UAW International in Detroit has refused to say why it called today's meeting, or what's on the agenda. UAW officials say they are usually told the agenda in advance.
"None of us have been told anything. They just sent the letter and told us to get there to Detroit. They've kept it a pretty good secret from us," said Dave Peterson, president of UAW Local 31 at the GM assembly plant in Kansas City, Kan.

It comes just weeks after the UAW reached a deal with struggling auto supplier Visteon Corp. and its former parent, Ford Motor Co., to bail out Visteon by allowing some Visteon employees to return to Ford and by letting 12 unprofitable Visteon plants get sold off.
Delphi, like Visteon, was separated from its automaker parent a few years back and has been unable to make much money since. Delphi makes products including steering systems and XM satellite radio.


Delphi, however, is more independent from GM than Visteon was from Ford. Most Visteon-UAW workers were entirely Ford's responsibility if Visteon failed. However, if Delphi failed, GM has only some limited obligations to guarantee pensions and health care for certain Delphi retirees -- and those obligations expire when the current UAW contract ends in September 2007.

It will cost Ford about $500 million this year alone to bail out Visteon, plus another $700 million in the future.

"People here want to hear Delphi is getting some sort of Visteon deal; who plays Ford in such a deal? GM won't," said auto analyst Robert Hinchliffe with the firm UBS. "If the union follows the Visteon precedent, some of it would allow Delphi to modestly accelerate the buyouts of some workers and the sale of some plants from the Automotive Holding Group."
Delphi, much like former owner GM, is suffering through difficult financial times.
Delphi lost $409 million in the first three months of the year, after predicting earlier it would lose $350 million for the whole year. Delphi is also in the midst of a government investigation into irregular accounting at the $28-billion company. GM, meanwhile, lost $1.1 billion in the first quarter, its worst loss in 13 years.

Delphi has about 24,000 UAW members. GM has about 107,000 UAW members.
GM Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner said Tuesday there was no reason to think GM was going to bail out Delphi.

"We don't see the relevance to a GM-Delphi type of situation," he said.

Morgan Stanley is another one that got caught!!


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050609/ap_on_bi_ge/morgan_stanley_fined
By MICHAEL J. MARTINEZ
AP Business Writer 22 minutes ago
NEW YORK - Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley agreed to pay $2.65 million to settle charges it sold stock in an initial public stock offering it had managed while the shares were still under what's known as a "lock-up" period, the National Association of Securities Dealers announced Thursday.


The NASD, an independent regulator of Wall Street firms, said it fined JPMorgan Chase & Co. $150,000 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. $125,000 for similar violations. All three companies were censured and consented to the NASD's findings without admitting or denying guilt.
According to the NASD, business units of Morgan Stanley sold shares in two public offerings, Breakaway Solutions Inc. and AsiaInfo Holdings Inc., before the company was legally allowed to do so under its business agreements with those companies.


According to the NASD, business units of Morgan Stanley sold shares in two public offerings, Breakaway Solutions Inc. and AsiaInfo Holdings Inc., before the company was legally allowed to do so under its business agreements with those companies.

Morgan Stanley had underwritten the two offerings — meaning that the company managed the first-time sale of those shares on the open market — and had agreed not to sell its own shares, received as compensation for its work, for up to one year. That period is known as a lock-up period.


Morgan Stanley earned $2.5 million from the early stock sale, the NASD said. It was the only one of the three firms fined to have turned a profit on its sale.
NASD ordered Morgan Stanley to disgorge the $2.5 million in profits, and levied a fine of $150,000 for the violation.


A spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley had no comment.
JPMorgan Chase was fined for stock sales by Hambrecht & Quist, and officers of that firm, in four stock offerings that Hambrecht & Quist managed — PlanetRx.com Inc., coolsavings.com Inc., Net2Phone Inc. and Liberate Technologies. An entity related to Hambrecht and officers of the firm sold their shares in those companies before the lock-up period expired.
Chase Manhattan, which merged with JPMorgan in early 2001, acquired Hambrecht & Quist in August 1999.


Goldman Sachs was fined after five individuals "related to employees" of the company sold shares in PlanetRx.com Inc., an IPO Goldman managed, during the lock-up period.
Spokesmen for JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Shares of Morgan Stanley rose 17 cents to $49.61 in afternoon trading on the
New York Stock ExchangeNew York Stock Exchange, while JPMorgan shares slipped 22 cents to $35.45 and Goldman Sachs shares climbed $1.69 to $100.04.

NASD was the sole owner of the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. prior to the market's going public in mid-2002.

This is a story from someone who's taken the personality inventories and shares the sentitment of those searching for a postition in this economy and contrasting it with searching for a position in the 1990's.


I don't do personality and aptitude testing. period. I too had a series of group interviews with different companies, and they are senseless. Neverpassed a personality test and never passed a group interview, so it mustmean I wasn't meant for the company. Which suits me fine.On one interview, I went through a verbal one-on-one with the interviewerand before I left, they said, "Oh by the way, can you ....." and there I was sitting in front of a computer taking a test. It's demoralizing, it's only purpose is to determine if you "fit" in the company, and if you are in your right occupation.I can remember when there weren't enough workers to filljobs in the 1990s and companies hired us when we walked through the door. A personality test won't tell a company if you're a killer psycho who willshoot-up the plant once you're downsized.Most Americans are hard workers and that's all we want to do is work, earn adecent living, grow in the job, and go home to our families. Don't make yourself silly by taking those personality tests.

This is a post that covers a work environment that becomes retaliatory after one comes back after sickness WITH PROPER DOCUMENTATION.


Interesting Situation 06/09 04:20:04
Hi! I also posted this in the legal forum.

I just was wondering if someone could steer me in the right direction: I was extremely sick and out of work for three days then returned with a doctor's note. Then in the first three days back I started getting sicker again so I went to the doctor after work on my third day back. He put me on half days at work and wrote a note. He told me he was serious and that I was not well enough to really work at all, but if I was careful a half day would be ok. I took the note to HR and she said I would still receive full pay and that I satisfied all the documentation needed.

Since then both my bosses have been horrible. One has been verbally aggressive and abusive in for the past 5 days. Yesterday if it hadn't been for the nice conference table he would have tried to hit me. My other boss has been making mistakes on all sorts of things and blaming them on me which forces the other boss to yell at me for stuff I wasn't even there for. I have documentation of all of this, and went to HR yesterday. HR set up a meeting with all 4 of us in two weeks.

Where do I reasearch my rights? I don't think much will come of this, but I want to protect myself on all ends. I can prove they are doing the things they are doing but I want to know where I stand with my rights - as all of this has happened because I have been ill. I went on the DOL Web site and didn't find much that applied to this particular situation. I called it "medical work restriction" "work restriction" "medical condition". I just want to be fully prepared in this meeting. I have been told that they are good a bullying people and intimidating them in these meetings and I plan on being fully prepared will ALL documentation.

Any guidance would be appreciatied

An open floor to share ideas and stories.

This behavior by this employer is COMPLETELY uncalled for. The employees should NEVER be asked to support a certain candidate and SHOULD NOT be approached for political causes in the workplace. Again, another strike out for Corporate America.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3818431
Javaman (1000+ posts)
Thu Jun-09-05 08:04 AMOriginal message
Work place political harassment?
Here at my work, my boss (owner of the company) sent out an email regarding a local city council person and how "we" as a company should support her candidacy. He was asking for donations, maximum of $100 dollars. Is there a law limiting or against this type of work place solicitation of a political candidate? Is this considered a form of harassment in the work place?

This is one of the non-functioning and POORLY MANAGED work environments that exist in our country. This is just something else..A CEO who just doesn't know what he's doing.


Dealing with poor HR 06/07 13:03:47
I work for a company that has no structure in evaluating performance, communication, scheduling, let alone attendance. Granted, this company allows work to be performed in "odd-hours", reporting to a superior, and receiving feedback is close to impossible!!! My "boss" who is the "president" chooses not to come to the office when he's free, limiting the amount of feedback on the work, updates on work performed, as well as information I need to maintain and perform a task. I feel like there is no solution to fixing problems because 1. There really wasn't an orientation to set a baseline 2. Tasks performed have not been given any feedback on how and what needs improvement--rather complaints of "poor work" 3. Nepotism runs this company, limiting any possibility of suggesting change. From what I understand NOW, there was a high turnover a few years prior due to the same problems, and more. Is there any advice anyone can give to protect myself?

If you ever encounter a recruiter who charges you a fee....RUN in the opposite direction. You should NEVER EVER pay a fee for a recruiter to find you a position. We found this on Craigslist.com



Executive Search Firms 06/07 14:44:00
Does anybody have any suggestions or advice on executive search firms? I have been in contact with one that seems pretty reputable. They only search for high 5 to 6 figure level executive jobs. The fee is $4800.00 but i have heard great things about the firm. Supposedly they have a 95% success rate, and their services are good for three years. Can any one offer any advice on whether I should pursue this avenue.

This came from Craigslist.com and she's six weeks pregnant and thinks that she might be laid off. This is a horrible situation to be in.


Question: Re Layoff 06/08 10:21:23
There's an 80% chance I'll be laid off from my job. It seems the entire department will be let go. Luckily, I have a little bit saved but not much. My husband is also working but I was the one with the bigger salary. How much can I expect from unemployment? How long does it last? I'm also 6 weeks pregnant, would I qualify for any other assistance? I'm not even telling anyone because my doctor says to wait at least 9 weeks and etc. I know its' hard to find a job when you are pregnant. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

This is something we found on Craigslist.com. These are the types of companies that are in operation. This is sad, pathetic and inexcusable


WARNING TO JOB SEEKERS 06/08 11:00:54
Please advise- there is a company in Chicago that imports European bath products,owned by a older french couple. They tend to hire younger girls. This is the most abusive, hostile work environment out there. Low wages, terrible benefits and an owner(s) that's mentally abusive, threatens and makes discrimitory comments about race, wieght, and age. I know they will be hiring soon. I don't know if can post thethe name of the company legally due to libel but please be aware. The will say they are a luxury importer. It is in the west side ghetto. Please be aware.

This story arrived from a single mother who is making minimum wage and has two kids. This is happening all over America. This was heartbreaking to read.



Dear America's Work Stories,

I'm a single mother who has two children in elementary school. I have two minimum wage jobs and never get to see them. I'm totally missing them grow up. I can barely afford day care in the evening and can't put food on the table sometimes. I can't believe how bad things are in this country. I'm constantly depressed and panic at how I'm going to provide for me and my kids. I'm glad I have a job, some people don't even have one. Thank you for your blog. It's a chance to read what's happening on the ground.

When is this nightmare going to end?

This is an email that we received from someonw who interviewed with this recruiter who didn't know the name of the personality test that she was giving her candidates and didn't know who Carl Jung is. When you give a personality inventory, you're supposed to know about the test, what it is, who's theory it's based on and how to interpret results. Someone within the organization who has a testing background and has been trained in giving personality inventories is supposed to be administering these tests, not the employees who don't understand what their doing and are INCOMPETENT.

Dear America's Work Stories,

I went to register with the Murphy Group in Park Ridge, IL with Beth Trull Parsch and gave me a personality inventory that she said no one else would see but I know that the recruiters go and share these details with their corporate clients. They always lie to the candidates. I asked her what test is this and she replied "I don't know". I thought to myself how can a recruiter not know what test your administering? She said "It's based on Carl Jung". I then asked her "Do you know who Carl Jung is?" and she replied "No". I asked myself again, how can someone who's giving a personality inventory not know who wrote the test and what theories the test is based on?

I have been in the HR businenss for over 12 years and have given personality inventories to job candidates. Beth should be put out of business and prosecuted. I couldn't believe my ears when this conversation transpired. This is just irresonsibility and should be illegal for someone who doesn't understand the personality test to be administering one to other people. I would highly urge other people not to go to her as a job candidate and I would also encourage other corporations not to do business with her because she is incompetent and doesn't understand what she's doing. The ironic thing is that she's the president of the company which really is a statement as to how uninformed, incompetent and unprofessional she is.

Thank you Thank you for this blog, it's a great consumer and job seeker guide to what's happening in the work and job seeker world.

Her address is as follows: The Murphy Group
Beth Trull Parsch, CPC
Suite 180
422 N. Northwest Highway
Park Ridge, IL 60068
T: 847-825-2136
F: 847-696-1662
bparsch@murphyparkridge.com

What's happening?

This was a letter that we received from someone who did some temp work and had an education on how to staff an organization with COMPLETELY incompetent and dishonest employees.

I've never seen an organization with more dysfunction than this one. I witnessed an employee confess that HE HAD HIS CREDIT CLEANED. I almost passed out when I heard that. Also, the employees don't care about the quality of their work and they're not held accountable for their behavior or actions. All I can say is that I'm very glad that I don't work for them on a full time basis. What a catastrophe of a company.

Grateful to be out of there.

Unlawflcombatnt has written another one of his great postings on wages and corporate self destruction. I've also enclosed the URL over at DailyKos.com so you can also view it over there. Enjoy!!!



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/7/151135/1529
WAGE DECLINE & CORPORATE SELF-DESTRUCTIONby unlawflcombatnt
[Subscribe]Tue Jun 7th, 2005 at 13:11:35 CSTWAGE DECLINE & CORPORATE SELF-DESTRUCTION
Until recently, American corporations had been unable to destroy their own consumer market, because they were forced to maintain wages at a certain level. This was due to the limited supply of workers in their native country. The labor force supply-and-demand effect created upward pressure on wages. This prevented American industry from reducing wages below a certain level. In turn, this maintained aggregate labor/consumer income at a high enough level to purchase American products. Diaries :: unlawflcombatnt's diary :: :: Trackback ::

With global labor competition, wages can be reduced drastically. With this reduction, however, comes reduction in the consumer income that purchases American products. This drastic reduction in aggregate consumer income will lead to a drastic reduction in consumer demand. If the average American worker is making $4/day, due to glogal labor competition, who will buy American products? CEOs? Congress? Bill Gates? Martians? Can the super rich really buy enough computers and SUVs to maintain American consumer spending and demand? If not, then where will the profits come from with drastically reduced sales? Can profits be made without selling any goods? Can labor costs be reduced enough to make profits without any sales?
Corporate America fails to understand that maintaining worker wages is to their advantage. It's not only to their advantage, it's a necessity. American labor "costs" actually provide the income to buy American products. (Labor costs = consumer income. Labor cost reduction = consumer income reduction. In reality, it's worse than this. Consumer income reduction is > than labor cost reduction.) To restate this, as corporations lower labor costs, they lower consumer income as well. Corporations decrease the size of their own market by reducing aggregate consumer income. If they continue to increase profit margins by reducing labor income, they'll eventually be unable to sell their products. There won't be enough income to purchase America's production. Remember slavery? Slaves never bought any products. They didn't have any income. If we all become slaves, we won't have any income either. And corporate America won't be able to sell their products to anyone. Corporate America will have destroyed itself, due to its own greed.


Henry Ford said that he paid his workers well so they could buy his cars. Corporate America should take heed of this. The most productive economies we've ever had were when worker wages were at their highest inflation-adjusted level. There are 2 economic principles that are being ignored by Corporate America. Consumer spending is 2/3 of economic activity. They also ignore the fact that consumer spending is the biggest part of the GDP equation.

(GDP=Consumer_spending+investment+government_spending+trade_balance) In reality, investment spending will be self-limited if consumer spending isn't maintained. Production facilities will not be built if no one buys products. In addition, government spending is financed by taxes on consumer income. Thus, it is also very dependent on consumer income. Exports depend on foreign labor income, which creates foreign consumer markets. Since average foreign worker income is miniscule, this will never be a very large number. Imports will continue to subtract from GDP, as long as slave-labor wages are encouraged by "free" trade/slave labor agreements. Since consumer spending is strongly related to labor/consumer income, a reduction in consumer income will also reduce GDP. We're not "growing" our economy by reducing labor costs. We're shrinking it.

unlawflcombatnt

EconomicPopulistCommentaryhttp://www.unlawflcombatnt.blogspot.com/ Investment does NOT create jobs. It only "allows" for their creation. Increased Demand for goods creates jobs, because it necessitates hiring of workers to produce more goods. Investment "permits" job growth. Demand necessitates it.

Building a factory does NOT create jobs. Demand for production DOES create jobs. Goods are not produced if there is no demand for them. Without demand for goods, there is no demand for workers to produce them. Without demand, no amount of investment creates jobs.

When is the downsizing going to stop? I don't know how much more the American people can take.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050607/ap_on_bi_ge/general_motors_outlook
GM Plans to Cut 25,000 U.S. Jobs by 2008
By JOHN PORRETTO, AP Auto Writer 3 minutes ago
WILMINGTON, Del. - General Motors Corp. plans to eliminate 25,000 jobs in the United States by 2008 and to close plants as part of a strategy to revive its struggling North American operations.

Speaking to shareholders at GM's 96th annual shareholder meeting in Delaware Tuesday morning, Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said the capacity and job cuts will generate annual savings of roughly $2.5 billion.


Wagoner revealed the cutbacks as he laid out a four-step strategy to revive GM's North American business, the biggest and most troubling part of the world's largest automaker.

He noted that the company's current $1,500 per worker health-care expense puts GM at a "significant disadvantage versus foreign-based competitors," and said GM has conducted "intense discussions" with the unions about how to reduce health-care costs.

General Motors shares rose 47 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $30.89 in early trading on the
New York Stock Exchange.

Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's offer to purchase 28 million GM shares at $31 apiece, boosting his stake to about 9 percent from 4 percent, expires later today.


In the cost-reduction area, Wagoner said it was vital for the company to improve efficiency at its manufacturing plants. He said that plant closings and idlings in recent months have reduced assembly capacity in North America from 6 million in 2002 to 5 million by the end of this year.

It was not immediately known which GM plants would be closed.

"Let me say up front that our absolute top priority is to get our largest business unit back to profitability as soon as possible," Wagoner said.

Messages were left Tuesday morning with the United Auto Workers' and a GM spokeswoman for manufacturing issues.

GM has already closed several facilities this year. The company shut a factory in Linden, N.J., in April and a factory in Baltimore in May, affecting around 2,000 employees. The company also closed two plants in Lansing, Mich., last month, although those 3,500 employees are expected to find work at other GM facilities in the city.
___
AP Auto Writer Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit contributed to this report.
___
On the Net,
General Motors Corp.: http://www.gm.com

This story comes from Seattle, WA on Craigslist.com. Washington Mutual IS NOT training their new employees. This new employee reports that there's no training and the supervisor is telling him/her what they're doing wrong but clearly doesn't realize that the bank is not providing the information that they're supposed to. (Which ALWAYS ends up blowing up in the face of the employer. The more the new employee knows, the better off you're going to be as an employer in the end. He or she will be better equipt to perform the functions of their position and you'll end up helping your bottom line. But will Corporate America ever learn this lesson??????????? Not in this economy under this President.)



I HATE WAMU!!! 06/04 22:23:18
I started a job with them less than 2 months ago, and it's the worse decision of my entire professional career (and maybe even personal). The training sucks, if you get any, but they still want you do know everything. My boss seems to enjoy telling me all that I'm doing wrong, and nothing that I might be doing right. I had heard some terrible things about Washington Mutual, but had hoped that it was all bullshit. I HATE WAMU.

This is a post from craigslist.com and discusses Elaine Chao's disconnect from reality. What would anyone expect from someone who's connected to this administration. Below are her words so you can witness her present state.


Labor Secretary is the one who's disconneted 06/06 17:59:36
"The skills gap. Our economy is making an unprecedented transition into high-skilled, information-based industries. This has created a disconnect between the jobs that are being created and the current skills of many workers." -Elaine Chao, Secretary of Labor Sounds like she's disconnected from the real world. She and Bush are in severe denial. Tell me if I'm wrong, but I can't think of any profession, other than healthcare - particularly shortage of nurses and doctors in rural areas - have trouble in hiring. It seems everyone around me have stories to tell of how family members, friends, former coworkers are still unemployed, or took on survival jobs, or underemployed. .. many have advanced degrees and years of experience, not to mention those new graduates from top schools with engineering and business degrees. I assume she's not addressing the manufacturing sector since its outsourcing is old news.

This story comes from craigslist.com. Joe's workload is increasing and he's not being compensated properly. This is happening all over America under this President.

What to do? <06/06 20:37:25
Facts on job situation... What advice would you give? Joe is being paid half as much as other employees on same team Joe has nearly twice the job responsibilities because it is known that he can handle it - Example: Another employee given data entry work while Joe is project lead on several projects Boss continues to give Joe more and more work Joe asks Boss for raise in order to be paid fairly, in comparison with others on team Boss tells Joe that 'you weren't hired to make that much even though you are doing that much work. Joe can document his workload and boss can't deny it.

A whistle blower at Los Alamos got beaten up for reporting the truth. Enclosed is the link: Los Alamos Whistle Blower Beaten.

Otherwise, the conversation is all yours.

This was sent from a reader who is searching for an HR position in the Chicagoland area. This job seeker has more than 10 years of experience and a post graduate education. The lesson from this story is "You do unto others as you want them to do unto you". You have to be nice to the candidates because it ALWAYS comes back to bite you. Corporate America and the recruiters havn't figured this out and I don't think they will any time soon.

Dear America's Work Stories,

Let me share the nightmare of having to work with Jason Walstrom of Arlington Resources in Arlington Heights, IL. I'm searching for an HR position and looked at this agency because they specialize in Human Resource placement. I can't tell you how much recruiting I've done and I've never treated anyone the way Jason treated me. First of all, I can tell that he's really young and doesn't have much experience from our conversations. Secondly, he must think that this economy is going to keep going like it is and never change because he treats the candidates with not alot of respect which ALWAYS back fire on you in this profession. When recruiting, you always have to be nice to the job seekers because they could help you down the line sometime with their referrals. I know when I land somewhere that I won't be giving Arlington Resources my job orders any time soon and I will tell my HR friends as well.

The employed Main Stream Media is AGAIN blacking out the story on The Downing Street Memo. These are minutes that articulate that the war in Iraq was planned months and months in advance. Please visit their site so you can see the premeditation and deliberation of the planning of this war. The Congress was lied to and the American people were lied to.

Zero points and bad performance appraisals for the Corporate owned main stream media who REFUSE to do their job and report what's happening in the White House, their behavior and what's happened to this country.

AC Nielsen has continuously posted the same positions over and over which is the result of one or more of the following: that there is someone that functions closely with this position that is problematic, there's something in the environment that's causing incredible turnover, the recruiting function isn't competent and is not able to work with the internal clients to search for someone who would be a good fit for the position.

When you see THE SAME positions posted over and over, always try and steer away from the company or position. Companies with those types of issues have enormous internal issues that show up in many different forms.

It's beautiful here..but it's going to get hot.

Every once and a while, I'm going to allow myself to talk about politics but this time I've chosen an article that I found on DemocraticUnderground.com that involves the Bushes illegal behavior and corporate America. I know, who would of ever thought that those two entities would of ever been involved in a scandal together? I'm being sarcastic.

The following is quote I found that sums up what transpired. "The scheme involved executives and corporations handing over stock to trusts that they declared they neither owned nor controlled. When the options were cashed in, no tax was payable. However, the IRS changed the rules in 2003 to say that tax should be paid anyway." Please read the article to find out how much money was saved in taxes. It made me sick.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x375404

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/story.jsp?story=644159


US probes Isle of Man scheme used by billionaire Bush donors
By Jason Nisse
05 June 2005
The Manhattan District Attorney, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are jointly probing a tax-shelter plan run out of the Isle of Man.
The scheme, devised by one of America's biggest banks and used by two billionaire donors to George Bush's election campaign among others, is being probed for possible breaches of securities and anti-money-laundering rules.

The investigating bodies believed that up to $100m (£55m) of tax was saved through one scheme alone, and as much as $700m in taxes may have been avoided over an 11-year period. The scheme involved executives and corporations handing over stock to trusts that they declared they neither owned nor controlled. When the options were cashed in, no tax was payable. However, the IRS changed the rules in 2003 to say that tax should be paid anyway.
In the previous 11 years, tax schemes were marketed by Bank of America to at least 42 corporations.

Earlier this year the Manhattan District Attorney, Robert Morgenthau, started probing allegations that some of these trusts were controlled by the people passing on the stock options. Both the IRS and the SEC have now joined in this probe.

They have contacted the regulators on the Isle of Man asking for information on one particular scheme used by two Texan billionaire brothers, Charles and Sam Wyly.
The duo, who made their money in computing and retailing, not only gave over $200,000 to President Bush's re-election campaigns, but also bankrolled TV adverts attacking his rivals, John Kerry and Senator John McCain.

Sam Wyly describes himself as "the entrepreneur's entrepreneur" and came to prominence when he unsuccessfully tried to oust the board of Computer Associates in 2001 - only a year after the brothers sold their Sterling Software business to the group for $4bn.

The Isle of Man authorities have passed documents to US investigators relating to 20 different entities linked to the Wyly brothers that are registered in the Irish Sea tax haven. One, Devotion Ltd, is a holding company with two directors and no employees; it is run, according to SEC filings, from a remote farm on the island. Another director, who lives in a terraced house, signed a transfer document for $25m. At one point, Isle of Man entities owned 20 per cent of the shares in Sterling Software, as well as 12.8 per cent of another Wyly group, Michaels Stores, and 42 per cent of a third, Green Mountain Energy.

The Isle of Man authorities have said they are co-operating fully with the US investigations, as has Bank of America. A spokesman for the Wyly brothers' lawyers said "they felt they only did what was appropriate".

The US authorities said they could not comment on ongoing investigations.

This came first hand from someone who has worked with Cindy.

Cindy is one of the pig executives who ONLY thinks of her well being and COULD CARE LESS about her employees. She only looks out for her well being and will say anything to anyone in charge that only covers her back. She's rude, doesn't listen, talks about her Nine West shoes that she buys, and stabs everyone in the back. When asked if her powerpoint slides are OK, she says yes and then complains about them. The Bank of NY IS NOT holding ANYONE accountable for their actions and does not train any of their executives.

This place is hopeless and I've never seen sooooooooooooooooooo many people problems in such a dysfunctional organization.

This posting came from CHICwit which is part of the http://www.worldwit.org community and someone from this massage business is asking about becoming Exempt or staying non-Exempt. This company also offers its exempt employees some company benefits faster than the non-execmpt employees. Not a good thing.

Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2005
15:46:15 -0600
From: Moderator 2
Subject: Exempt or non-Exmpt?


I am up for a review and reclassification of my position(at betterbodysolution.com) in a couple days.I would like some feedback and opinions, especially from HR professionals,on whether I should suggest/request that I become Exempt or stay non-Exempt.Exempt employees are required to work 4 more hours per week than non and they get access to some company benefits much sooner than non. Also, wouldan exempt salary usually be higher than a non in the same position? Anyfeedback would be great. Thanks!

This behavior by United Airlines is DISGUSTING AND UNACCEPTABLE. This poor woman is in an unbelievable circumstance. This was taken from dailykos.com.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/4/122528/8451
9/11 Widow Denied Husband's Pension by United Airlinesby profmarcus
[Subscribe]Sat Jun 4th, 2005 at 10:25:28 CST[at the kind suggestion of kossack jon meltzer, i am reposting this under a new title for, hopefully, greater exposure... please feel free to pass it on to as many others as you can... i am also waiting to find out WHICH congressman miller she is writing to...]

welcome to bushworld... this is the kind of corporate behavior we can expect a lot more of now that cox is at the sec... this says it all... read it and weep...
(this letter was originally posted on a privately-run, united airlines employee group site and has been cross posted at And, yes, I DO take it personally)

To Congressman Miller;

My name is Ellen Saracini. My husband Captain Victor J. Saracini was the captain of United Flight 175 that struck the south tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 at 9:03 am. While no one could have imagined the events of that infamous day, neither could Victor have imagined what would be happening right now to his wife and his two daughters.


I am writing this letter to voice to you what is being taken away from Victor and his family. If you knew my husband you would know he was a true family man who made sure his family's future was provided for. I am currently receiving the spousal portion of Victor's pension, which is 50% of what he thought would be there for his family. After United took away our ESOP stock, this pension is how I am supporting our two daughters and myself.


I was given a choice to sue the Airlines, Port Authority, and others, or join in the victims' compensation fund set up by the government. I pledged I would not sue and proceeded with the fund; after all, this is the company Victor was so proud to work for and the same company of his United brothers and sisters. Every bit of preparation that Victor and I worked for was used against the claim. Life insurance was deducted. My full pension was deducted from the award. Now I will have a double jeopardy as I will again loose my pension with no recourse on either side.


During the last three years, my girls and I have been impacted more than words can explain. One daughter is in counseling, the other won't talk, and both have medical problems stemming from the loss of their father while at the same time maintaining excellent grades in honors and AP courses. I have stood up and been an advocate on the steering committee of the terrorist's lawsuits, gaining information to aid our Government. I have worked with APSA to defend our cockpits. I am fundraising for the Garden of Reflection, a memorial park dedicated to all we lost on that day. I have started a flight scholarship in Victors name to continue his legacy in flight. We are doing everything that can be done to make it better for all.


I can't help but to ask myself at what point are companies allowed to take away so much from the lives of dedicated employees and their families? At what point does our Government step in and stop atrocities such as this before they are allowed to irrevocably change the lives of so many? I refuse to believe that this is the only solution that can be reached.The PBGC's decision to allow United Airlines to end their pensions is just wrong. If this monumental verdict moves forward, I will be faced with many hardships. Victor was a proud United pilot, husband, father and friend who fought a war with terrorists. Never would he have imagined that he would have to fight for his family's well-being with the very company he so proudly spread his wings.

Sincerely
Ellen Saracini

This was found on Craigslist.com. The recruiters need to be THOROUGHLY REGULATED. The illegal question that was asked was ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE. A well trained and educated recruiter knows not to ask such a ridiculous and ILLEGAL question.


A Recruiter Asked Me Illegal Questions?
Last week I interviewed for a job at a headhunter/recruiter office. On the PILE of forms she sent me in the mail, prior to actual interview, was the question: Are you married or single? Circle appropriate answer. Isn't it illegal to ask this question? When I arrived for the interview she wanted to see my driver's license. She then said it was "common practice" at their firm to make a copy of it---so she did. What was that about and what about the married/single question?

How was work this week if you're employed?

Eileen Gonzalez, who is the HR Manager at Emeta.com NYC (http://www.emeta.com), told a candidate (who has a Masters Degree) when reviewing the candidates education that "people with Masters Degrees need secretaries". She doesn't have a Masters degree and is still employed by this company. Emeta.com is unethical and keep people who have no regard for the law and for the job candidates.

Eileen's comment is very typical of those inidivuals in the Human Resource profession who are very threatened by others on the Masters level. This question was innapropriate and should of NEVER EVER exited her mouth. More information and more education are ALWAYS beneficial to the workplace ESPECIALLY when you're in a management position. The question of having secretarial assistance wasn't the issue that was being discussed.

Her behavior clearly indicates that she's very threatened and has a STEREOTYPE of people with Masters Degrees. This is the same as saying because you live in X neighborhood, you have certain qualities, characteristics or personality traits.

I found this to be astonishing. I don't know how much more these companies are going to get away with. I'll enclose the URL so you can see the posting over on DU. Bring on the IMPEACHMENT trials so we can get this country back on track!!

This email came from someone who has been in sales and has seen MANY different sales settings.

Dear America's Work Stories,

I'm writing because there are many organizations that are not offering a base pay, have a draw against comimssion structure and/or hold out commissions until the checks come from the clients.

As sales people, whether it's a product or service, we need a base salary that's ours and commission checks that come in when the sale is made. Why is it that corporate america doesn't understand that the bills don't stop coming in and we have kids to feed as well.

By having this blog, we thank you for giving us a venue to share these issues so everyone can hear what is happening in the sales world.

Much appreciative of this blog

Dear All,

We have received emails from many people saying that the temp agencies keep filling positions that are revolving door jobs where the Executive is so dysfunctional and unprofessional, they are unable to keep the employee in the job. The companies ARE ALSO responsible for not addressing the issues with the Executives who are creating these conditions and situation. Corporate America is turning its head and ignorning the issues AND FACTS that face them (just like the White House, no surprise there).

Snelling, Ajilon and Executive Corporate Staffing (who is located in NYC) are ALL GUILTY of filling these revolving positions. The person who is temporarily filling the position is the person who ends up having to deal with the problems/dysfunction inside the specific department with the low functioning executive. Our emails indicate that the side affects are: LOST SLEEP, tightening of the chest, unnecessary stress and fatigue.

There is no group or entity that is in charge of monitoring the activities of the temp agencies or admonishing them when they engage in conduct that is not in the best interest of the job seekers or associate with corporations that are not functioning or engaging in illegal behavior.

Because the government has been preoccupied in drilling for oil in foreign countries, starting illegal wars to get revenge for previous assisination attemps or invovled with other illegal activities, the American workplace has been HORRIBLY NEGLECTED AND SO HAVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

What's new?

This is another post that I found on craigslist. It discusses the cost of living and the wages that are being offered for this position. Corporate Americas has not learned.
Kerry & Edwards can't get sworn in fast enough!!!!


Another cheap company to announce! < - > 06/02 11:16:59 www.craigslist.org/sfc/wrg/76504958.html
Flame me all you want naysayers, and yes I read that this is a summer job but consider this for a moment:
1) This is in the FINANCIAL DISTRICT of San Francisco - this is a VERY expensive area to commute to and PARK if you plan on driving.
1a) $10- to $15- an hour (with the supposed potential for full time employment is really not that great given this fact
2) They expect you drive to various customer feedback sessions - implying that you have a car/drivers license - do they plan on reimbursing you for your mileage for this effort?
It is unclear from this posting (my guess is probably not)

I am getting so tired of companies like this who think they are the second coming and then try to rip potential employees off... Do the math people: $10- per hour at 40 hours a week is $400. Less taxes is less than $300.

Then you need to pay for parking every day which then tacks on an additional $20- per day as well as any incidentals -- as time goes on, it sounds like you will have to PAY them for the priviledge of working for THEM.

Yeah, it's marginally better if you get the $15 per hour rate, but still not by much.

This is getting to be really depressing. Yes, people can choose not to apply for these jobs, but we all need to look out for one another when we see that someone is obviously taking advantage of another. This is just down right insulting... Now let the flame fest begin!

For those that aren't familiar with how the recruiters work, when the place someone in a position, they either make a straight commission on a full time placement or a fee every week for someone who is doing temp or consulting work. The following is an account of someone who encountered a recruiter who was trying to find more leads which was AN INVASION OF PRIVACY. This encounter should exhibit how UNPROFESSIONAL the recruiters are.

Spoke to a recruiter, was asked the following... < nirvanna > 06/02 16:13:01
"how else are you conducting your job search?" I was a bit taken a back by it, because i dont think it is relevant to my resume or qualifications. Yet I answered, "right now, just through through the internet." Are they trying to fish out competition with other agencies? should i not even mention that i am also meeting with other recruiting agencies?

We have received several emails voicing opinion about Columbia University and the people who graduate out of there. The emails are summarized as follows:

1. The people are very arrogant and create ENORMOUS employee relation issues inside the CONSULTING & INVESTMENT BANKING FIRMS.

2. There are NO consequences for their action. Their bad behavior is REWARDED. (How's that for just like the White House and DISGUSTING)

3. Columbia nor the companies are doing anything to address these issues. In addition, the people who are doing the recruiting LIKE the arrogant personalities. (When you ask all the Organizational consultants, SEASONED HR people and HR Consultants, they will tell you that is A HUGE problem and that the people who are doing the recruiting needs to be addressed VERY SERIOUSLY).

So what is the solution? There's need to be 360 Degree feedback where people around the person who is going through their performance appraisal give feedback so there a TOTAL picture of their performance.

This is a post from DU that discusses job cuts in May which soared at 42%. Enclosed are the URL's for the DU post and the CNN Money Article.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3770082
Bush_Eats_Beef (1000+ posts)
Thu Jun-02-05 10:50 AMOriginal message
Job reductions soar 42% in May, "too early to worry" about "weak" economy
Job reductions soar 42% in MayReport: Computer firms lead the surge, but it's too early to worry about weakness in U.S. economy.
June 2, 2005: 11:02 AM EDT
http://money.cnn.com/2005/06/02/news/economy/job_cuts/i...
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Planned job cuts announced by employers soared 42 percent in May after hitting a five-year low in April, but it's too early to worry about weakness in the economy, an employment firm said Thursday. Employers announced 82,283 job cuts in May, compared to 57,861 the previous month, according to a monthly report issued by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. May job cuts rose 12 percent from the year-ago period. So far this year, 427,278 job cuts have been announced, 4.6 percent more than the five-month total of 408,392 last year, the report said.

Computer companies -- which reported 17,886 cuts, or about one-fifth of the monthly total -- led the rise in May, while the transportation industry ranked second with 7,339 announced job cuts."If job cuts do not lessen in June, July and August, which historically are the lowest job-cut months of the year, then it might be time to be concerned about the economy's strength," John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said. The report also noted that employers appear to be retaining their workers, but appear reluctant to add new one. Job creation, while improving, is still well below the pace of previous recoveries, it said.

"My message to Congress when they come back is this; that our economy is strong, but we need to work together to make sure that we continue to have a prosperous economy, so people can find jobs. I say it's strong because we've added over 3.5 million new jobs over the last two years, and the unemployment rate is 5.2 percent. More Americans are working today than ever before. Homeownership is at an all-time high. Small businesses are flourishing. Families are taking home more of what they earn."- George W. Bush, Press Conference, 05/31/05

"If he is dead, you wastin' money. If he is alive, maybe you be sorry you find him." - Revenge of the Creature (1955) "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." - Henry David Thoreau

I found this quote and wanted to share it with you. This is for everyone who feel dispair when examining the state of country and world. Hang in there....things are not going to be like this forever. Thankfully, change is brewing in the wind.



When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall - think of it, ALWAYS. - Gandhi

This thread is from democraticunderground.com and it discusses the most abusive things an employer has done. I will post the most current responses and the URL so you can go and visit to hear how the employers are behaving.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3769176
Mizmoon (1000+ posts)
Thu Jun-02-05 08:12 AMOriginal message
What's the most abusive thing you've seen an employer do?
I knew one supervisor who managed a group of CSRs. Even though it wasn't necessary, she wouldn't let them use the bathroom unless it was their break time. If they needed to go in between breaks, they'd have to grovel for her permission.I was a manager so I started asking around if this was actually legal and to my horror it turns out it was.
Commander Cuckoo Bananas



XanaDUer (1000+ posts)
Thu Jun-02-05 08:17 AMResponse to Original message
1. Deny a person who had cancer
time off for chemo (even though the person had lots of vacation time) because her time off for treatment would interfere with daily schedules.This is among some stuff I have seen, and I have seen it all.
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."-G. W. Bush, Washington D.C. August 5, 2004


Modem Butterfly (1000+ posts)
Thu Jun-02-05 08:20 AMResponse to Reply #1
4. BTW, that may have been illegal
Under both the ADA and FMLA.
America... just a nation of two hundred million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns and no qualms about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable. - Hunter S. Thompson


peace frog (37 posts)
Thu Jun-02-05 08:17 AMResponse to Original message
2. Sounds familiar
Ten years ago I worked in a call center where our time off the phone was militantly micro-managed. One fine day I needed a potty break, put the phone on hold and trotted off to the ladies room... only to be followed by my supervisor, who stood outside the stall door admonishing me to get back on the phone because "we have calls in queue!!"


goddess40 (1000+ posts)
Thu Jun-02-05 08:18 AMResponse to Original message
3. I had an employer throw me up against a wall and scream at me
I was 15 and it was really a voluntary job at a riding stable/farm. We got assigned a horse we could ride and show at fairs in exchange for working on the farm. My crime was that I brought out only one horse from a pair - even though there was only one more rider and there were four other girls bringing out horses.I guess there is the time that I fractured a couple of small bones in my wrist and sprained it and not only wouldn't she let me call my mother or take me to the doctor she left me in charge of the riding stable for the week-end with the help of three younger girls. (Saddling horses with a sprained wrist isn't easy.)
http://www.inthelifetv.org/1402_player.html "Will people ever be wise enough to refuse to follow bad leaders?" Eleanor Roosevelt " Non-cooperation with evil is a sacred duty " - Gandhi

I wonder how much more of Mark Felt and Deep Throat we're going to have to hear about.

For now WE, the American people, NEED A DEEP THROAT!!!!!! Someone to help us so we can bring this country back from the brink of no return. Or maybe 2 or 3 or 4 of 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 Deep Throats!! Hopefully, the good turncoat people are taking notes and documenting evidence so we can prosecute and put them ALL in jail for LIFE!!!

So what else do you hear? Any good news?

I found this discussion on democraticunderground.com and Modem Butterfly is discussing running credit checks for employers.

I personally don't think they tell you anything about an employee's performance or what type of employee they would be. I know from experience that if you're in a financial institution and you need to hire someone who is going to either handle someone else's money or handle the company's money, you need to find someone with a clean credit report. With identity theft, this RIDICULOUS pResident in office who has bankrupted everyone and other geo-political events that have destroyed our economy, wonderful people have gotten into some very dire financial situations and their credit report needs to be IGNORED when considering them for employment.

It simply doesn't tell you what type of employee they are going to be. Enclosed are two posts and the URL so you can see the discussion. Please read the rest of the responses in the discussion.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3766313
ORIGINAL POST
Modem Butterfly (1000+ posts)
Wed Jun-01-05 06:12 PMOriginal message
As someone who checks credit for employment...
I think everyone needs to calm down.An awful lot of people have made mistakes in their past. In fact, very few people have "perfect" credit. Your credit is probably a lot closer to average than you may think. Employers are generally looking for an indication of responsbility. It's not so much the fact that you HAVE debt as much as are you PAYING OFF your debt? Owing a lot to Visa and/or Master Card isn't nearly as having multiple vehicle reposessions, a history of bad checks, or tenant evictions. Pay your debts or make agreements with your creditors and it will be reflected on your credit report. Dispute items that are in error. It will look a whole lot better than multiple collection items.




RESPONSE TO ORIGINAL POST
BlueJazz (1000+ posts)
Wed Jun-01-05 07:07 PMResponse to Original message
34. Modem Butterfly ...You (Maybe) have forgotten one thing.
I know a very responsible, nice lady who has been turned down for numerous jobs. Her credit sucks the big one..Why?...Because some low-life stole her identity and destroyed her credit rating. She's been trying for a year to "get it right".Every time I talk to her my heart just breaks seeing her cry because people don't want to hire her.Damn..I get pissed just thinking of it.Also...Her "situation" is becoming more and more common...Lots of crooks out there..

Well, this one is elementary. As an employer, if you don't have refrigerators for them to put their lunches in, THEY SPEND MORE MONEY AND EAT FOOD THAT IS MORE FATTENING WHICH RESULTS IN WEIGHT GAIN AND CLOGGED ARTERIES.

The lack of brain cells and common sense over their just amazes me.

To the Bank of NY: GET SOME REFRIGERATORS FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES. YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS WILL GO DOWN.

When people have refrigerators and a microwave, you can put healthy things like salad, sandwiches, fruit, vegetables etc inside instead of eating outside where the food is higher in fat and cholesterol.

These are articles I found on DemocraticUnderground.com. I will paste the articles and links for you. Corporate America's Executives also have these issues especially those relating to Paranoid, Sadistic and Megalomanical behavior. There are thousands of offices with people who suffer from these personaliy disfunctions and it's the people who are employed around them that have to deal with these pathologies. The same is true for the American people and the rest of the world who are dealing with the consequences of having a person with enormous personality issues that result in crimes being committed, laws being broken and the DAMAGED reputation of the United States abroad.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1821195#1821195
Writer (626 posts)
Wed Jun-01-05 01:27 AMOriginal message
Bush Diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder
I think a headline like this would help us begin the recovery from 4 1/2 years of dwelling with an abusive despot, wouldn't it?But seriously, I wish more Americans would discuss NPD. Not only would many Americans discover what in the heck was wrong with that snow-job artist that cost them that promotion two years ago, but also would better understand our Malignant Narcissist in Chief.

Here's what the DSM-IV describes as NPD:
1. a grandiose sense of self-importance
2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love 3. believes that he or she is "special" and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
4. requires excessive admiration
5. has a sense of entitlement, ie unreasonable expectations of especially favourable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
6. is interpersonally exploitative, ie takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
7. lacks empathy and is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
8. is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
9. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
Or get a fuller description here:http://www.halcyon.com/jmashmun/npd/dsm-iv.html
Writer.

This is one of the replies to the post above.
Wilms (1000+ posts)
Wed Jun-01-05 03:29 AMResponse to Original message
7. Diagnosis
CounterPunchOctober 11, 2002
Addiction, Brain Damage and the President "Dry Drunk" Syndrome and George W. Bush
by KATHERINE van WORMER
http://www.counterpunch.org/wormer1011.html
CounterPunch
October 11, 2002
Addiction, Brain Damage and the President
"Dry Drunk" Syndrome and George W. Bush
by KATHERINE van WORMER

Ordinarily I would not use this term. But when I came across the article "Dry Drunk" - - Is Bush Making a Cry for Help? in American Politics Journal by Alan Bisbort, I was ready to concede, in the case of George W. Bush, the phrase may be quite apt.

Dry drunk is a slang term used by members and supporters of Alcoholics Anonymous and substance abuse counselors to describe the recovering alcoholic who is no longer drinking, one who is dry, but whose thinking is clouded. Such an individual is said to be dry but not truly sober. Such an individual tends to go to extremes.

It was when I started noticing the extreme language that colored President Bush's speeches that I began to wonder. First there were the terms-- "crusade" and "infinite justice" that were later withdrawn. Next came "evil doers," "axis of evil," and "regime change", terms that have almost become clichés in the mass media. Something about the polarized thinking and the obsessive repetition reminded me of many of the recovering alcoholics/addicts I had treated. (A point worth noting is that because of the connection between addiction and "stinking thinking," relapse prevention usually consists of work in the cognitive area). Having worked with recovering alcoholics for years, I flinched at the single-mindedness and ego- and ethnocentricity in the President's speeches. (My husband likened his phraseology to the gardener character played by Peter Sellers in the movie, Being There). Since words are the tools, the representations, of thought, I wondered what Bush's choice of words said about where he was coming from. Or where we would be going.

First, in this essay, we will look at the characteristics of the so-called "dry drunk;" then we will see if they apply to this individual, our president; and then we will review his drinking history for the record. What is the dry drunk syndrome? "Dry drunk" traits consist of: Exaggerated self-importance and pomposity, Grandiose behavior, A rigid, judgmental outlook, Impatience, Childish behavior, Irresponsible behavior, Irrational rationalization, Projection, Overreaction

Clearly, George W. Bush has all these traits except exaggerated self importance. He may be pompous, especially with regard to international dealings, but his actual importance hardly can be exaggerated. His power, in fact, is such that if he collapses into paranoia, a large part of the world will collapse with him. Unfortunately, there are some indications of paranoia in statements such as the following: "We must be prepared to stop rogue states and their terrorist clients before they are able to threaten or use weapons of mass destruction against the United States and our allies and friends." The trait of projection is evidenced here as well, projection of the fact that we are ready to attack onto another nation which may not be so inclined.
Bush's rigid, judgmental outlook comes across in virtually all his speeches. To fight evil, Bush is ready to take on the world, in almost a Biblical sense. Consider his statement with reference to Israel: "Look my job isn't to try to nuance. I think moral clarity is important... this is evil versus good."

Bush's tendency to dichotomize reality is not on the Internet list above, but it should be, as this tendency to polarize is symptomatic of the classic addictive thinking pattern. I describe this thinking distortion in Addiction Treatment: A Strengths Perspective as either/or reasoning-- "either you are with us or against us." Oddly, Bush used those very words in his dealings with other nations. All-or-nothing thinking is a related mode of thinking commonly found in newly recovering alcoholics/addicts. Such a worldview traps people in a pattern of destructive behavior.

Obsessive thought patterns are also pronounced in persons prone to addiction. There are organic reasons for this due to brain chemistry irregularities; messages in one part of the brain become stuck there. This leads to maddening repetition of thoughts. President Bush seems unduly focused on getting revenge on Saddam Hussein ("he tried to kill my Dad") leading the country and the world into war, accordingly.

Grandiosity enters the picture as well. What Bush is proposing to Congress is not the right to attack on one country but a total shift in military policy: America would now have the right to take military action before the adversary even has the capacity to attack. This is in violation, of course, of international law as well as national precedent. How to explain this grandiose request? Jane Bryant Quinn provides the most commonly offered explanation in a recent Newsweek editorial, "Iraq: It's the Oil, Stupid." Many other opponents of the Bush doctrine similarly seek a rational motive behind the obsession over first, the war on terror and now, Iraq. I believe the explanation goes deeper than oil, that Bush's logic is being given too much credit; I believe his obsession is far more visceral.

On this very day, a peace protestor in Portland held up the sign, "Drunk on Power." This, I believe, is closer to the truth. The drive for power can be an unquenchable thirst, addictive in itself. Senator William Fulbright, in his popular bestseller of the 1960s, The Arrogance of Power, masterfully described the essence of power-hungry politics as the pursuit of power; this he conceived as an end in itself. "The causes and consequences of war may have more to do with pathology than with politics," he wrote, "more to do with irrational pressures of pride and pain than with rational calculation of advantage and profit."

Another "dry drunk" trait is impatience. Bush is far from a patient man: "If we wait for threats to fully materialize," he said in a speech he gave at West Point, "we will have waited too long." Significantly, Bush only waited for the United Nations and for Congress to take up the matter of Iraq's disarmament with extreme reluctance.

Alan Bisbort argues that Bush possesses the characteristics of the "dry drunk" in terms of: his incoherence while speaking away from the script; his irritability with anyone (for example, Germany's Schröder) who dares disagree with him; and his dangerous obsessing about only one thing (Iraq) to the exclusion of all other things.

In short, George W. Bush seems to possess the traits characteristic of addictive persons who still have the thought patterns that accompany substance abuse. If we consult the latest scientific findings, we will discover that scientists can now observe changes that occur in the brain as a result of heavy alcohol and other drug abuse. Some of these changes may be permanent. Except in extreme cases, however, these cognitive impairments would not be obvious to most observers.

To reach any conclusions we need of course to know Bush's personal history relevant to drinking/drug use. To this end I consulted several biographies. Yes, there was much drunkenness, years of binge drinking starting in college, at least one conviction for DUI in 1976 in Maine, and one arrest before that for a drunken episode involving theft of a Christmas wreath. According to J.D. Hatfield's book, Fortunate Son, Bush later explained: "[A]lcohol began to compete with my energies....I'd lose focus." Although he once said he couldn't remember a day he hadn't had a drink, he added that he didn't believe he was "clinically alcoholic." Even his father, who had known for years that his son had a serious drinking problem, publicly proclaimed: "He was never an alcoholic. It's just he knows he can't hold his liquor."
Bush drank heavily for over 20 years until he made the decision to abstain at age 40. About this time he became a "born again Christian," going as usual from one extreme to the other. During an Oprah interview, Bush acknowledged that his wife had told him he needed to think about what he was doing. When asked in another interview about his reported drug use, he answered honestly, "I'm not going to talk about what I did 20 to 30 years ago."

That there might be a tendency toward addiction in Bush's family is indicated in the recent arrests or criticism of his daughters for underage drinking and his niece for cocaine possession. Bush, of course, deserves credit for his realization that he can't drink moderately, and his decision today to abstain. The fact that he doesn't drink moderately, may be suggestive of an inability to handle alcohol. In any case, Bush has clearly gotten his life in order and is in good physical condition, careful to exercise and rest when he needs to do so. The fact that some residual effects from his earlier substance abuse, however slight, might cloud the U.S. President's thinking and judgment is frightening, however, in the context of the current global crisis.

One final consideration that might come into play in the foreign policy realm relates to Bush's history relevant to his father. The Bush biography reveals the story of a boy named for his father, sent to the exclusive private school in the East where his father's reputation as star athlete and later war hero were still remembered. The younger George's achievements were dwarfed in the school's memory of his father. Athletically he could not achieve his father's laurels, being smaller and perhaps less strong. His drinking bouts and lack of intellectual gifts held him back as well. He was popular and well liked, however. His military record was mediocre as compared to his father's as well. Bush entered the Texas National Guard. What he did there remains largely a mystery. There are reports of a lot of barhopping during this period. It would be only natural that Bush would want to prove himself today, that he would feel somewhat uncomfortable following, as before, in his father's footsteps. I mention these things because when you follow his speeches, Bush seems bent on a personal crusade. One motive is to avenge his father. Another seems to be to prove himself to his father. In fact, Bush seems to be trying somehow to achieve what his father failed to do - - to finish the job of the Gulf War, to get the "evildoer" Saddam.

To summarize, George W. Bush manifests all the classic patterns of what alcoholics in recovery call "the dry drunk." His behavior is consistent with barely noticeable but meaningful brain damage brought on by years of heavy drinking and possible cocaine use. All the classic patterns of addictive thinking that are spelled out in my book are here: the tendency to go to extremes (leading America into a massive 100 billion dollar strike-first war), a "kill or be killed mentality;" the tunnel vision, "I" as opposed to "we" thinking, the black and white polarized thought processes (good versus evil, all or nothing thinking).

His drive to finish his father's battles is of no small significance, psychologically.
If the public (and politicians) could only see what Fulbright noted as the pathology in the politics. One day, sadly, they will.

Katherine van Wormer is a Professor of Social Work at the University of Northern Iowa Co-author of Addiction Treatment: A Strengths Perspective (2002). She can be reached at: Katherine.VanWormer@uni.edu

2nd Articles

From Capitol Hill Blue: Bush LeaguesProminent DC Shrink Diagnoses Bush to be a Paranoid, Sadistic Meglomaniac
By Staff and Wire ReportsJun 14, 2004, 00:22
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=32&num=4687&printer=1
http://www.missionnotaccomplished.us/
http://www.downingstreetmemo.com

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=32&num=4687&amp;amp;printer=1
From Capitol Hill Blue

Bush LeaguesProminent DC Shrink Diagnoses Bush to be a Paranoid, Sadistic MeglomaniacBy Staff and Wire ReportsJun 14, 2004, 00:22

A new book by a prominent Washington psychoanalyst says President George W. Bush is a "paranoid meglomaniac" as well as a sadist and "untreated alcoholic"Dr. Justin Frank, writing in Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President, also says the President has a ""lifelong streak of sadism, ranging from childhood pranks (using firecrackers to explode frogs) to insulting journalists, gloating over state executions ... [and] pumping his fist gleefully before the bombing of Baghdad."Even worse, Dr. Frank concludes, the President's years of heavy drinking ""may have affected his brain function - and his decision to quit drinking without the help of a 12-step program [puts] him at far higher risk of relapse."

Dr. Frank's conclusions appear to confirm a June 4, 2004, Capitol Hill Blue report that says the President's erratic behavior and wide mood swings have White House aides concerned.

Bush shows an inability to grieve - dating back to age 7, when his sister died. "The family's reaction - no funeral and no mourning - set in motion his life-long pattern of turning away from pain [and hiding] behind antic behavior," says Frank, who says Bush may suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Other findings by Dr. Frank: His mother, Barbara Bush - tabbed by some family friends as "the one who instills fear" - had trouble connecting emotionally with her son, Frank argues.
George H.W. Bush's "emotional and physical absence during his son's youth triggered feelings of both adoration and revenge in George W."

The President suffers from "character pathology," including "grandiosity" and "megalomania" -- viewing himself, America and God as interchangeable.

Dr. Frank has been a psychiatrist for 35 years and is on staff at George Washington University. A Democrat, he once headed the Washington Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility.
In an interview with The Washington Post's Richard Leiby, Dr. Frank said he began to be concerned about Bush's behavior in 2002.

"I was really very unsettled by him and I started watching everything he did and reading what he wrote, and watching him on videotape. I felt he was disturbed," Dr. Frank told Leiby. Bush, he said, "fits the profile of a former drinker whose alcoholism has been arrested but not treated."

Dr. Frank's expert recommendation? ""Our sole treatment option -- for his benefit and for ours -- is to remove President Bush from office . . . before it is too late." White House spokesman Scott McClellan refused to comment on the specifics of Dr. Frank's book."I don't do book reviews," McClellan said, even though he last week recommended the latest book by the Washington Post's Bob Woodward to reporters at the daily press briefing.

I don't know how much more delusional or in denial Bush Senior can become. That's DEFINITELY where baby Bushie gets it from. This Shrub in office has destroyed our country and our reputation abroad before our eyes. That's how out of touch with reality they are, they think they can keep running and no one has noticed what a horrible job they do and dismantle our country and way of life. In addition, there are NUMEROUS NUMEROUS scandals surrounding them which will catch up with them. In their family, christian values language, you do unto others as you want them to do unto you.

Papa Bush thinks Jeb can run for the Presidency in '08...but they don't seem to grasp reality that well let's just say "they may be occupied with other issues and running for the Presidency will be the LAST thing on their mind". Enclosed is the article from Yahoo that was printed by Reuters.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050601/pl_nm/bush_father_dc

Elder Bush would like son Jeb to run for president
Tue May 31, 8:08 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
George Bush' SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' George Bush, the president's father, would like to see another Bush in the White House someday, saying on Tuesday that he would want his son Jeb to run for president when the timing is right.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush has repeatedly said he does not plan to run for president in 2008, trying to dampen speculation that another Bush could be on the next Republican ticket for the White House.

In an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live," former
President Bush' SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' President Bush said he would want Jeb to run for president "someday," but now was not the time.

"The timing's wrong. The main thing is, he doesn't want to do it. Nobody believes that," Bush said.

But he and wife Barbara both said they believed Jeb, 52, did not want to run in the next presidential race.

Bush said he did not have a favorite candidate for the Republican nomination to succeed his son, President Bush.

Barbara Bush said she believed Senator and former first lady
Hillary Rodham Clinton' SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' Hillary Rodham Clinton would be the Democratic nominee in the 2008 presidential race. "I'm not going to vote for her, but I'm betting on her," she said.

Here's another recruiter from Adecco who is arrogant, rude and incompetent. We have heard NUMEROUS complaints about Adecco's Fifth Avenue Offices and the Recruiters who are employed there. I would NEVER give them my job orders to fill. I also hear that same sentiment from other HR people.

This is a letter from someone who had the unfortunate experience of having to look for a job in this economy and had to deal with Steven as a Recruiter.

Dear America's Work Stories,

I was laid off in NYC and was searching for a position. I had registered with Adecco and had the unfortuante experience of having to work with Steven Halvorsen. I have never met anyone who is openly hostile, RUDE, arrogant, full of himself and openly snipes at people over the phone. Their clients are HORRIBLE to work for and CSFB is an incredibly HOSTILE environment to work in.

Adecco's DOES NOT search for great work environments for their temps and truly just don't care about the people who are doing the work. They are only out to make money and don't take into consideration who their clients or their illegal behavior, the recruiters they employ or their reputation. Just like the White House, there is no oversight to their operation and they don't take any responsibility for the people who work for them or their actions.

Thank you.

This is the obnoxious and utterly disgusting manner in which these corporate executives conduct themselves. I found this on nypost.com in Cindy Adams column. Make sure you have a barf bag or two before you read this:


http://www.nypost.com/gossip/cindy.htm
READER Pat Weich was on Park Avenue in the 60s. A Wednesday, 4:30 in the afternoon. A beggar stood in the street. Hand out, palm upward, holding a few quarters. Well-dressed businessman — suit, tie, briefcase — passed by. The beggar inched over, hand extended. The businessman stopped, reached in his hand, helped himself to a quarter, smiled, gave a big "thanks" and walked away.

Until recently, American corporations had been unable to destroy their own consumer market, because they were forced to maintain wages at a certain level. This was due to the limited supply of workers in their native country.

The labor force supply-and-demand effect created upward pressure on wages. This prevented American industry from reducing wages below a certain level. In turn, this maintained aggregate labor/consumer income at a high enough level to purchase American products. With global labor competition, wages can be reduced drastically. With this reduction, however, comes reduction in the consumer income that purchases American products. This drastic reduction in aggregate consumer income will lead to a drastic reduction in consumer demand. If the average American worker is making $4/day, due to glogal labor competition, who will buy American products? CEOs? Congress? Bill Gates? Martians? Can the super rich really buy enough computers and SUVs to maintain American consumer spending and demand?

If not, then where will the profits come from with drastically reduced sales? Can profits be made without selling any goods? Can labor costs be reduced enough to make profits without any sales? Corporate America fails to understand that maintaining worker wages is to their advantage. It's not only to their advantage, it's a necessity. American labor "costs" actually provide the income to buy American products. (Labor costs = consumer income. Labor cost reduction = consumer income reduction. In reality, it's worse than this. Consumer income reduction is > than labor cost reduction.) To restate this, as corporations lower labor costs, they lower consumer income as well. Corporations decrease the size of their own market by reducing aggregate consumer income. If they continue to increase profit margins by reducing labor income, they'll eventually be unable to sell their products.

There won't be enough income to purchase America's production. Remember slavery? Slaves never bought any products. They didn't have any income. If we all become slaves, we won't have any income either. And corporate America won't be able to sell their products to anyone. Corporate America will have destroyed itself, due to its own greed. Henry Ford said that he paid his workers well so they could buy his cars. Corporate America should take heed of this. The most productive economies we've ever had were when worker wages were at their highest inflation-adjusted level. There are 2 economic principles that are being ignored by Corporate America. Consumer spending is 2/3 of economic activity. They also ignore the fact that consumer spending is the biggest part of the GDP equation. (GDP=Consumer_spending+investment+government_spending+trade_balance)

In reality, investment spending will be self-limited if consumer spending isn't maintained. Production facilities will not be built if no one buys products. In addition, government spending is financed by taxes on consumer income. Thus, it is also very dependent on consumer income. Exports depend on foreign labor income, which creates foreign consumer markets. Since average foreign worker income is miniscule, this will never be a very large number. Imports will continue to subtract from GDP, as long as slave-labor wages are encouraged by "free" trade/slave labor agreements. Since consumer spending is strongly related to labor/consumer income, a reduction in consumer income will also reduce GDP. We're not "growing" our economy by reducing labor costs. We're shrinking it.

unlawflcombatntEconomicPopulistCommentary
http://www.unlawflcombatnt.blogspot.com
Investment does NOT create jobs. It only "allows" for their creation. Increased Demand for goods creates jobs, because it necessitates hiring of workers to produce more goods. Investment "permits" job growth. Demand necessitates it.Building a factory does NOT create jobs. Demand for production DOES create jobs. Goods are not produced if there is no demand for them.

Without demand for goods, there is no demand for workers to produce them. Without demand, no amount of investment creates jobs.

Well, it looks like Deep Throat has revealed himself. Some bloggers are saying that this is the fall guy for GHWBush...time will tell the story. For now, the floor is yours.

We received an email about Kanbay located in Rosemont, Illinois who is helping companies outsource. We've enclosed their contact information so all of you can give them a call or email them.
http://www.kanbay.com/abo_contact.asp
Email: solutions@kanbay.com




Dear America's Work Stories,

I wanted to let you know that Kanbay is helping Corporate America outsource work to India. They're headquarters are in India and thought you might want to tell your readers.

Thank you.

We have received from the NYPD Detectives that they don't have the appropriate resources to do their job..(thank you Mayor Bloomberg). Enclosed is the note describing what they are in need of.

Dear America's Work Stories,

The Detectives of the NYPD do not have enough help in terms of staffing, not enough overtime to catch these herrendous people and not enough cars/equipment to do our jobs. It's after 9/11 and we don't have the money or equipment to competently carry out our tasks which is absolutely unthinkable.

Thank you for this blog and allowing us the opportunity to share what's happening inside the NYPD.

This was a great article I found on BuzzFlash.com. Corporate America is practicing the same thing...promote the people who are problems, contribute negatively to the work environment (READ: JOHN BOLTON) and are INCOMPETENT!!!! Enjoy!!!

http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/05/05/con05190.html


May 31, 2005

The Success of Failure
By YT Cai
A recent case where two Army analysts who earned job performance awards for reporting that aluminum tubes purchased by Iraq, and normally used for ordinary rocket casings, could have been used as centrifuge parts to enrich uranium is only the latest example of how ineptness is rewarded in the Bush Administration.

The list of individuals who received accolades and/or promotions for performance that would otherwise call for reprimand, summary discharge, or even possibly criminal charges is quite lengthy. Some of the more egregious examples of people who have benefited from nonsuccess are as follows:

Marion "Spike" Bowman (FBI Agent) - when Zacarias Moussaoui came under suspicion as a person of interest enrolled in an American flight school it was Bowman who found no probable cause to issue a FISA warrant thus keeping investigators from looking into Moussaoui's computer which arguably could have uncovered the 9-11 plot. When the likes of Sen. Charles Grassley says Bowman didn't deserve the Presidential Rank Award afforded, one has to wonder exactly what was Bowman told to do by superiors when field agents expressed real concern about a hijacking plot in the making. Maybe some day the administration will build a Stone Wall in Bowman's honor.

George Tenet (former head of the CIA) - not only did the 50 plus warnings about 9-11 get past Tenet, he ultimately convinced Bush that the weapons of mass destruction case against Saddam Hussein was a "slam dunk." Who could forget the assuring Tenet seated behind Colin Powell when the then Secretary of State made the WMD case to the UN, giving more credibility to a portfolio strong on graphics but rather flimsy on the facts? Upon leaving of his own accord Tenet was presented with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, although the Broken Time Piece would have been more appropriate, with which he'd be right at least twice a day.

L. Paul (Gerry) Bremer (former proconsul in Iraq) - another chartered member of the Presidential Medal of Freedom club, Bremer was brought in after the quick dismissal of Jay Garner to set in motion a number of policies that would smoothly pave the way for an Iraqi interim government. Among the more obvious Bremer failures are an Iraqi insurgency that picked up steam due to Bremer's inability to provide real security or any meaningful reconstruction, especially by not getting essential services like electricity, septic or water systems up and running. Bremer even went as far at one point to blame the Democrats for the deteriorating situation. Add in the billions of Iraqi dollars that came up missing and the widespread torture that took place, that he should have been aware of, and you have a prime candidate for the Humpty Dumpty Award in Nation Building.

Alberto Gonzales (Attorney General) - former counsel to Bush and crafter of memoranda that dismissed the Geneva Conventions as quaint and mucked up traditional definitions of torture directly leading to the lowest level of international esteem our once highly regarded nation now holds. Instead of becoming upwardly mobile Gonzales should have been named the Torquemada Fan Club's Man of the Year.

Condoleezza Rice (Secretary of State) - the former National Security Adviser under whose watch the worst terrorist attack on American soil occurred is a real mover and shaker in the Bush administration. She was put in charge of the Iraq occupation that went steadily down hill under her watch, with billions of dollars of US taxpayer money going unaccounted for or unspent which contributed to the ill will towards our troops. Condi would, though, qualify for the Fear Factor Academy Award for her talk of mushroom clouds and imminent attacks which helped the administration bring to market the Iraq War product line.

Paul Wolfowitz (head of The World Bank) - this former Under Secretary of Defense, and neo-conservative extraordinaire, was the mastermind of shock and awe democracy. He used to regale us with tales of welcoming Iraqis and a war that would be self funded by Iraqi oil. When he nearly bought the farm on his last trip to Iraq he quickly scurried off to accept his Chickenhawk Little Medal, along with a plum new position where he can work more of his magic on third world countries.

John Bolton (Under Secretary of State for Arms Control) - it must be something about the title "Under Secretary" that screams "Screw Up." The only real threat to America from the Axis of Evil has literally "gone nuclear" on us following Bolton's continual insults and goading. Now that North Korea is cranking out nukes at a frightening pace it is no wonder that Bolton is up for an ambassadorship, and to the UN of all places. Could the plan be to get all nations to go nuclear so as to promote world balance? If approved, then Bolton will surely gather up the Bull in the China Shop Award for the fifth year running.

With the above as only an overview of incompetence, and being a partial list of those who moved on to bigger and better things following gross failures, there is little room for hope as the players continue to rack up awards and change positions while in the midst of a long losing streak.

YT Cai

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION

This firm just can't stay out of trouble and can't function ethically. They too are outsourcing their work. I know one day all of this will catch up with them.

http://www.tempcity.com/discus/messages/3/345.html
Very Little Cash
Tempcity (tm) Temp Agency NYC New York City Temp Agencies: Major Clients and Employers in NYC: Investment Banking: Goldman Sachs: Very Little Cash
By Admin (Admin) on Thursday, January 3, 2002 - 11:52 am: Edit Post
There is a certain temp agency sending people to Goldman that pays very little money, like $19.00/hr for second shift. This is the agency that sent me to Goldman. I had some very exciting projects at Goldman, but I never made any money there. And since I was not at Goldman so that I could tell people that I was at Goldman, I left for more money elsewhere.

By Anonymous on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 - 1:17 am: Edit Post
FYI - Goldman's NYC office WP is officially being outsourced. Bowne came in last week (3/2004) and started the process. This is after they outsourced (to Bowne) last June, the production department. Also, Bowne owns a company that has offices in India - so the outsourcing it seems will continue off shore.... GS itself has an office in India where they are outsourcing other work.

For more nausea, please read what dear darling JPMorganChase is up to...they are also outsourcing their production work to Mumbai INDIA. This outsourcing is just killing us. The Investment Banks and Consulting Firms ARE IN HORRIBLE SHAPE. Enclosed is the URL and the posts.

http://www.tempcity.com/discus/messages/3/1242.html
Kick out the temps
Tempcity (tm) Temp Agency NYC New York City Temp Agencies: Major Clients and Employers in NYC: Investment Banking: JP Morgan Chase: Kick out the temps
By Anonymous on Sunday, February 6, 2005 - 2:40 am: Edit Post
JP Morgan has recently instituted a policy that after a temp has worked in the presentation center for 1500 hours they must be laid off. They can come back after 12 weeks. This follows the recent merger with BankOne. The New York Presentation and Production Services department (277 Park Ave) has about two hundred workers (full, and part-time), about 75% temps. Tiger is by far the biggest agency, and actually has an employee stationed in the bank. One of the managers of the center is a former Tiger on-site employee. Also JPM added an extra hour (unpaid!) to the perms day, meaning they're there for nine hours now instead of eight. This is hands-down the worst-managed center in my 20 years experience temping in investment banks and law firms. Morale is really bad, and is getting worse by the day. I wonder if JPM is telling new temps about the mandatory lay-off policy? There is a steady stream of applicants coming in for interviews, so if you're thinking of working as a temp presentation operator at JPMorgan...beware.

By Anonymous on Monday, May 9, 2005 - 12:38 am: Edit Post
An update from an ex-temp in the presentation/production center at jpm. It's now May and most of the senior temps are gone. They actually hired a few people since they couldn't run the place with the few perms that are left. They've implemented "Mumbai" which is sending edit jobs to India and when I look around, there are maybe 7 or 8 people in a room of maybe 35 work stations. Most of them are there to take in the jobs and send on to India... This department is turning into a ghost town...

This came from a reader who had a terrible experience with the recruiters. The temp agencies need to be regulated but they won't be until we get a Democratic administration in the WH and who will listen objectively.

Dear America's Work Stories,

Taylor Hodson has to be the WORST temp agency in the city. The recruiters are arrogant, incompetent and unprofessional. My friend had the same experience with them. They asked the same question several times and were very militant in their tone and the way they dealt with people. They use vague terms and have no regard for the job seekers. The temp agenices in NYC are awful.

Thank you for your blog and thank you for listening

_______________________________________

http://www.honation.com/discus/messages/2/1241.html

We found a post on honation.com and wanted to share it with you.
You know, it means something when a temp agency tells you that they are not going to pay you and then invites you to sue them; it means that they are BAD news. The only way that I was able to get Taylor Hodson's attention was to tell them that if I did not get paid from them, that I would sue their client in small claims court for compensation. My impression of these people is that they are capable of doing and saying anything. And in New York City a company or individual who is capable of doing and saying anything is a danger to the public. I would never set foot in this agency, not unless I had the police with me, several witnesses and the whole thing was videotaped.

There is even a website that is claiming that some or all of these people are members of some kind of organization involved in a scandal in California. Cult News

Obviously, these people are giving someone work, but if you decide to use them you run the risk of working all week for shit rates and maybe not being paid at all (unless you sue their client for compensation). Do yourself a favor and try all of the other 3,000 temp agencies in New York City before going to Talyor Hodson

Elaine Chao is one of the most HORRIBLE people in the Bush cabinet. (We miss Alexis Herman. She was competent and cared for the people in this country. I know she'll be the next Secretary of Labor when the Democrats take over!!!) Elaine Chao has no clue as to what she's doing, SHE'S SUCH A FAKE, she does nothing to protect the rights or advocate for the working people in this country and she should be prosecuted and sent to jail when the day comes that this administration is IMPEACHED.

Buzzflash has a website gophypocrites.com and I found a posting on her continued hypocrisy in terms of the American worker and the policies and practices of the Bush Regime.

Enclosed is the post and the URL. Have fun!!

http://www.gophypocrites.com/2005/05/hyp05019.html
Welcome back to the BuzzFlash.com GOP Hypocrite of the Week.
The slogan you'll find on the home page of our Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao, would be enough -- in and of itself -- to make her our Hypocrite of the Week. It reads, "Getting people back to work is what this Department does. Giving people hope in their future is our job."

Yeah, right!

The Bush administration has the worst job creation record since Herbert Hoover, yet Chao marches on like some Soviet poster extolling a worker's paradise.

In addition to her cynical cliche duties, Chao is also another lackey shoveling the Bush daily pile of hypocrisy. For instance, this week, her department warned unions not to use pension funds to oppose Bush's social "insecurity" plans. The unions were also warned not to "hire or fire service providers primarily on the basis of their positions on Social Security legislation."
Are you finished laughing yet?

Here's an administration that used taxpayer money -- our money -- for more than 60 days to sell a plan designed to enrich stock and mutual fund brokers at the expense of American workers. The Busheviks have spent millions and millions of our dollars hiring public relations firms to sell their bait-and-switch S.S. poison bullet, including the public financing of illegal video news reports that are just more White House propaganda.

Bush's Press Secretary refuses to respond to inquiries about the amount of taxpayer funds that they are spending on their partisan initiative. But, if you include the travel costs of Bush and his minions and the event expenses, we are probably talking well over $100 million in total costs. And, we repeat, that's our money -- yours and mine.

So for Chao to tell the unions to watch their step about how they spend the money earned by workers concerned about their own retirement, well that's enough to make you barf.
And for that reason, we present Elaine Chao as the BuzzFlash GOP Hypocrite of the Week.
Until next week, remember our motto at BuzzFlash.com: So many Republican hypocrites, so little time.

Catch up with you soon.

Here's yet ANOTHER jerk executive from Goldman Sachs. Inside the firm, they truly believe that they are the most ELITE people on the planet when in fact that it just not true. It's going to take all of Elliot Spitzer's office to fine them and keep them held up in court forever for them to get the message that their behavior and the way they conduct themselves IS NOT going to be acceptable.

Dear America's Work Stories,

Aaron Marcus has got to be the most ARROGANT AND VICIOUS person I have ever worked for. He is absolutely HATED by his staff and the people that work around him. He has female employees and calls them by their last name. He interviews people when it's not his job to do so. He creates unbelievable amounts of employee relation issues and Goldman keeps rewarding him for his HORRIBLE behavior. It's like living in the White House, incompetence and arrogance is rewarded and the good people are made miserable. Aaron calls other executives and forces the secretaries to get their bosses off the phone so he can talk to them when in fact, THEIR ON THE OTHER LINE TALKING. That's how arrogant and full of himself he is. The whole culture inside of Goldman WREAKS of arrogant people who have NO SENSE OF REALITY. All you have to do is look at how the Bush administration functions, their baggage and the issues that are existant and the same issues are happening in Corporate America.

This place is INSANE

Thank you for this blog and thank you for listening.

I found this on democraticunderground. This is a fellow blogger discussing the economy, jobs, and the housing market. He's a physician by training and has become an economist....you kind of have to in order to understand CuckooBananas' economy. Enjoy!!!!


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=373491#

unlawflcombatnt (25 posts)
Sat May-28-05 06:43 PMOriginal message
Housing Bubble, Pseudo-Recovery, & Cheap Labor Lobby
THE HOUSING BUBBLE, PSEUDO-RECOVERY, & CHEAP LABOR LOBBY

The consumer income and demand that provided the "recovery" from the recession came from increased consumer borrowing, not increased income. This was the direct product of the Greenspan-induced housing bubble. By decreasing the prime rate, he increased the dollar-value of a home that could be purchased with the same amount of money. More money could be spent on the actual selling price of the home, if less was spent on financing charges. Again, this increased the price of homes that buyers could purchase, as well as the number of buyers who could purchase homes. In turn, this increased the DEMAND for homes, which further increased the overall price of homes. This demand increase also increased assessed home values, increasing home equity value. Thus, there was an overall increase in aggregate, nationwide home equity value. This increased the amount of money available for home equity loans. This increase in money available for loans also increased money available to spend. Thus, consumers were able to increase spending, while incomes decreased.

This increase in spendable consumer wealth provided the demand necessary to keep American industry from completely collapsing. Consumers were able to spend more, in spite of declining wages. Had more attention been paid to increasing wages, and less to stimulating unnecessary investment, consumer income might have recovered. It might have recovered enough to offset the huge reduction in demand that will occur when the housing bubble bursts. Unfortunately, corporate profits and inflated equity values were the emphasis of the Bush administration, not consumer income. The inflation-adjusted wage decline has continued unabated under Bush.

Bush's labor-cost reduction policies have actually worsened the consumer income loss.The "cheap labor lobby" has succeeded in greatly reducing aggregate consumer income. They have taken advantage of simple supply-and-demand laws regarding labor. By increasing labor supply, they reduce the price of labor. By reducing labor demand, they further reduce the price of labor. Reduced "price" of labor means reduction in wages for American workers.

The "cheap labor lobby" has reduced American wages by increasing the supply of available workers and reducing the creation of jobs. This has been done by 2 general methods. The 1st method is the encouragement of unrestricted inflow of impoverished workers into the U.S. This increases the labor supply, decreasing labor cost. (There are simply more workers competing for the same number of jobs, driving wages downward.) This decreases average individual wages, as well as aggregate labor and consumer income.

The 2nd method has been OUTSOURCING. The effect of outsourcing is to open up the American labor market to competition with impoverished 3rd-world workers. American workers must now compete globally for wages with semi-slave labor in impoverished foreign countries. American labor has already lost many jobs to foreign competition. Thus, the DEMAND for American labor has also been reduced, due to the shipment of jobs out of the country. (Decreased demand for labor decreases the "price" of labor, which means American wages.) The effect of outsourcing is to decrease the number of jobs, as well as the average wage of those who have jobs. This results in decreased aggregate consumer income, causing decreased demand for American goods, and decreased demand for workers to produce goods.

The "cheap labor lobby" has thus decreased aggregate consumer income by increasing immigration and outsourcing. They have reduced labor demand, and increased labor supply. They have opened up the American labor market to competition with foreign workers. There is NO long-term benefit to ANYONE from such policy. It does not help American industry in the long-run, nor does it help American workers. Corporate America is taking short-term profit gains at the expense of a long-term consumer market decline.

This does not help foreign workers in the long-run, either. Their minuscule wage gains do not make up for the massive American wage losses. This trade-off results in an aggregate reduction in global consumer income, and global demand for production. This, in turn, results in a global reduction in labor demand. The end result is a REDUCTION in global wages, not an increase.

American labor income is not only essential to American domestic consumer demand, it is essential to global consumer demand. Many foreign economies will be hurt if their ability to export to the US declines. And this ability WILL decline if American income is insufficient to purchase their products.

The American consumer market is THE major consumer market of the world. Declining aggregate American income will reduce this market. It will reduce both the American consumer market, and the global consumer market. Bush's "cheap labor" policies are accelerating this reduction. When the "borrowing" bubble collapses, so will the consumer market. It's only a matter of time.

unlawflcombatnt

EconomicPopulistCommentary

http://www.unlawflcombatnt.blogspot.com

Investment does NOT create jobs. It only "allows" for their creation. Increased Demand for goods creates jobs, because it necessitates hiring of workers to produce more goods. Investment "permits" job growth. Demand necessitates it.

Building a factory does NOT create jobs. Demand for factory production creates jobs. Goods are not produced if there is no demand for them. Without demand for goods, there is no demand for workers to produce them. Without demand, no amount of investment creates jobs.

http://www.unlawflcombatnt.blogspot.com/ / Investment does NOT create jobs. It only "allows" for their creation. Increased Demand for goods creates jobs, because it necessitates hiring of workers to produce more goods. Investment "permits" job growth. Demand necessitates it.

Another reader has caught another company trying to pay to low. When will this end???

Post by blog reader
Here's another loser of a job
www.craigslist.org/sfc/mar/75749501.html Look here guys, you may have another "brilliant" idea - another job board and you are going to pay between $10 and $15 an hour for marketing help for four months worth of work... You are so kind as to let ppl work from home, but then make ppl commute to San Francisco and Palo Alto as well and make them do all that work?

Maybe it's me but that seems like a hell of a lot of work for not much of a reward... When will these employers get a friggin' clue and realize that you can't just pay crap and hope that decent employees will come out of the woodwork and apply...

Hell, I have 8 years of Marketing and over 10 years of high tech experience, I could help these guys and promote them like they are the next Google or Yahoo, but for $15 an hour, are they crazy?

Then they want to be "cute" and say "oh, and post a name of a CAD package on the subject line in your e-Mail"... sorry kids, but we don't really care about typing in "Cadence" or "AutoCAD" or whatever you want in the damn subject line... Get a clue... (shaking head)...

Posting by Employer
BuzzMaker! - PR/Copywriter for Niche Job Boards (castro / upper market)
Reply to: mailto:jobs@OPENtalent.com?subject=BuzzMaker%21%20%2d%20PR%2fCopywriter%20for%20Niche%20Job%20Boards%20%20%28castro%20%2f%20upper%20market%29Date: 2005-05-28, 11:25AM PDTWant to come into a startup and make a big impact? OPENtalent is the latest spin-off of Speck Product Design and Speck Products (the makers of iGuy). OPENtalent specializes in niche, full power Open Source Job Boards, where there are no fees for posting jobs and searching resumes (think Craigslist on steroids with absolutely no fees and in specific industries). We are looking for a BuzzMaker to help get the first boards on the map. Our first Job Boards are soon to be released and are focused on the CAD (Computer Aided Design) arena. As a BuzzMaker you will be responsible for refining media lists, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), jumping on discussion boards, organizing viral campaigns, direct mail efforts, exploring opportunities in print and electronic magazines, generating PR and many other ideas we have and many more that we have yet to uncover. As a BuzzMaker, you will help shape the public awareness and image of the company. As we are a small and growing company, we wear many hats. This position would also involve some sales support, marketing list generation, and general administration.

The ideal candidate should:
• Be passionate and excited about making measurable impact and changing an industry
• Be organized and detailed oriented
• Be a self-starter and comfortable working on their own
• Experience in the following is a plus: --> PR - Knowing how to get the word out --> SEO - So we pop up high in internet searches --> Coding - To generate and manage mail lists
• Interest in the product design industry a plus, too!

This position is available immediately, is approximately a 4-month term (subject to negotiation) and you will be working with me (Tony), one of the owners. Most of the work can be done from your home, some will be done in San Francisco and occasional travel to our office in Palo Alto will be required. Please send your resume, a short cover letter to the address below and be sure to include one CAD package in the subject line of the e-mail. You don't have to know one offhand, but you should be able to find one pretty easily on the web..... I hope. We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Compensation: $10-$15/hr
Hiring Organization: OPENtalent, Inc.

This is an email that we got from someone who wrote a note to an employer who posted an ad on craigslist.com. This employer wants to pay $10.00 AN HOUR!!! How much more pathetic does it get??? I've enclosed the post and the job posting by the employer.

Post on craigslist.com
Email to companies that lowball
www.craigslist.org/sby/wri/75545761.html
The last 5 years, I've read and heard enough from friends, and experienced myself how hiring managers want to pay sweatshop rate but want to find the "best fit" - well qualified workers who're willing to be lowballed and work like a dog. It really makes me sick. Anyway, I just emailed to the address on the above ad and gave them my thoughts. (I used "pathetic", "lowballing" and "bad reputation"...) On second thought, giving feedback to those HR rep is probably useless.... I was thinking those of us who feel strongly about this offensive employment practice should write to their CEO and VP of HR. Your thoughts?

Post by employer
Data Analysis Specialist (mountain view)
Reply to: jobs@trovix.comDate: 2005-05-26, 4:58PM PDTPart time or Full time Temporary position (Summer) Trovix, Inc. is developing next generation search agent technology, initially being used to help companies recruit the best talent available.

Trovix technologies are based on many years of research and development at MIT. We are backed by top-tier venture capital firms and Stanford University Specific experience is not required but we are looking for a bright, computer literate, quick learner to work in our fast paced software startup company.

You must be comfortable working within an environment of highly educated and motivated individuals. We will provide the specific training necessary to accomplish the tasks required of this position. We are an innovative company with a fun, team-oriented environment.

This position will report into the Quality Assurance department and will be primarily focused on helping to build test cases and improve the quality of the Trovix Recruit application.

Job Role: • Work with internal engineers and staff to help create a master knowledgebase of industry terms. • Work on developing a set of candidate test data to run automated regression tests against in order to ensure high quality product releases • Using information provided, manually create test case data sets for candidate resumes and job descriptions • Evaluate and review candidate resumes to help identify software product problems and improve overall search result quality Location: • Mountain View • Shuttle’s are available from local CalTrain / Light rail train stations
Compensation: $10 per hour (plus productivity bonuses)
This is a part-time job.

It's ready to rain in Chicago. Let's hope things improve for the week. What's new in the world?

I found this on DailyKos.com. It's the unauthorized biography of Dick Cheney. Enclosed is the post from DailyKos and a link to the article. The material in his bio is MINDBLOWING!!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/5/29/04015/0304
Devastating Cheney doco viewable online!by HollywoodOz
[Subscribe]Sat May 28th, 2005 at 22:40:15 CSTCanada's CBC puts together some of the best documentary journalism you're ever likely to see, and they just showed what is, in my eyes, the most devastating, clear, concise, irrefutable expose on Dick Cheney that you will ever see. This is the kind of doco that even a red-blooded red stater would have trouble walking away from without changing their next vote, and I compel you to spend the next 42 minutes of your life taking it in for yourself. Diaries :: HollywoodOz's diary :: :: Trackback ::

Sy Hersh is interviewed, Joe Wilson, James Woolsey, former aides, former federal agents, and it covers everything from Cheney's DUI arrest to the proof that he still gets paid by Halliburton. The doco originally aired just before the last Presidential election, but having just seen it now and noticing that it's viewable online, I felt I just had to diary the thing. Watch it, send it to your friends, sit your red state relatives down in front of it, get the word out there.

Dick Cheney: An unauthorized biography
http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/dickcheney/ascent.html

This was taken from the Chicago Tribune. Enclosed is the URL. There's alot of good work going in Iraq. This war was WRONG but we support the people who are there doing an outstanding job and putting their life on the line everyday.

He's busted - in a flash!Condom-wearing man nabbed by jogging female cop
By KERRY BURKE and CORKY SIEMASZKODAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

John Dee Kelly-->A Manhattan banker wearing only a condom ambushed a female jogger on the Jersey Shore - but had to scram when she turned out to be a cop, prosecutors said yesterday. The officer threatened to blast 39-year-old John Dee Kelly with pepper spray and later got the plate number off his rented car, enabling cops to track the suspect down."He picked the wrong person to attack," said Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Robert Honecker.

"This was a quick-thinking officer."Kelly, who lives in Jersey City, rented a car from Hertz at Newark Airport on May 15 and drove to Union Beach, N.J., where he stripped down to his condom and laid in wait in the woods near a jogging trail, police said.Around 1:30 p.m., Kelly allegedly pounced on the jogger but quickly found himself facing off with a furious female officer, police said.

Kelly quickly retrieved his shorts and shirt and ran to his rented car, where he draped the shirt over the back plate to elude his pursuer, police said. But the officer stripped the shirt off the tag as Kelly was peeling out, police said.Now investigators are checking whether Kelly, who travels the country balancing the books and selling services to JPMorgan Chase bank's corporate customers, was involved in other attacks."We've determined that over the last 27 months he's rented cars from Hertz at 18 different cities," Honecker said. "We've provided information to those jurisdictions to see if there have been similar incidents, and we've had a number of agencies contact us."

Honecker did not identify the female officer, who is in her 30s, or the department she works for. He said she was not injured in the alleged attack.Kelly surrendered to Union Beach, N.J., police 11 days later and was identified by the officer in a six-man lineup. He pleaded not guilty yesterday to attempted sexual assault and lewdness charges and was being held in the county jail in lieu of $202,500 bail.

JPMorgan Chase officials declined to comment on Kelly.Honecker said he believed Kelly was a vice president at the bank. Bank sources described him as midlevel sales executive in the Treasury and Securities Services unit.Originally hired by Bank One about five years ago, Kelly became part of JPMorgan Chase when the two banks merged, the sources said.

A worker at the Liberty Towers, a luxury building on Jersey City's Gold Coast, said Kelly lived alone and commuted to work "by limo.

"Two detectives from Union Beach came looking for Kelly on Tuesday, the worker said. "They had a picture of him but he wasn't home," he said.Kelly surfaced after the cops split and told the worker that their investigation "was squashed.""He said he had cleared it up," he said. "He said if the police come back, to call him."

This is how pathetic the recruiting has become on this country. When you read the end of this job posting, you'll vomit and pass out!!

Matchmaking Agency Recruiter
Reply to: employment@vxopartners.comDate: 2005-05-27, 6:22PM EDTRecruiter position available for exclusive private search/matchmaking agency in New York (Manhattan area) We are looking for an extremely outgoing, fearless and energetic individual with great people skills and who knows how to source the kind of men we are looking for. We are looking for attractive, successful, relationship minded guys 21-40. We are in the business of matching successful gay men to other gay men who are seeking a LTR. The position may require attendance at upscale parties, social or charitable functions and gay nightclubs on an as needed basis. You will initiate contact with prospective matches. We anticipate one night a week (you must be available on weeknights or weekends). Transportation, cell phone, computer required (for paperwork). Hourly plus bonus for each qualified individual recruited. To learn more about VXO Partners, visit our website at http://vxopartners.com No phone calls please. Make sure to send your resume with subject line: ATTENTION: NYC RECRUITER with [optional picture in jpg format] to: employment@vxopartners.com Thank you for your interest!
Job location is Manhattan

Compensation: Hourly plus bonus
This is a part-time job.
no -- Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
no -- Please, no phone calls about this job!
no -- Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.
no -- Reposting this message elsewhere is NOT OK.

This is a letter from an undergrad and talks about dealing with the employers in this job market which also touches the subject of test taking.

what now?
I recently graduated from college with a BBA bachelor of business administration....in of all things entrepreneurship. i can't find a job anywhere i got an "interview" for a sales job but the company makes you take these online assessment tests and my results came back and they were completely opposite of what they wanted in a sales person. so scratch sales off, but i was offered to take another test for customer service. im going in to take the customer service test because i need a job bad, but I feel like im more than someone who works in customer service. what kind of advancement can someone have working in customer service?

This is an article that was found on nytimes.com. I'll enclose the URL. Registration is required to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/24/business/24jobs.html?

After three years of unemployment, Allen Gruenhut finally landed a job as director of human resources for a company in the stone business on Long Island. His age, 53, worked against him in his long hunt for work, he contends, and so did the six-figure salary he earned at his last job, in banking.

Allen Gruenhut of Long Island was out of work for three years after losing his job as a senior vice president for human resources at a bank.


"They would not take me seriously at job interviews when I said I would be happy with a lower salary," Mr. Gruenhut said.

Jackie Ellenwood, 31, is still without a job. She worked for three travel agencies over 13 years, until her last job, in Allen Park, Mich., ended in a layoff nine months ago. The industry is shrinking in response to more Internet bookings and cutbacks in corporate travel so Ms. Ellenwood is looking for work elsewhere and studying to become a nurse, confident that health care will continue to expand in an aging America.

"I'm going to stick to my nursing courses," Ms. Ellenwood said, "even if I get a job."
The experiences of Mr. Gruenhut and Ms. Ellenwood help to explain why many of the nation's unemployed are still struggling to get back to work. Not since World War II has long-term joblessness - the percentage of the unemployed out of work for six months or more - been so high for so long after a recession has ended.

The current trouble falls most heavily on people trapped by the shifting sands of the economy. Today, the unemployment rate is relatively low at 5.2 percent and overall hiring has started to pick up again, particularly for younger workers coming out of college and professional schools. But the presence of middle-aged women and better educated white-collar workers among the long-term unemployed has increased.

"There are just not new jobs being created in the things these people did before," said Andrew Stettner, a policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project and co-author of a study of long-term unemployment. "We are firing fewer people than we did in 2001 and 2002, but we are not hiring many people either, and that cuts off the exit route out of unemployment."

At the same time, the incidence of long-term unemployment among the usual victims of earlier eras - less educated blue-collar workers who often lost their jobs in production cutbacks - has fallen.

Several factors seem to be contributing to the rise in long-term unemployment. The swelling cost of company-paid health insurance is "inducing business to be less aggressive in its hiring," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com, a research group based outside Philadelphia.
The baby boomer bulge working its way through the labor force also plays a role; as this large group of workers ages it becomes harder for some who lose their jobs to find new work suited to their skills. And the bursting of the high-tech bubble stranded thousands of workers who are finding it difficult to shift quickly to other fields.

While job creation has accelerated lately, to an average of 240,000 additional jobs a month since February, it remains well below the pace of previous recoveries.

"It looks like employers are very hesitant about the future of the economy," said Lawrence F. Katz, a labor economist at Harvard. "It may be that we will fall into another weak economic period before we get a good recovery and really robust hiring."

After World War II, when traditional industries dominated the economy, the usual pattern was for long-term unemployment to surge during recessions and die away quickly as recoveries took hold. That changed during the early 1990's and is even more evident in the current recovery, which began in November 2001.

Rather than subside as growth resumed, long-term unemployment as a share of total joblessness continued to rise, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It peaked 17 months ago at 23.3 percent and has only gradually tapered off since then, to 21.2 percent in April.
Structural changes in the economy and productivity improvements, reflecting the ability of companies to achieve higher output with fewer or the same number of workers, mean that even growing businesses no longer need to dip as much into the pool of displaced workers.
For example, Toyota Motors of North America, whose sales are rising more rapidly than other automakers in the United States, is holding back on hiring although its plants are operating flat-out. Its payroll, said Dennis Cuneo, a senior vice president, has grown by only 600 jobs this year - all of them at newly opened plants - to a total of just over 32,000 employees Existing factories continue on two shifts a day. Overtime and reconfigured work schedules help to squeeze out more production, without adding third shifts and the hiring that the additional shifts would require.

"We are reluctant to bring people on immediately," Mr. Cuneo said. "We are going to wait and see what we can still get from improvements in productivity. If the demand is sustained, there will come a point where you have to add a shift."
Other concerns play a role in the reluctance to hire, which in addition to driving up the long-term unemployment rate, drives down the number of people willing to actively seek a job and thus participate in the labor force. Sixty-six percent of the working age population was in the labor force in April, down from 66.7 percent at the start of the recovery. That is 1.6 million missing people, enough to raise the unemployment rate to 6.2 percent from its present 5.2 percent - if they all showed up.

Many of those who have stayed in the labor force, seeking work, may be people who were laid off for a long time before they were willing to accept a new job that pays less. Employers, on the other hand, are reluctant to hire those who once earned a higher salary. The fear is they will shift to better jobs at the first opportunity.

That is the story of Mr. Gruenhut, who earned a six-figure salary as senior vice president for human resources at Crédit Agricole Indosuez in New York, until his job there ended in 2002.
In subsequent job interviews, Mr. Gruenhut said: "They thought that even though I said I would be happy with a lower salary, I would be out the door as soon as there was an uptick in the job market. That happened at least a dozen times. I couldn't convince them."
Mr. Gruenhut, who has an M.B.A. from New York University and lives in East Meadow, spent 30 years in banking. But the "implosion in financial services," as he puts it, dried up jobs, forcing him to look elsewhere. As he branched out, his age worked against him. "I did not get face time for plum jobs," he said. And when he did get interviews, his weight sometimes worked against him.

Finally, an acquaintance told him about an opening for a chief of human resources at the Innovative Companies, which is based in Hauppauge and sells marble and granite for construction. He clicked with the chief executive, Mr. Gruenhut said, and he went to work at a six-figure salary that was "considerably lower" than the one he had earned at Crédit Agricole. By that time, he had lost 46 pounds, to just under 200.

"If you think about it," Mr. Gruenhut said, "if you have age and over-weight and silver hair, which people were telling me to dye, those are blockades to landing the job that you want."
Ms. Ellenwood had none of these issues, nor Mr. Gruenhut's education. Right after graduating from high school, in 1992, she went to work for a travel agency, booking hotel reservations and airline tickets for corporate clients. By the time she lost her most recent job, at GET Travel last August, she was earning $670 a week. She spent months trying to land similar work at another agency without success.

"Until the spring of 2004," she said, "we were very busy. It was really stressful, call after call, and then the calls went down to pretty much nothing. We would sit in the office for an hour or two without the phone ringing."

Her unemployment benefits ran out after six months, but she is living in Dearborn with her fiancé, an employed engineer, and that has given her the means to pursue a nursing degree at a community college. While she studies, she hunts for work.

"My bottom line is that I don't want to work in fast food," she said. But even that vow could be broken, she added, if that is finally necessary "to pay the bills."

This is an email and tells a story of the incompetence and ridiculous work conditions that exist.

Should I look for a new job?
I was laid off in January, but found a new job in April. I quit there after 2 weeks for what I thought was my "dream job". My new "dream job" is actually very good experience and I am making great contacts. However, it is a high pressure sales job, and I don't think I'm cut out for it. I work 10-12 hours everyday (with a 10 minute break for lunch) and my boss takes micro managing to the extreme. I cry in the bathroom at work at least 3x a week, and every night I dream about my problems at work. Should I stick it out for the experience or look for another job?

This is a post we found on Craigslist.com. THIS IS PURE DISCRIMINATION

www.craigslist.org > peninsula > finance jobs > Indian mathematicians: multiple regression/discriminant analysislast modified: Wed, 25 May 13:57 PDT
email this posting to a friend
Indian mathematicians: multiple regression/discriminant analysis
Reply to: aksimpson@strategyis.comDate: 2005-05-25, 1:57PM PDTBay Area financial engineering boutique specializing in web-based dashboards for corporate finance decision making needs support for short term client project. Long term potential. Take credit ratios such as debt to equity, cash flow/assets, etc and build multiple regression or discriminant analysis solution to predict bond yields of select group of public companies. Ideally a non-linear equation. 10 hours work. We want to start a relationship then build based upon results.
Compensation: To

This is a story about owners who aren't monitorinng the people they are keeping. This environment is filled with such incompetent and unprofessional people, that it's ripe conditions for a toxic and unproductive work environment.


General question about work
I work in the retail industry and in a very specific field. The people i work with are a very immature bunch. for example.. ex marine who still thinks hes in the military and has only been with the store for less than 3 months. still has to have the acceptance and approval attitude. a girl who wants people to do as she says not as she does.. somehow she got into the management level of things. loves to argue about everything and of course is always right,even when wrong. she will even argue with the employees when were busy with customers. she has seniority over about 2 people and 1 that is part time out of 9. very arrogant. when these two people are gone at the same time, its a nice place to work. I am probly the oldest there and the most mature (IMO) I dont know but this seems to be a problem and the owners for some reason dont want to address the problem. or is the problem with me?

Well, the INCOMPETENT hr people have done it again. I don't know how much more close to discrimination a person can come to. When I read this, it broke my heart. The HR profession has really sunk to a new low. This story shows how incompetent and unprofessional some of the HR people are.

Discrimination against the immigration status
I was devestated to learn yesterday that the job that was offered to me last week was taken back because Human resource department was not comfortable with my immigration status. I summitted valid working permit and legal documents of my immigration status and have my lawyer to contact HR and explaneded to them that I am legally allowed to work within United state. But the HR person refused to listen. I had gone to the hiring manager/direct supersisor to explain that the HR's decision was wrongful and unfair but the hiring manager decided to go with HR's sugguestion. I am devestated and extremely hurt by their decision. And I can't believe that this is happening to me...

This is what alot of people are feeling in this market...especially those with a graduate degree.


where else can I look?
I have been on the search for a job for months and have had very little luck. I am in Boston and just graduated with a Master's in Public Administration. Does anyone have suggestions as to where to look for jobs? i feel like there are many jobs out there that I am qualified for but that I am not looking in the right places. Help?

This is an example of employers who are TAKING ADVANTAGE of the job market and are showing how incompetent they are in the recruiting process in addition to their lack of professionalism. When is the insanity going to stop???????????????????????????


Need advice
I have just received a notice for a job and this is what they want me to bring to the interview:
1. 3 recent accomplishments written up
2. A copy of my 3 most recent performance evaluations.
3. a current copy of the organization's annual goals/objectives and work programs.
4. any other appropriate samples of work.
5. a list of 6 professional references.

Now, I have been a contractor working for a small real estate firm moving an old database over and doing support work. I don't have any performance evaluations. Also, I don't think I should provide the company's goals/objectives, as that is information that I feel should remain confidential to my client. I have been an IT Director back in 1998 and 1996 but that is pretty far back. Any advice? Should I just call the County (it's for a director of IT position) and tell them forget it? Thanks.

This is an email we received from a reader who echos the sentiment of ALOT of people who have received a post graduate education. Corporate America has really lashed out and excluded ALOT of educated and smart candidates who are articulate and bright.

Wasted time with a master's
I thought that having a master's would make me more marketable, but it's been a year since I have graduated and I am still without a job. What's the point of plucking down the money for school when all you end up with is more student loans?

This is another letter that came to us from a reader who worked for Nick Utton who is a HERRENDOUS person.

Dear America's Work Stories,

I had the unfortunate experience of having to work for Nick Utton at JPMorganChase. I don't know where the bank found him but he can't even communicate verbally what tasks he needs done. People have to leave him voicemail to tell him what to say and what not to say at a meeting. He's not very bright emotionally and creates unbelievable employee relation issues. I'm writing this so no one else ever takes a job working for him. I have to pinch myself because I can't believe he's in a communication profession. It's sickening how people get their jobs and keep them. Thank you for this blog. It's a great service to the American people.

This is another email that discusses Corporate America's and the Agency Recruiters behavior towards the candidates during their jobhunt.

Recruiter not responding after phone interview
Here's the situation. I recently have a technical phone interview at a large software company. I was asked easy questions and it went really well. The recruiter told me previously that she expects feedback in a couple of days. Well, it's been a week, and she hasn't gotten back to me. I emailed her, and she said that the interviewer hasn't given her feedback, and didn't seem like she cared. I would like to work there, but don't want to sit around forever wondering if the interviewer is even still with the company. Any advice?

This is an email we received and wanted to share with you. Again, it demonstrates the type of recruiting that's happening in this company.

Strange Encounter
Recruiter calls me *after 7 pm* . tells me he is from a well known software co. already has my old resume. wants a new one for an immediate opening in the company. wants it right there and then. that's a bit odd since it is after hours. what's the rush? and why the late call? he also asked about my last employer and salary. while on the phone, i look up his number in the reverse directory. It is his home. He asks me to email my resume to his email address, which is @bigcompanyname.com .

I call the big company and ask the computerized voice attendant for him by saying his full name. He is not in their records. but the computer says I can record a message and have it delivered to his email. Is this a little odd ? Should I email this person my resume ? The manner of this call was not professional at all, esp. for a company like you-know-who.

I found this on Craigslist.com and it's so true. Corporate America has no regard for the job seekers. AnitaP hit the nail on the head and echos what many job seekers have experienced in Bushies jobmarket.

Attention Employers!!!!! < AnitaP > 05/25 22:17:30
I like Craigslist Job Listings. BUT I find it unfortunate that so many employers will not identify themselves, but at the same time expect potential applicants to send ALL of their personal information to a Craigs List email account.

You may be a legitimate company, but there is no way that the applicant knows that. I will not send my resume unless the name of the company is provided. I send an email to the address provided and ask for the name of the company, but I have yet to ever get anyone to respond back....which tells me a lot about the company.

So the way that I see it, is that it is no loss to me. In this day an age I don't understand why an employer who has to take many precautions to protect it's business cannot understand that applicants have to submit many resumes before they get a job. And the applicant should at least know where this information is going.

For all I know is that these anoynomous companies could be gathering data for spam, fraud, telemarketing, and/or to sell. Please at least provide the name of your company....why are you hiding?

Now, anyone who's been properly trained and educated on how to interview KNOWS that you're supposed to review the person's resume BEFORE an interview. This email sums up what's happening inside of Corporate America in terms of their unprofessional and thoroughly rude behavior towards the candidates. When you read the resume before, you can put together questions that will help you delve for more information so you can choose the person. This is PURE INCOMPETENCE AND IDIOCY.


Interviewer read my resume in front of me
This manager (not the hiring manager) walked in and told me he had not read my resume as yet....he's one of 5 on the interview schedule sent to me 2 days ago. Is it cosidered rude, unprofessional and not taking the position I applied seriously?

Here's an email we received. This is HOW UNPROFESSIONAL THE HR PEOPLE ARE!!! This post clearly demonstrates how INEXPERIENCED this person was.

Dear America's Work Stories,

weird hr woman
a job was posted on a board today. I send my resume to the specified email. she writes back, telling me that the manager is out of the countery for one week... and by the way, how much do you make now ? how lame can these hr types get ?

This is a letter that came to us from someone who did some temp work for Diageo's Marketing Executives at a focus group. These Executives were traveling from the London and New York office.

Dear America's Work Stories,

I was doing some temp work while conducting my job search in this Bush economy. I was at Plaza Research in Rosemont, Illinois (don't ever hire them to do any focus groups for you) and Executives that were holding the focus group were rude, condescending and obnoxious. I have post graduate degree and have managed people before. I have never treated anyone the way theses Executives treated me. The focus group was about expanding their brand and they didn't realize that they were damaging it with their behavior. Corporate America is deaf and dumb to their behavior and actions towards others.

Anything new?

Accuquote of Northbrook, Illinois is taping phone interviews of candidates during their phone screens. Now the CEO, Byron Udell WHO IS AN ATTORNEY (how do you like that for stupid and incompetent) is ALLOWING this practice to take place.

This is thoroughly unprofessional, an invasion of privacy and the reason the company gave was to bring the tape to the hiring manager so the manager doesn't have to take time out of their day to interview someone if they're not a good candidate. This is PURE LAZINESS.

Dr. Pidgeon CEO and Scott Buchner CFO are both on the "executive" level (of the childish typ) at the Animal Medical Center in NYC. We had an employee write in to tell us what their experience was like with these two. Again, this is another situation where there's no accountability in the work place and everyone is getting away with their innapropriate behavior towards their subordinates.

Dear America's Work Stories,

I'm writing to let you know about Dr. Guy Pidgeon and Scott Buchner at the Animal Medical Center in NYC. Dr. Pidgeon is the CEO and Scott is the CFO. Scott is SO ABUSIVE to his subordinates who are all older than he is. This is issue is not addressed and if he were to be working in another organization, they would not keep him as an employee. Dr. Piedgeon is neglecting his duty as an administrator and does not address these behavioral problems. Dr. Pidgeon is also very slimey to deal with. He's not very straightforward with people and trusts no one. His people skills are very low and so are his communication skills. How is it that these Executives keep their jobs??

Thank you so much for your time and thank you for this blog,

This is your chance to tell us what's happening!!!

I fell over ROARING LAUGHING when I read this on democraticunderground.com. The Main Stream Media has FAILED in their jobs miserably and are being paid to do nothing. Enclosed is the link and obituary. ENJOY!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/05/05/25_memoriam.html
In Memoriam: the Television News Media (1950 - 2005)
May 25, 2005
Obituary by Nancy Greggs

After a lengthy illness, the Television News Media (TNM) finally succumbed to a combination of lapses in professionalism and ethics, complicated by an obvious loss of the will to live.
Born in the early Fifties, the TNM grew from its infancy and developed as a strong, easily accessible news source for a constantly growing number of viewers, supported by the talents of informed investigative journalists.

During its frequently-troubled adolescent years, TNM found its voice and was often outspoken on the issues of the day, both domestic and international. Not afraid to criticize the government and its policies, TNM regularly investigated its own stories, and often took the initiative to look behind White House press releases and other suspect sources.
The TNM ventured, unafraid and uncensored, into coverage of events like Watergate, and was widely credited with turning the tide of public opinion against American involvement in Viet Nam by bringing the true horrors of war, as well as the lies being told about it, to the American public.

Upon hearing of TNM's untimely passing, childhood friends reminisced about their departed friend, who had earned the nickname "VP" (Vigilant Press) back in the halcyon days of early broadcasting.

"We started noticing the symptoms on Inauguration Day, January 2001," explained a long-time friend. "There were thousands of protesters lining the streets along Bush's route, but TNM was adamant in its refusal to show them. We should have realized then that something was terribly wrong. It seemed so out of keeping with the TNM we'd grown up with."

In the lead-up to the war in Iraq, it was obvious that TNM was in failing health. Stories generated by the White House about WMD, a connection to 9/11 and Al Qaeda affiliations aired without any questions being asked.

"Back in the day," observed a long-time TNM colleague, "a story as bogus as that would never have gotten past the cue-card writers – it was that full of holes."
By the time the 2004 presidential campaign was in full swing, TNM was out of control. Rumours about wild Swift Boat parties began circulating, and viewers were left to their own ingenuity to try to ferret out any real information.

"It seemed unable to focus," commented one angry viewer. "The whole time questions were being asked about Bush's military record, TNM was arguing about the legitimacy of everyone's sources. Fair enough. But it got so caught up in the minutia of who was saying what, the real story about Bush's whereabouts during his so-called military service was completely lost."
In the aftermath of the election, TNM began showing signs of forgetfulness. Although two months of investigation into vote fraud, in Ohio and elsewhere, were ongoing, TNM failed to even mention it.

"There was a time when a story like that would have been all over the airwaves," said a disgruntled former colleague. "But all TNM seemed to be interested in was Scott Peterson, and Brad and Jen breakin' up – whoever they are."

"I think TNM kind of rallied when the Valerie Plame and Abu Ghraib scandals surfaced," commented a more compassionate viewer. "You know, all that talk about getting to the bottom of things, and demanding answers – it was great while it lasted. For a minute there, it was almost like the old days. But there was never any follow-through, and – well, you know the rest."

By the spring of 2005, TNM had deteriorated to the point where it had to be hooked up to a TelePrompTer, apparently fed directly by the Administration, the right-wing, and corporate interests. Polls showed that a vast majority of viewers favoured pulling the plug.

Dementia had set in, and TNM started babbling incoherently about runaway brides and other nonsense, obviously unable to speak rationally about the economy, job outsourcing, soaring gas prices and the disastrous situation in Iraq.

"I think it was failure to cover the Downing Street Memo story that did it in," said a (former) devoted viewer. "It was like ol' TNM just didn’t have any fight left in him. That’s when we knew it was over," he added, too overcome by emotion to continue.

The White House has yet to issue any formal statement on TNM's passing, but spokesperson Scotty McClelland called the idea of the death of ethical journalism "absurd."
"You just have to look at the up-and-comers like Jeff Gannon to realize that honesty and integrity are flourishing in today's creative news-gathering environment."
While official autopsy findings have not been disclosed, it is widely acknowledged that TNM's illness was contagious, having already spread to the radio and print news media.

The deceased is survived by websites and blogs, who reluctantly took control of the family business when TNM proved too weak-minded to carry out its duties responsibly.
Memorial services will not be held, due to what is obviously a total lack of interest on anyone's part.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to appropriate websites.

This story comes to us from someone at Goldman Sachs in the NYC office and this person has had an opportunity to see this executive interact with the people and environment around her. The culture within Goldman is very vertical (meaning very top down) and very demanding. The people are RUDE and ARROGANT. The assistants who work for the heads of the departments are treated very poorly and are exposed to corruption and ill managed executives who are arrogant, egocentric and self centered people with no sense of reality and some have HERRENDOUS MORALS AND VALUES.

Dear America's Work Stories,

Carol V. Pledger is in the Human Resource Department in and is one of the worst HR Managers I've ever met in my life. Her reputation across the firm is HORRIBLE. She's incredibly insensitive and irresponsible with her words. She has all the characteristics of a murderer in terms of her behavior and words and her lack of ability to understand how they impact others. She makes statements that are uninformed from an HR perspective. It sounds, look, and feels like she hasn't had ANY psychology classes and is THOROUGHLY UNWARE OF HERSELF. She's not intouch with herself AT ALL. She lives in a fictional world and is tempermental and NASTY!!!! She has no concept of how she impacts other people. We also want to know how she's keeping her job with her incompetence and ongoing interpersonal and communication issues that she has with everyone? It feels like someone is helping her keep her job no matter how large her mistakes are or how many large mistakes she makes. The question is HOW IS SHE KEEPING HER JOB!!!!!! IT SMELLS VERY VERY FISHY!!!! She is rewarded for her horrible behavior and incompetence. This behavior should not be rewarded or allowed ESPECIALLY in an HR setting.

She is arrogant, RUDE, HAS NO RESPECT FOR OTHER PEOPLE and has no concept how her actions impact other people. Her behavior and incompetence as an HR Manager is so disgusting that every time you call someone else in in the firm for Carol the response is "oh Carol Pledger..(ewwwww, groan )". Goldman Sachs is NOT holding their Executives responsible for their behavior and reward them for their arrogance and incompetence. Elliot Spitzer would have a field day in here with all the lawsuits. The culture and people are very retalitory, have no common sense and are arrogant like the White House.

Thank you Thank you for all of your time and for this blog. This allows the American people to share WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING inside the American workplace.

Really Disgusted

# posted by AmericasReporter : Wednesday, May 25, 2005  0 comments

Below is an article that discusses Bushie's COMPLETE DISCONNECT with the American people and with the employement/unemployment/work place issues that exist in our country. I've also attached the URL for you to read the post on http://www.democraticunderground.com.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1789623

paineinthearse (1000+ posts)
Tue May-17-05 06:26 PMOriginal message
* demonstrates how detached he is from the plight of the average worker
Edited on Tue May-17-05 06:38 PM by paineinthearse
In heralding the statistically obvious fact that "more Americans are working today than ever in our nation's history," - http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/05/20050516.html - * suggested the economy has never performed better for all Americans.Yet a Gallup Poll reports that "fewer than 4 in 10 Americans (38%) say now is a good time to find a quality job, while the majority of adults nationwide, 59%, say it is a bad time." -

http://www.gallup.com/poll/content/default.aspx?ci=15772
American Public Opinion About Unemployment and Jobs Tuesday, May 17, 2005by
Joseph Carroll
Good or Bad Time to Find a Job? Fewer than 4 in 10 Americans (38%) say now is a good time to find a quality job, while the majority of adults nationwide, 59%, say it is a bad time, according to a May 2-5 Gallup Poll. The percentage of Americans saying it is a good time to find a quality job has shown little fluctuation over the past several months -- averaging 38% in February, 37% in March, and 38% in April -- but is slightly higher than Gallup found in January, when 33% said it was a good time to find a quality job. Over the past several years, perceptions about the job market have been more negative than Gallup's current findings. In 2001, across four polls conducted from August through December, 28% of Americans, on average, said it was a good time to find a quality job. The yearly average declined two points in 2002, to 26%, and fell even further, to 21%, in 2003. Last year, the average increased to 32%.

Unemployment as the Most Important Problem - The May 2-5 poll finds that without prompting, 8% of Americans mention unemployment or jobs as the most important problem facing the country today. The top problems this month, according to Americans, are the situation in Iraq (21%) and the general state of the economy (12%), followed by Social Security (9%), fuel prices (8%), unemployment, and healthcare (7%). The number of people mentioning unemployment or jobs in response to this "most important problem" question has remained steady for the past four months, but was slightly higher, at 11%, in January. In recent years, the average number of mentions of unemployment on a yearly basis was 6% in 2001, 7% in 2002, 12% in 2003, and 14% in 2004. The perception that unemployment or jobs are the nation's top problem has been considerably higher historically. In 1945, at the close of World War II, 77% of Americans mentioned unemployment or jobs as the most important problem. In the mid-1980s and again in the early 1990s, there were points when roughly one in four Americans mentioned unemployment or jobs.

Financial Worries- Gallup's annual survey on the economy and personal finance, conducted April 4-7, asked Americans to specify their level of worry about seven financial issues. The results show that Americans are most worried about not having enough money for retirement (30% very worried and 30% somewhat worried) and not being able to pay medical costs caused by a major illness or accident (30% very and 22% somewhat worried). Next on the list for Americans is not being able to pay medical costs for normal healthcare (23% very and 19% somewhat worried), not being able to maintain their own standard of living (14% very and 27% somewhat worried), not having enough money to pay normal monthly bills (13% very and 17% somewhat worried), and not being able to pay rent, mortgage, or housing costs (10% very and 13% somewhat worried). At the bottom of the list is not being able to make the minimum payments on credit cards (7% very and 9% somewhat worried).

Well, while the White House and Newsweek try and clean up this disaster they've created in the Muslim world AND NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN CORPORATE AMERICA, what do you hear and what do you know????????????


We know that there are stories out there!!! Have you heard or seen anything interesting???

I found a quote on http://www.democraticunderground.com about Baby Bushie's reign of terror (literally terror). When you're pResident, you know that your in trouble when Homer Simpson comes out and says this about you to the whole world.

Great Quote from the SimpsonsPosted by FinallyStartingToWinAdded to homepage Mon May 16th 2005, 09:50 AM ET
Homer, on bart getting expelled:"and if you get expelled from that school, then you're going to military school, where you'll be sent to the next war quagmire. What will it be next, North Korea, Iran, Who knows? Anything's possible with mr. cuckoobananas in charge!"I was laughin my ass off!!! It is now my new fav simpson's quote!
Discuss this topic (108 responses)

This is an email that we received and wanted to share with you. This is what is happening in the financial world. Other companies in NY such as Goldman Sachs, CSFB & JPMorganChase also have HERRENDOUS work environments FILLED with arrogant and nasty people. It clearly demonstrates that corporate america isn't listening nor paying attention to the people that they are retaining.

Dear America's Work Stories,

I'm working for the Bank of NY and have had the unpleasant experience of working with Louis Di Franco and Ben Balkind. I have never ever worked with such hostile, aggressive, rude and arrogant people. The other employees CAN'T STAND EITHER OF THESE PEOPLE and they have no people skills whatsoever. Louis went to Princeton University and has his nose stuck so far into the air that you'd think his normal standing position has his nose pointing straight up.

The bank is in such INTERNAL CHAOS and they are so incompetent that they are unable to identify their issues and solve them. Thank you for listening and would you happen to know any good consultants????


Very Very disgusted with these MISERABLE co-workers & with the Bank of NY.

Anything new?? What's happening in the news????????????????????

This is a post I found on dailykos.com. This and other unbelievable things are happening all over America in many different work environments. This truly reflects what's happening at Subway.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/5/16/112511/731

Plea for legal advice: My work is trying to Screw Me!by Stampy51
[Subscribe]Mon May 16th, 2005 at 09:25:11 CSTDear Fellow Kossacks,
I come to you now in an hour of dire need. My work is going to withhold my paychecks due to an issue of stolen money. I not believe this is fair or legal, but I do not know for sure and do not know if there is anything I can do.

Some background information:I am a college student with extremely limited income. I work part-time at Subway in our small college town. The Subway is "managed" by an older woman who does not do her job. You are thinking, "Ah another disgruntled employee and his slanted story!" and yet while I agree there is a slant, consider these objective statements after the fold. Diaries :: Stampy51's diary :: :: Trackback ::
we do not keep inventorythere is no security whatsoever (cameras etc)I am the senior employee with 5 months experiencewe take on and lose new employees at the rate of one a weekour work schedule is not made or posted until hours before it is to take effecttheft is rampant. the manager pads her hours (she works from 9:30 until 1 or 2 five days a week but pulls in checks with overtime)there is no accountability whatsoever money is sometimes left on top of the register or other obvious places in the openhigh school girls as young as 15 are left to tend the store alone from the hours of 8pm until whenever they finish cleaning up (usually midnight)

Given the circumstances of my work conditions, I am not surprised that over $300 was stolen last weekend. I worked one shift that weekend, and as there is no manager or any sort of check-up until Monday, every employee that worked that weekend is being held accountable. I really cannot afford to let them keep my pay, and I cannot afford to seek help, so I ask you now to please direct me to some resources or offer any advice. My goal is to write a sufficiently legal sounding letter to bluff them out of stealing my pay.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely yours,
Joel Byron

Baby Bushie's oil and revenge-for -the-attempted-assassination-of-my-daddy war in Iraq has created numerous additional horrible conditions and one being child labor. The enclosed article details what is happening on this issue in this war torn country.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/051505B.shtml
Iraq: Focus on Child Labour Reuters
Tuesday 10 May 2005
Baghdad - Eleven-year-old Mahmoud al-Obaidi walks seven km every morning to get to work at a carpentry factory in Baghdad so he can save his bus fares.

Al-Obaidi is the only male in his family of four, as his father disappeared five years ago and he works to support his family. On average he spends nearly 10 hours a day in the factory earning a living.

"I didn't have a choice. Work was the only option. I cannot deny that I would like to be at a school, learning like other children. But I know the responsibility that I have to carry," al-Obaidi told IRIN, as he walked to work.
He boy is only one of thousands of Iraqi children forced by poverty to work at an early age.
More than a million youngsters work often enduring hazardous conditions, as well as being vulnerable to sexual abuse and violence, according to a report released at the end of 2004. The report was based on a nationwide survey in which 19,610 Iraqis participated.

The project was a joint effort between the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and several Iraqi ministries, including the Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Public Works and Social Affairs (MoPWSA) and the Ministry of Education (MoE).

Nearly 250 students aged between nine and 14 dropped out of school to begin work between January and March, according to a report by the MoE. Officials say that number is likely to increase following the downturn in the country's economic fortunes in the post-Saddam era.

"Our children are leaving schools and they represent the future of Iraq. If the government guarantees a better life for their families for sure they won't have to work and for this reason urgent action should be taken by the new Iraqi government," a senior official at the MoE, Khalid Youssef, told IRIN.

Children Working to Survive
The main reason for child labour in Iraq is poverty. Nearly 25 percent of the country's population lives below the poverty line, according to the interim government.

There is also a strong culture of child labour in Iraq. Even with free schools and universities in the country, many families won't allow youngsters to attend school, saying that it is important for them to go out and work as early as possible according to experts.

"I believe that we marry and have children to alleviate our lives from work. My father made me work at the age of nine and I sent my children to work when they were 10. There is nothing wrong with that, especially for families who do not have good financial support like mine," Omar Adnan, a father of three, told IRIN.

Most street children in the capital work and can be seen selling cigarettes, newspapers and other small household items.

Markets and industry also employ large numbers of children who are usually forced undertake dangerous, arduous jobs for low pay, enduring long hours, according to the Ministry of Industry (MoI) and Ministry of Trade (MoT).

Statistics
According to the 2004 survey, nearly 1,300,000 children, aged between eight and 16 were working. This represents 6.1 percent of the country's population.

In addition, the survey revealed long working hours, with 27 percent of children working for more than eight hours daily.

Those who start working at an early stage were found to be mainly from the rural areas, the survey said, because of more harsh economic conditions there.

"The lack of security and political uncertainties have left economic activities stunted and social safety nets disrupted, while unemployment and poverty have deepened. Under these circumstances, more children and youths have been driven to work or beg on the streets, or toil at various labour sites, often under hazardous conditions, in order to supplement dwindling family incomes," a spokeswoman for UNICEF, Ban Dhayi, told IRIN from the Jordanian capital, Amman.

Some of these children and youths are the sole breadwinners of the family due to the death, disability or unemployment of their parents, Dhayi added.

"Working children were already researched and documented in northern Iraq and were seen in southern and central Iraq before the war, but the socio/economic circumstances of Iraq following the war in 2003 are seen to have pushed more children to the streets and worksites," the UNICEF official said.

Many children also make a living through drugs and prostitution, perceived to be easier ways of earning money, according to the Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS).

"Children should be in schools and not on the streets or working in dangerous places where no one will take responsibility for them," a spokeswoman for the IRCS, Firdous al-Abadi, told IRIN.
Hazardous Work
Nearly nine percent of child workers had been injured, according to the UNICEF 2004 survey and nearly 58 percent of working children interviewed had suffered violence.

Doctors in the capital said they treat at least one child injured at work every day, most hurt by exposure to dangerous chemicals.

Dr Haydar al-Yassin, at the Yarmouk hospital, the largest emergency facility in the country, told IRIN that it is common for employers to lie about how the injuries were sustained, so they don't have to take responsibility.

"Children work in hazardous environments and there is no law to protect them. Sometimes the child dies in hospital due to the injuries. Last week we had a case where a child's entire body was burned after a gas cooking cylinder exploded in a kitchen at a local restaurant," al-Yassin explained.

The MoH also reported that sick children only seek medical help after becoming seriously ill.
In addition, a January 2005 study by the MoH, in partnership with the MoPWSA, found that nearly 55 percent of children, who work in rural areas, suffer from skin diseases.

Those in workshops and large industries also showed high incidences of respiratory problems following exposure to harmful chemicals and gases.

Government Action
Projects to prevent the abuse of working children and to promote more schooling have been implemented.

In April, the government banned shopkeepers and industry from employing children under the age of 14. Those who do not obey the law may be subjected to huge fines.

The penalty varies from US $100 to $300 but persistent offenders may be closed down. Whether the law will be implemented remains to be seen.

In addition, youngsters found working in these industries may receive a payment of $50 and continued support from the government, so that they do not have to go back to work and can return to their studies.

"Our ministry has had success and hundreds of children have returned to schools and left work where they were being abused and were receiving poor salaries," minister of public work and social affairs, Leila Abdul-Lattef, told IRIN.

The MoPWSA also supported the opening of Mercy House in Baghdad, a place where the poorest children and most disadvantaged members of Iraqi society are offered assistance.
Street children, who beg or are forced to work, receive support at the centre, which offers education and protection from abuse and violence.

The MoPWSA has also asked the new Iraqi government to ensure children are protected under the new constitution.

"The abuse on the streets against children's rights is frequent and we will continue our work to change this and bring security and a better future for each Iraqi child," Abdul-Lattef added.
-------

AON has a variety of issues and Elliot Spitzer being the least of them. Word is from several people who are well educated and seasoned are not getting any response from AON for positions that they are VERY VERY well qualified for. Also, we've noticed that AON is posting, posting, posting and REPOSTING for the VERY SAME POSITIONS. Sounds like things are not functioning very well inside of the organization and within the recruiting group. Very sad for a company that's supposed to be a consulting firm. (It's absolutely RIDICULOUS. How much more absurd and ridiculous can a consulting firm's organiztional environment & culture become?? Clearly, OUT OF CONTROL. We've heard the same about Deloitte Consulting, Pricewaterhouse and let's not forget the worst company culture in consulting, McKinsey. )

Also we have heard from within the organization that morale is very low and making changes within the organization are moving at a very very slow pace. You'd think after a company makes national headlines, that they would clean up their act. Not this bunch and the other consulting organizations aren't helping themsevles either.

Chat Away.... What's new in your world???

Elliot Spitzer is truly an American Hero for prosecuting Corporate America. He has truly stood on his own two feet and stood up for what's right and just in this country. He has also stood up for the working people who have been squelched by the Bush Adminstration. I hope he becomes the Attorney General in the next Democratic Administration. The labor laws in NY are being completed violated and there is absolutely no regard for the employees or their well being. Mr. Spitzer continues to prosecute the wrongdoing and illegal behavior. Good for you Elliot!! Keep up the excellent work. We here at America's Work Stories are cheering for you!!!!!

If you've lived and worked in NY, what have your experiences been with the companies there???

Mayor Bloomberg should be ashamed of himself and his actions. He closed 6 firehouses after 9/11 in New York City. It's a slap in the face of the fireman because their workload is much heavier and they're reponsible for more buildings. Bloomberg embodies the arrogance and hubris of Corporate America and the GOP.

What are your thoughts????????

This is a story that I found on rawstory.com. It sounds like Corporate America is up to their usual NO GOOD!!

http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/tishman_sues_AP_502.htm
MEDIA
Former employee sues Associated Press for alleged age bias
RAW STORY
The Associated Press has been slapped with a $10 million lawsuit alleging wrongful termination due to age discrimination, RAW STORY has learned.



In federal court in New York City, Jeffrey Tishman sued the Associated Press and several others, among them the AP's chief executive officer, Thomas Curley, former AP CEO Lou Boccardi, former AP executive editor William Ahearn, Donald Pine and Michael Bass.
Tishman is listed as a member of the Committee of Concerned Journalists maintained by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, at journalism.org.
Further details were not immediately available.


Article originally published May 2, 2005.

Well, the employment agencies are just up to their no good per usual. One agency on Chicago's Northshore confirmed that the employment paperwork that the candidate fills out (when they sign up with the agency) gets separated. In other words, the resume is not in the file and the job application is not together with the resume. If this isn't backwards recruiting and disorganization, THEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS? That's not the recruiting I know and not the competent recruiting that should be transpiring.

The second problem we heard about is that the employment agencies are giving personality tests and don't know what test they are giving or don't know about other personality inventories. This is truly amazing. This AGAIN demonstrates that the agencies just don't know what their doing and don't have people who are properly educated and informed about these tests to administer them in a competent and professional manner. The person who told us about this incident relayed the following: the personality inventory was put infront of them and this person asked the recruiter "Which personality test is this? (This person took a Psych Testing class in grad school) The recruiter replied "It's based on Carl Jung". This person then asked the recruiter "Have you heard of the Meyers Briggs?" and the Recruiter replied "No". Now this is ridiculous. The Recruiter is giving a test that doesn't have a name and doesn't know what the Meyers Briggs is WHICH IS based on Carl Jung's theory. That's how incompetent and uninformed the Recruiters are. The employment agencies need to be SERIOUSLY regulated and monitored. This is a horrible scene for a Recruiter to NOT KNOW what the Meyers Briggs is.

Toxic people are defined as those who's personality and functioning pollute the work environment with their hostile environment. This behavior/personality creates a road block in working as a team and functioning cohesivly. Many of the consulting firms and financial firms are loaded with egocentric and arrogant people who poison the environment and create more problems that take away from company productivity.

Do you know any individuals who are toxic or organizations where the environment is poisonous? Please share your story with us!!!

This is a WONDEFUL victory for all all people. The employers have badly abused the American people with their practices for the last four years. The Supreme Court has assisted the American People in fighting the discrimination that is occuring in the American workplace. SeasonedHR


Supreme Court Removes Hurdle to Suits Alleging Age BiasBy LINDA GREENHOUSE Published: March 31, 2005


WASHINGTON, March 30 - Workers who sue their employers for age discrimination need not prove that the discrimination was intentional, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday.
Adopting a pro-worker interpretation of the federal law that prohibits age discrimination in employment, the 5-to-3 decision held that employees can prevail by showing that a policy has a discriminatory impact on older workers, regardless of the employer's motivation.

The decision removed the requirement, imposed by a number of lower federal courts, that employees produce the equivalent of a smoking gun in order to win an age discrimination suit. Since discrimination on the job is often subtle, and proof of motivation often elusive, the need to demonstrate intentional discrimination has led to the dismissal of many lawsuits before trial.
But the Supreme Court's decision, in an opinion by Justice John Paul Stevens, did not leave employers defenseless. They will be able to defend themselves by proving that a challenged policy was based on "reasonable factors other than age."

In fact, the court accepted that defense in the case at hand, a lawsuit brought by a group of older police officers in Jackson, Miss., who challenged the city's decision to give proportionately more generous raises to officers with less than five years on the force, most of whom were younger.
In another case involving age discrimination in the workplace, a federal district judge on Wednesday blocked a Bush administration rule that would have allowed employers to reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they reach age 65.

The appeal by the officers in Jackson reached the Supreme Court after two lower courts - the federal district court in Jackson and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans - ruled that the law required them to prove intentional discrimination and that claims of a discriminatory impact were categorically unavailable.

In rejecting that interpretation of the statute, the Supreme Court nonetheless found that the city's rationale for the differential raises was "unquestionably reasonable." The city had said it needed to raise salaries in the junior ranks in order to become more competitive with other police departments in the region in recruiting and retaining officers. "While there may have been other reasonable ways for the city to achieve its goals, the one selected was not unreasonable," Justice Stevens said.

While the plaintiffs did not win their case, the result of their Supreme Court appeal, Smith v. City of Jackson, No. 03-1160, was to remove a significant ambiguity from a statute that is of growing importance to an aging American workforce. Within five years, half the labor force will be at least 40 years old, the age at which the law's protections apply.

The debate among the lower courts over how to interpret the statute "has been one of the great unresolved conflicts," James J. Brudney, a law professor at Ohio State University and an expert on labor law, said in an interview on Wednesday. He said the decision was surprising given the trend toward foreclosing what are known as "disparate impact" claims.

While it remains to be seen whether employees invoking these claims will prevail in substantially greater numbers, the decision will almost certainly result in more such cases going to trial, rather than being dismissed at the early stages on summary judgment. That prospect, in turn, will require employers to examine any policies that have different impacts on workers of different ages and to make sure that they can justify the policies on a basis other than age.
Professor Brudney said the decision left important questions to be addressed in future cases, such as whether cost-saving can be accepted as a reasonable justification for a policy that falls more harshly on older workers, who are usually among the highest paid. Judges have disagreed on this issue, he said.


While five justices agreed Wednesday that disparate-impact cases should be permitted, they did not agree on the reasoning. Justice Stevens was joined by Justices David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer in concluding that the text of the statute, as well as its consistent interpretation by executive branch agencies, supported the conclusion that such cases should be permitted.

Justice Stevens cited the statute's prohibition of actions that "deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee." He noted that "the text focuses on the effects of the action on the employee rather than the motivation for the action of the employer."

Justice Antonin Scalia said the court did not need to examine the statute itself but should accept the views of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which adopted the disparate-impact interpretation of the statute in a formal rule-making proceeding soon after the law's enactment. "This is an absolutely classic case for deference to agency interpretation," Justice Scalia said.

One curiosity of the case was that the Bush administration did not appear in the Supreme Court to present the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's view of the statute. The solicitor general's office declined to file a brief defending the commission's regulation.

Justice Clarence Thomas, a former chairman of the commission, and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy joined a dissenting opinion by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist did not participate in the case. He had just begun his treatment for thyroid cancer with the case was argued on Nov. 3.

In her opinion, Justice O'Connor emphasized a different portion of the statute. She noted that the law prohibits employers from taking specific actions against an individual "because of such individual's age." The "natural reading" of the text, Justice O'Connor said, was that "an employer is liable only if its adverse action against an individual is motivated by the individual's age."

This was the second consecutive ruling from the court to give a broad interpretation to a federal civil rights law. On Tuesday, the court ruled that the law known as Title IX, which bars sex discrimination in schools and colleges, also prohibits retaliation against those who complain about sex discrimination.

Companies that take to long to fill positions are caused by unreasonable, arrogant, and dysfunctional people who are to picky about th type of candidate that they think they're going to find.

I had a conversation with several recruiters who had clients that were posting certain positions again and again on the internet job boards. These people revealed what I knew was that inside these companies were COMPLETE CHAOS AND DYSFUNCTION. When a company is functioning, these positions get filled and stay filled.

These are some companies that keep posting THE SAME POSITIONS over and over:
1. Allstate
2. Northwestern University
3. Avon
4. Hewitt

Do you know a company that keeps posting the same positions over and over? Please write to us and tell us at usaworkstories@aol.com

this just in at "Job Market" here's my story I DON'T HAVE A JOB!!! § 2005-03-01 13:51:16

# posted by AmericasReporter : Tuesday, March 01, 2005  0 comments

Once employed, have you experienced, seen or heard other people who have experienced racism in the workplace? What happened and what was the outcome in the situation???


Share with us.............others would love to hear your story also!!! :)

Since November 2000, the racism in the recruiting process has become OUT OF CONTROL. Everything that was learned and the training and development that took place, has been thrown out the window. We've heard stories of people being discriminated against because of their address.

We want to hear what your experiences have been like while searching for a position!!!!

We've had several people email and tell us about the temp agencies all over the country and report the following: the agencies are FULL of incompetent and ARROGANT people who just don't understand their function. They also have no comprehension that the candidates become your clients when they get placed irrespective if you place them or they find a position via another method. The corporations where the candidates are being placed are in very bad shape and only add to the problems with all of their RIDICULOUS tests, requirements, LARGE EGOS/ARROGANCE in addition to the incompetent people that they've placed in hiring positions in the HR departements and in hiring manager positions.

If you've had to temp, what type of experiences have you had? Which agencies and clients have you dealt with? We want to hear about your experiences!!!!

Pfizer not only has problems with the drugs that it's selling but they also have problems with the Managers that they're retaining. We received an email that talks about Managers who were sent from the South to the Northeast to help with a project and couldn't manage, couldn't adapt to the environment and were a FAILURE!!!!

Dear America's Work Stories,

I was doing some temp work and was working with Managers who were sent from the South to the Northeast to start a project. These people weren't adjusting to the environment of the Northeast. If we had to go to the South, we would have to adjust and understand their culture. How could Pfizer send such unadjustable people for a project? Moreover, they didnt' have any group skills and didn't understand how they came off to the group. They sounded like a bunch of rednecked hicks. One guy said "Oh boy, when you get Charlie Rangel and Al Sharpton together..it's a mess". The blood drained from my face when I heard this. I was appalled. They created SUCH PROBLEMS for the project and everyone involved, that the Senior Management actually jumped in and had to intervene.

Thank you,
Disgusted.

A side note from America's Work Stories
Pfizer has ENOURMOUS ENORMOUS problems with how they manage their people. They don't provide any training and don't keep people accountable. The type of drugs they're selling isn't their only problem and don't function in reality just like the Bush Administration. The people who did the recruiting and the management are at great fault for allowing a situation to become this bad.

The recruiting in the agencies, non-profit and corporate settings have taken a turn for the worse and we've heard some pretty horrific stories. Stories of blatant racism and illegal questions being asked absolutely abound in every story that we've heard.

What type of experiences have you had with a job interview or recruiter?

As an HR professional, I'm thoroughly shocked at the vertical slide the HR profession has taken in terms of the people in the profession and the manner in which it's functioning (or in some cases, not functioning) There are alot of people who haven't been educated or don't have enough experience in the field to understand it's functioning or how it serves the organization.
The low number of qualified people in Human Resources and Management are also a reflection of the leadership in this country in the last four years and how they have neglected the American workplace.

We'd love to hear your stories!!! What type of HR encounters have you had in the last 4 - 4.5 years.