Greetings,
Far-reaching changes in LLNL personnel policy go into effect
this January 1, and Lab management has undergone an extensive campaign to “spin”
these changes. In our December 2012 monthly memo (http://www.upte.org/spse/
We are also hosting one of our Noontime Talks on this subject this
coming Wednesday, December 12, in building 453 Armadillo Room 1001. We invite
you to attend, and bring your questions and comments.
If you cannot attend our talk, please feel free to contact
us directly:
Thanks,
Riki Gay
President-elect SPSE-UPTE Local 11
41 comments:
"A career position at LLNL meant just that; if you succeeded at your job, you had a solid opportunity to make a career of it until you retired. Now, not so much."
I would have re-written this sentence to state:
"A career position at LLNL meant just that; if you succeeded at your job, you had a solid opportunity to make a career of it until you retired. Now, YOU DO NOT." The concept of a "career" at LLNS (and LANS) has been eliminated. LLNS (and LANS) will terminate you or transfer you (without warning) to any position it see fits without regard to your skills, knowledge, or abilities or regardless of you are an asset to National Security.
December 9, 2012 2:28 AM Their goal was to become like any employer on the outside world has been for decades and effective 1-1-2013 they are now just that. You need to remember this each day you come to work. "You are nothing but a number on a computer printout of which LLNS has no obligation to you nor do you to them who can be let go on a momnets notice". You are nothing. You need to keep this in mind every time some says, I need this yestesday. Can you just work a little harder. Can you stay longer, we really need this done before you go home. Can you work this weekend. The answer to any of these questions should be, "I don't think so, people in hell want icewater too". Have a good day. Find yourself another slave. This is the new America you've allowed. Thank goodness I did not have to live in your new world order slave labor non-benefot world of puppets and BOYS. You have no clue what you've done to yourselves. I feel soory for the children.
Is LLNS the most dishonest employer you have ever encountered?
Is LLNS the most dishonest employer you have ever encountered?
December 9, 2012 9:45 AM
Absolutely not! LANS tops my list. And for those (e.g. LANS management) who tell to "leave" or "don't let the door hit your ass on my way out", I say NOPE I don't want to leave, I was there far before the "carpet bagging" Bechtel and Livermore "big three arrive". So them I say, "stick it"!
According to the new, mandatory online training course on time charging practices, LANS is telling the scientific staff that they must now work on proposals to secure project funding on their own time after normal work hours or on weekends.
You work hard to bring in outrageous amounts of funding to help pay for these scum-bags in LANS management and they demand that it all be done on your own time... on "family time". What a bunch of low-life rats. LANL is in a firm death grip under the LANS/Bechtel/NNSA management team.
It is a brave new world out there; LANL, LLNL, SNL and yes, Feds at NNSA. Management-If you don't like it, don't let the door hit you in your arse. Employee-If I find something better elsewhere, 14 days notice and out. The entire NWC is changing, look at the rolling heads at Y-12. This is not your Daddy's NWC anymore )-:
You work hard to bring in outrageous amounts of funding to help pay for these scum-bags in LANS management and they demand that it all be done on your own time... on "family time". What a bunch of low-life rats. LANL is in a firm death grip under the LANS/Bechtel/NNSA management team.
December 9, 2012 1:19 PM
The reason is quite clear. The government demands that all of your paid work time be charged to an active program. Programs do not pay for scientists trying to get work from future programs. This rule has been in effect since I joined LANL in the late '70s. The difference is that it was never "enforced" before - management just looked the other way (reasonably so) while you worked on your next funding proposal. It was seen (rightly) as a good investment, and I don't recall any sponsor auditing to that level of detail. It appears that now the LANS management has become so risk averse that it cannot even envision this small, traditional, "bending" of the rules. If applied strictly, the result will be paralysis of programs, and widespread lack of new funding. My recommendation (which I would have hated while I was a manager) is to institute "malicious compliance" - simply refuse to work on new funding proposals. Since managers are paid off the top of work programs, this dries up their salaries too. Brutal to all concerned, but simple and effective.
The fundamental problem is that management is not trusted to represent employee interests. It is bad enough at the top, but worse at mid-level management where a lifetime employee might find termination for a situation that could have been avoided.
It was always true that some mid-level managers were poor leaders and money managers, but employees rarely were hurt. Now one cursed is many cursed.
It will call for employees to protect themselves from the organization rather than supporting it.
What a foolish mistake, openly putting powerless employees are risk for others failures.
The most logical protection is to develop a collective negotiated group of workplace rules and customs.
I wonder if Lab (LLNS & LANL) Management reads these threads and realize they have a HUGE employee morale problem??? And don't reply that they don't care...because they do. They know that when employee morale is low, bad things happen - like 82 yr old nuns breaking in to where they don't belong, and folks on firiing ranges, and "lost" disk drives.
The powderkeg has been packed and emplaced. One wonders what will be the spark.
Another modern miracle from the cauldron of Lynn Soderstrom?
Scoob, please delete the last message.
I intended to remove the profanity, but I got distracted and pushed the send button prior to counting to 10.
My apology to Parney for the profanity, it is of no use.
LLNL commits suicide.
As anyone that works at the labs knows, it takes forever to actually hire someone, and then further time to get them rolling. So there is back-pressure on management to give people time to catch on with new project areas. I'll wait and see how the new policies get used before deciding if we're pulling a plastic bag over our heads.
"If applied strictly, the result will be paralysis of programs, and widespread lack of new funding." (7:32 PM)
Already happening at LANL. Probably soon to follow at LLNL. New program growth is slowing and funding is in decline as staff simply "give up" under this strict LLC management "C.Y.A" nonsense. It has been a particularly hard blow to the "Global Security" type lab directorates. The result is a lab that is becoming even less diversified, not more!
12/10/12 @ 9:35 AM. heard today that thinsg at LLNL are going to get worse at LLNL before they get better, they already know the names of the people they are going to lay off and you should expect a 10% cut across the LAB.. That's 800 more out the gate in Jan of 2013Happy New Year people. The good news is Obama extended the unemploy funds for 1.5 years more. The bad news is those zero years of employement factor into your Gross SS when you go to draw it. It's all good !
here is the future of llnl after 1-1-13; 600 to be let go with the EBA's taking the brunt of layoff. Furloughs will start up across the lab and there is a plan to offer a vsp. this information was leaked out of a ulm meeting. this is all based on the federal budget going over the cliff. if there is a deal on the budget only the EBA's and guards will go as plan.
"Already happening at LANL. Probably soon to follow at LLNL. New program growth is slowing and funding is in decline as staff simply "give up" under this strict LLC management "C.Y.A" nonsense. It has been a particularly hard blow to the "Global Security" type lab directorates. The result is a lab that is becoming even less diversified, not more!"
Looks like GS programs are going down at LANL. A couple years ago the trend was up. What happened to reverse it so fast?
So did they already put together the list of people who are not eligible for a vsp? Did they already pick the winners who, regardless of actual performance, are allowed to stay on as parasites to other surviving programs, and possible even wrecking them? And get rid of successful leads so that mister and misses golden boy/girl can be parked there to keep the institutional culture of mediocrity and failure ongoing a the lab?
Why is McMillan still there? He clearly does not have the experience or competence to manage the LANL capabilities. For that matter why is Parney still here? He obviously does not have the right experience and technical background to be pitching llnl capabilities the way that he does. Don't get me wrong, I know he is highly intelligent. But he could not handle real hardball questions like someone with a career in the weapons world. So why he would pretend is beyond me, since its so blatantly obvious, and we can all see right through it. But at least Ed is running the show and calling the shots for the lab. Makes sense. If you aren't bringing something to your new job, then you are resigned to being a puppet and following orders and agendas of your subordinates. It's not that he had nothing to bring to the lab, but the lab just doesn't want nor need anything he has to offer. Again, Ed is running the show and that is the reality. No judgment regarding that, it is a statement of fact.
To December 10 4:49, can we hold you accountable when the layoffs you mention never happen come February? Or will you simply repost the new rumors (in an if false repeat infinite loop)?
Why should someone be responsible for hearsay that does not end up panning out? You would like to paint the poster as someone intentionally trying to deceive. The fact that the post starts out with a "heard today..." makes it clear regarding the uncertainty of the claims. But if you or others are reading too much into it, and end up unnecessarily liquidating assets at a loss, in a panic as a result, then it's your fault for taking anonymous hearsay about a potential future event, and then accepting it as fact and an absolute certainty.
The lab mouthpieces are just irked by all the internal leaks, even those coming from pre-decisional discussions within management.
There are so many unknowns between now and the end of Feb (debt ceiling time again!) that I wouldn't hold anyone accountable for anything over that period. It would be unrealistic.
The guy was just passing along what he heard.
If you've heard differently, tell us what you've heard.
You can easily tell someone's true motivation by what follows the hearsay. I heard something today, is it true is quite different than I heard something today, Happy New Year people, and other ramblings about the consequences.
December 12, 2012 5:32 PM I don't think anyone cares what happens. LLNS is no different than any other company. You come to work in the morning not knowing if you'll have a job until 9:00 AM or noon. Just accept this fact of life and do what you can do day to day and all will be good. Try to have plan B in place all the time so when it does happen you're ready.
"You can easily tell someone's true motivation by what follows the hearsay. I heard something today, is it true is quite different than I heard something today, Happy New Year people, and other ramblings about the consequences."
I agree, that was the first poster.
I was referring to the second poster. The one that started: "here is the future of llnl after 1-1-13"
That seemed to have less of a personal agenda.
But at least Ed is running the show and calling the shots for the lab
Thanks for the giggle!
That is blasphemy. We all know that Tomas calls the shots even now as he enjoying his "pursuit of other opportunities" while surrounded by his groupie entourage as he tries to rekindle great memories and the good times had by all at Supercomputing 2011. While all the NNSA functionaries were all square dullards and the people from other labs were prudes, at least some of his labbie subordinates got into the action. So you bet those nnsa guys will never be invited to pool parties when Tomas has the "entertainment" at his place. By the way I hope that post doc was tested for infectious diseases. After all, sc11 was a real rompfest for Tomas.
Call in the corporate "hatchet-men" to start thinning out the herd for upper management. This is starting to get very ugly.
With Tomas, truth is stranger than fiction. But I'm surprised someone finally mentioned sc. Why nnsa did not clean house immediately after that is really bad. Tomas was not the only one involved. It will get worse when a leaked photo implicates others who participated with Tomas. NNSA need to investigate the matter and remove the other labbies who participated and allowed this to happen.
Gimme a break. Nnsa people were there and saw all of it but did nothing then. They will do nothing now.
Unless they were "involved" in it, they only saw part of it.
What does sc stand for?
Supercomputing conference. What goes on at supercomputering stays at Supercomputing
When the comment a few above was talking about being told that he or she may not have a job past 9:00 or noon on any given day, was it the new Acting in security that told you that?
"December 15, 2012 6:24 AM"
The poster is right. LLNS and LANS are in the business of making money.
If you help them make money you stay if do not help them make money you go. Simple as that. You are in the real world now the fairytale is over. You like any other worker in real world, you are just as interchangeable as the anyone. Look we have 8% unemployment and all these people will take you job in a heartbeat. Think about that before you rock the boat or think that you our special, you are not. There is no difference between you and everyone else. This is how capitalism works. I know we have been sheltered too long from the real world but we are part of it now.
The fact that the most important partner in the LLC "for-profit" management scheme at both LLNL and LANL is Bechtel -- a corrupt, secretive, politically connect "construction company" -- should be telling the remaining research staff something. Bechtel is like a blood-sucking leech. Once they find a safe and easy source of profits they never let go.
It's no longer about the science. Slick, scientific "achievement" PRs for the public's consumption, maybe, not definitely not the actual science.
"With Tomas, truth is stranger than fiction. But I'm surprised someone finally mentioned sc. Why nnsa did not clean house immediately after that is really bad. Tomas was not the only one involved. It will get worse when a leaked photo implicates others who participated with Tomas. NNSA need to investigate the matter and remove the other labbies who participated and allowed this to happen."
No they just promote the people who have Tomas ideas...
LLNL is not like a business in a capitalist system. LLNL is clearly a kleptocracy. Don't fool yourself into thinking that it operates just like a corporation. It clearly doesn't. Know the difference. Don't be soiling the name of private sector corporations by trying to label LLNL as being like them.
I bet those nice folks at Tri-Valley Cares are tickled pink with the kinds of scandals being revealed here. Christmas has come early for them, it seems.
It's amazing how 3 different LLNL studies on D2 EoS produce data that all sit right on top of the same Hugoniot, and all are wrong. One experimental, and two theoretical using very different methods.
Anonymous said...
" LLNL is not like a business in a capitalist system. LLNL is clearly a kleptocracy. Don't fool yourself into thinking that it operates just like a corporation. It clearly doesn't. Know the difference. Don't be soiling the name of private sector corporations by trying to label LLNL as being like them.
December 15, 2012 7:37 PM"
Ahh, someone gets it. To some this is a subtle point. With the mantra that private is always better than government people do not seem to understand what this really means.
It only works if true capitalism is in place and even than many or most private corps fail over time.
What we have is not even capitalism since it violates the rules for capitalism.
(1) The rules for reward where
written by the corporation to give the corporation a huge advantage.
(2) A real market will have multiple costumers to compete with we really only have one.
(3) There is a conflict between what the costumer wants and who the lab really serves which is the American people. The costumer wants
to survive with as little work as possible for themselves. The American people would want the labs to be in top shape to deliver the best science for national needs.
(4) All the standard checks and balances of the real corporate world are absence. For example real corporations are in constant competition with other corporations which will in principle force improvements over time. We compete with no one.
(5) Our profit is fixed, so the corporation only has to do what it needs to for this profit. If there are other ways to improve there is no incentive to do so. This again is in contrast with real corporations.
(6) With only one costumer it can pay to create special jobs and perks for the costumer that can pay off and allow the contract to be extended. In a real corporation since there will be many costumers this strategy is not worth it.
(7) Basically capitalism works only works statically which means you need large numbers, i.e large numbers of competing corporations
and large numbers of costumers. We have neither. The whole point of crony capitalism is to violate the rules of capitalism. Private is not always better. For example the Mafia is private but it is not better.
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