July 3, 2003

Vacation policies, deja vu and the shape of things to come?

Much has been said recently about the Laboratory's vacation policy with its two tiers and the problem of the three-day vacation grant for the year-end shutdown. I wonder if, no matter who the successful bidder for the new contract is, we'll see vacation cuts forced by the Department of Energy (and/or the contract holder) for the pre-'92 University of California hires as well. The precedent seems well established in a recent example.

During the recent changeover from Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico to KSL Services, some long-term employees, even folks who started with Zia Co. (the original support services subcontractor) nearly 20 years ago had their vacation leave accrual slashed severely. Their seniority for the accrual rate of vacation/sick leave benefits was run back to zero, the same as for new hires. That is, those who had worked for the company a number of years, thus earning a larger vacation leave benefit, say three or four weeks, found their vacation benefit reduced to 10 days. Those workers' misfortune was to have had their department spun off by Johnson Controls International, the then support services subcontract company to a subcontractor (SAIC) of the newly formed JCNNM. During that spin-off their compensation, including vacation leave, was generally preserved. However, during the recent changeover from JCNNM to KSL they were spun to yet another subcontractor, Technical Design Inc., who allowed them only the vacation accrual rate of new hires. (Disclosure, I have family employed there, still impressively dedicated to the job.)

The DOE, Laboratory and KSL are obviously aware of this regressive treatment of long-serving, loyal employees. Some of these folks were on the same team that arranged to run the JCNNM payroll from home on equipment they evacuated out of their offices during the Cerro Grande Fire so that everyone was paid on time.

That is not how exemplary service should be repaid by management. As elsewhere, we're told it's 'just business,' and business knows no shame. We might be dismayed to see it, but should not be surprised.

--Steven J. Greene