A good analysis from an anonymous contributor:
When the Stimulus Bill funding was received by the NNSA labs, it required the compensation amounts for the Directors to be made public. This is information that both LLNS and LANS have tried very hard to cover up under the lame excuse of "corporate proprietary information".
For example, it was shown in press accounts that LANL's Director Anastasio is compensated to the tune of around $1 million per year in total (LANS/UC, 20% bonus, etc). SNL's Hunter was compensated at about the rate of $2 million per year. A recent post on this blog also demonstrated some of the outlandish perks that lab executives like Brett Knapp make.
These lab salaries and perks are several times higher than those that Directors, PADs and ADs made during the early years of 2000s. The new lab system of management has been extremely profitable for anyone on the LLC executive team.
To this situation, add in the low raises and benefit cuts of the last few years for the non-management staff coupled with the recent announcement of no possibility of raises for several more years. This has greatly de-moralized many employees at the labs. Trust in the top levels of management is at an all time low from what I have witnessed. It was never that high before the labs for-profit coup, but the sense of mistrust and feelings of outright betrayal is now becoming very common within the employees who remain at these NNSA labs.
Meanwhile, the LLC upper management team attempt to sugar-coat the situation and claim that morale is good and improving. This only worsens the feelings of those who see what has occurred over the last few years.
The impact of all this is extremely low morale, which results in performance that may meet the largely meaningless PBI metrics that NNSA and the LLCs like to constantly create but this low morale is the kiss of death to any truly creative science lab. In our culture, "value" is largely demonstrated by compensation. I'm pretty sure that the recent 10% increase in salaries of all the profession employees who work for Google has all of those employees working very hard and their morale at extremely high levels.
The true impact of this situation will come in the next few year once the employment situation improves and housing rebounds. I expect to see a lot of the younger and middle aged scientific staff head out the front doors of the NNSA labs and look for other institutions in which to practice their creative talents.
15 comments:
"The true impact of this situation will come in the next few year once the employment situation improves and housing rebounds." (Post)
It shouldn't be long now....
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U.S. businesses' hiring plans top layoffs by most in 12 years (MSNBC, Jan 24 2011)
Survey of business economists finds them more hopeful about growth
WASHINGTON (AP) — Industry economists say the U.S. economic recovery is gaining strength, with more firms expressing positive hiring plans than in over a decade.
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last lap
crowd is gone.
purpose forgotten.
referees departed.
To finish.
no reason to push.
Saw in today's news that Google is going to do a lot of hiring this year. Over 6,000 new employees will be hired. This is on top of the 10% across the board salary raises they gave all of their employees last year.
January 25, 2011 8:33 PM
And this is relevant to weapon designers how?
Weapons design is not all the NNSA research labs are involved in, 11:01 pm. Get a clue.
What's neat is the new iHub. It is intended to bring startups to sit right next to the Lab.
So, at the same time Lab employment starts to look unpleasant, and people want to leave, DOE and the Lab are encouraging startups that might be able to hire people -- right next door, no commute needed.
Of course, not just any Lab employee can go to these startups. Just the really good ones. Which leaves the Lab with what's left over.
The Lab and DOE have created a mechanism by which they can simultaneously push AND pull their best employees out of Lab employment! Genius!
(Ah, and in answer to the usual "but there are no good Lab employees" -- I can tell you, there sure are, a number of people around me have quite good offers pending -- they just have not wanted to leave until now ...)
"By 2020, the United States will have 123 million high-skill jobs to fill—and fewer than 50 million Americans qualified to fill them." (Source: "Waiting for Superman" - Our crisis in American Education)
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It is only a matter of time until DOE/NNSA feel tremendous difficulties finding the skilled high-tech workers who wish to come and be pummeled by government bureaucrats and unwavering low morale at the DOE/NNSA contractor sites.
Even worse, the DOE will be competing during this worker shortage for highly skilled scientists that are (1) US Citizens and (2) can hold a Top Secret security clearance.
It's gonna get ugly.
"By 2020, the United States will have 123 million high-skill jobs to fill—and fewer than 50 million Americans qualified to fill them." (Source: "Waiting for Superman" - Our crisis in American Education)
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No problem, you do what universities do, you hire foreigners. There are plenty around so there will not be any kind of crisis.
No problem, you do what universities do, you hire foreigners. There are plenty around so there will not be any kind of crisis.
January 26, 2011 9:56 PM
If you don't know how difficult it is to hire foreign nationals at the NNSA labs today, you should educate yourself. It basically doesn't happen.
If you don't know how difficult it is to hire foreign nationals at the NNSA labs today, you should educate yourself. It basically doesn't happen.
Good. I want the neighborhood kids to get the jobs I pay for, even if they don't speak English as well as some Bangalore torpedo, or share sacrifices a broadly as some immigrant noble laureate.
" you don't know how difficult it is to hire foreign nationals at the NNSA labs today, you should educate yourself. It basically doesn't happen.
January 27, 2011 9:08 PM"
This is a very good point you bring up. If the need becomes to great than I am sure this can be changed so do not worry, there will be plenty of people to fill these slots. We could also just fast track making them citizens.
Walk around the NNSA labs and you'll find that Chinese is the "second language" heard around these labs. They are already here, waiting for us to call on them to take on the task. And they'll do it for cheap wages, too!
Other than the sarcasm, I've noticed little impact during my rain-shortened substantially equivalent work week.
DOE CONSIDERING HOW TO SPEND SAVINGS FROM CONTRACTOR PAY FREEZE
How about spending the money "saved" from no longer issuing employee raises on an expensive Hawaii "management retreat" for DOE head honchos and their lab LLC big-wigs. Dr. Chu might even be enticed to do a hula-dance after he's had enough drinks.
Since I decided to leave, I feel much better.
Fools are more amusing when you aren't invested in what they sell.
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