You Say It Best When You Say Nothing At All

Response to questions forwarded today to HR:
1. When will we be told if we are not being renewed?

What LP said: Please see Dr. Yowell’s e-mail dated 3/24/09 sent to administrative, classified, and faculty.

What it means: Don't bother. You were told on March 23rd, 2009.


2. If we work in July without a contract, will we be paid our old rate or the new rate, whatever it is?

What LP said: Please see e-mail below.

What it means: Meh, they don't know. They didn't think that far ahead. As past is prologue, you'll probably see a big reduction in your pay and benefits. Remember to count your pennies and be thankful you have a job, and be sure to wave when the Inifniti coupe zooms by.

3. Was non-renewal of contracts handed out to everyone?

What LP said: Please see Dr. Yowell’s e-mail dated 3/24/09 sent to administrative, classified, and faculty. Dr. Yowell has a board approved contract effective July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2011.

What it means: Everyone who could be fired was, except probably for those KY needs to shield him from those he's harmed. KY has of course covered his own ample rump; the Board gave him a rolling 3-year, which is sacred and not subject to financial exigency it seems, and thus exists in a separate legal universe from the contracts of tenured faculty.

4. Questions regarding new contract scenario, future salaries, and unemployment.

Please see Dr. Yowell’s e-mail dated 3/24/09 sent to administrative, classified, and faculty. No, you. All other information can be found in the e-mail below. Which is to say, nowhere. Dr. Yowell will continue to send you updates regarding the status of the state budget. And we will continue to disregard them and get our information from sources who can be trusted.

Linda

LP, Strategeric Director of Human Resources.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

What did you expect?

Anonymous said...

God forbid that employees be given the real truth, that would imply that they actually "value you", and that they are concerned about the well being of you and your family. How quickly we forget the feeling---I guess that's what happens when you are boosted to an 80K salary.

Anonymous said...

What truth do you seek? KY has set himself up as judge, jury and executioner come July. He can offer contracts to who he wants. The FACT is that most of the us have formal, signed-for, letters of non-renewal. Look at all the slip-ups in discussions that refer to "re-hiring" -- why do you have to re-hire if they haven't been dismissed or fired? More on this later, gotta run.

Anonymous said...

You dashboard reading is incorrect. The indicator should be at the 6:00 position.

Anonymous said...

That's a big 10-4 on the dashboard ol' buddy, ECC's morale won't move the needle until KY is outta here.

On #3s comment, Yowell has most everyone where he wants, bearing signed-for notices of non-renewal so he can intimidate and fire anyone who dares to question him. Ya' follow?

Now that's some strategeric HR.

Why else do you think all these posts are anonymous? Retribution is alive and well at ECC.

Anonymous said...

Omigosh. Just replace the lettering INGSOC in the picture with ECC and you've got the current Edison pictured!

Anonymous said...

Wasn't paying enough attention. I thought that photo was of the annual Fall command-performance that we all love sooooooooo much. Hard to tell the difference, ya'know.

Anonymous said...

Those registered mail letters ARE a problem. Despite what KY says out one side of his mouth at B of T meetings and any memos stating otherwise, the FACT is that the letters state non-renewal for 2009-2010. This unnecessary and wholly shameful action was approved by the Board. Can you imagine that from this position of dictatorial eminence that KY won't find some reason or other to let at least a couple or three or four people go? Do you trust KY? To do the right thing? To even have any idea what the right thing is? This FACT is a huge PROBLEM, don't just wander off for the summer and hope all goes well, or that you will be one of the lucky ones. There are some who won't be lucky. Count on it. Don't expect anyone in KYs sphere of infuence to do anything fair. Keep pushing for new leadership and a Board that is responsible to the full college, not just KY and his minions. This is priority #1. Stay the course.

Anonymous said...

Folks, since the Board seems frozen and reluctant to act to reverse its deplorable act of gifting Yowell a 3 year contract, you must go beyond the Board. You have rights through many avenues both of a public and private nature. If you have been harrassed in any way, file suit and report the incident to the appropriate governmental agency. If you are of the opinion that enough brutality has been exercised against members of the Edison family, go public. If you deplore immoral acts on campus, go public. Talk to reporters, public officials, family members, friends, neighbors. Encourage the people you talk with to attend the public meetings of the Board and express their outrage that the Board refuses to act against the Regime. Go yourself and be not afraid to face down the oppressors; you are likely not going to survive much longer with the KY Team in place in any case. Enough, dear friends, enough of this folderol.

EJ, could you please tell us the date of the next public meeting of Edison's illustrious Board of Trustees?

Anonymous said...

I agree the Board seems frozen, but cannot understand why. There likely is nothing more self-destructive than the non-renewals, still the Board doesn't take control. There has been example after example of misdeeds, poor decisions, conflicts of interest, contradictory acts, intimidation and retribution, and still the Board seems stuck, afraid to remove this bankrupt leadership. Does anyone understand this reluctance? Is public pressure the answer? Let's find out. Like the above post says, reach out and keep the pressure on. It is too important not to. Him or us. If he doesn't go, pity ECC and those who remain.

Anonymous said...

Certainly the Edison Columbine fiasco and letters of non-renewal seem like a cry for help from someone who really needs excused from his position. He can't quite make the decision himself, so he exhibits such bad behavior that they have to remove him. Only problem is the Board either doesn't get it or is afraid to act. Afraid of what? KY obviously is begging to be let go, so let him go. Otherwise, we will see these behaviors more and more often, swingly more and more wildly out of control. The time to act is NOW. Board members, ya' gotta be listening, so step up and fix this problem. Let him go.

Anonymous said...

Amen, amen and amen. Let it be over.

Anonymous said...

All of this is serious business and this is a serious question: Is KY acting the way he is because the pressure of his failure has become too much or is he working to force the board to fire him, pay him his severance and let him collect his retirement as well while he does nothing? Not a big change from now, I'll admit, but certainly less destructive of others.

Anonymous said...

Forcing the board to fire him is not a bad plan. His reputation here is shot and cannot be repaired, professionally or personally. With no local connections or friends he can just take the money and run off to the Southwest where he'll just be known as another retiree from the Midwest. Anyone still caring can just continue to take her vacations there.

Anonymous said...

It has been said before and elsewhere, but the least expensive way to lose Yowell is thru a buyout. The dump the minions for qualified and reasonably compensated replacements. Then end the CQI for traditional accreditation, which costs us $200k or so each year. Then we can say what fiscal crisis?!?

Anonymous said...

Just think about this for a second - we can be reasonably certain that the average annual compensation package cost for Yowell has been well in excess of $200K, perhaps $250K. Over his 20+ year reign at Edison that would have cost us more than $4,000,000.00 heading toward $5,000,000.00. Wow! Does the Board really want to let him top the cost of Starship Yowell, his latest debacle? Oh yeah, and that doesn't begin to discuss the expense reimbursements we've paid.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm…., let’s see if I’m understanding what everybody is saying here.

Edison has a President who never leaves his office, spends all day forwarding articles to the staff, drives an expensive car that he doesn’t have to pay for, and has a budget of tens of thousands of dollars a year to attend whatever conferences he thinks would be fun. On top of this, he doesn’t know how to have more than a half a sentence of interaction with his colleagues, and lacks most social graces. Every year he holds forth with a rambling convocation address that bores everybody to tears and manages to say nothing, then expects his administrators to write an essay for him about it.

He surrounds himself with a CFO whose math skills are highly questionable, a secretary despised by all who he promotes to head of HR although she’s never worked in HR (and doubles her salary), creates a Dean position for a sycophantic fawner who thinks the world is out to get her, but who thinks she’s indispensible and he’s a visionary and allows her personal friend to telecommute from Texas at 50 grand a year, and a VP that he’s in bed with.

Meanwhile, if the charges are correct, the controller was stealing and filing false tax returns right under his nose for years, and the college has been driven into the ground financially.

Then he gives everybody a letter saying they won’t be re-hired, but asks them to trust him.

And the Trustees give him another three year contract?????????????????????

What’s wrong with this picture?

WAKE UP, TRUSTEES!

Anonymous said...

Salisbury's paranoia is justified. People are out to get her, but not for the reasons she thinks. Jealousy and disgust are actually quite different.