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Saturday, August 3, 2013

National Lab Privatization: Illegal Layoffs Enrich Private Profits

Do you really want to know who you work for?
A little history to remind you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjOict8jBcQ

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

There were no doubt some mistakes made in the 2008 layoffs. On the other hand, there was a lot of dead wood trimmed.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjOict8jBcQ

I hope DOE does not pick up the bill and tell Recthal they have to take it out of their operating fund, year after year after year until all these people are paid with simple compound interest on their awards.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjOict8jBcQ

I hope DOE does not pick up the bill and tell Recthal they have to take it out of their operating fund, year after year after year until all these people are paid with simple compound interest on their awards.

Anonymous said...

NNSA/DOE signed off on the the Lab's layoff plan. If LLNS had done this without NNSA's blessing, then DOE/NNSA could tell LLNS to pony up the money out of their hide. LLNS can say we did this with your blessing, it's your headache.

In the end, the lawyers win, everyone else loses.

I saw good people go and I saw deadwood getting pruned as well.

Anonymous said...

I smell an UPTE union RAT here.

UPTE will if given the chance suck the Lab dry with any pretense that is available and convenient at the time.

Remember these high school drop outs will use any tactic to hurt the Laboratory.

A half truth will work very well for the these punks.

Let's not give any traction to these uneducated, lazy thugs. It will turn out bad in the end....just think about the BART union train drivers making over 100k a year and need a little more and are going on strike again.

Anonymous said...

Just because DOE signed off on the plan does not make it their fault. LLNS needs to stop blaming all of their problems on DOE and take accountability. If DOE had not allowed them to exercise their management authority, you would have heard LLNS making the phony claim of 'DOE micromanagement' yet again. If I were @ DOE I would stop approving anything that LLNS requested, since the only reward DOE gets from trying to be cooperative is to get blamed for everything. This needs to come out of LLNS award fee/profits.

Anonymous said...

Well done video. Yes, the "for-profit" management at the labs led by Bechtel have demonstrated that they practice rampant age discrimination. They also pad the labs with their own people in highly paid upper management positions to "park" them while they are between major Bechtel projects.

It's a disgrace!

Anonymous said...

Bechtel should sue this law firm and those plaintiffs for libel in their attempts to stain the good name of Bechtel and LLNS management.

Anonymous said...

Wake up. LLNL re-engineered the structure with employee codes before the layoff. Those in management who knew the score could get rid of older employees, easily labeled dead wood. However, since the real bogus process was this, the facade of later laying off by seniority was itself a sham. The numbers speak for theselves, grey day. By the way, the court agreed so, are you all suggesting the Court of law should take a back seat to Rechtel's opinions? If you want to single out dead wood, let's start with the dead wood from Becthel brought in right after the contract aware, most who are now gone and added little value.

Anonymous said...

The lawyers no doubt used their best cases first. The award was not all that large. Let's see what happens to the rest.

Anonymous said...

August 5, 2013 at 6:16 PM

I'd like to see each one get $1M after taxes out of the operating fund of LLNS, not the American tax payers pocket but Rechtal's.

Anonymous said...

August 5, 2013 at 6:16 PM

I'd like to see each one get $1M after taxes out of the operating fund of LLNS, not the American tax payers pocket but Rechtal's.

Anonymous said...

Bechtel should sue this law firm and those plaintiffs for libel in their attempts to stain the good name of Bechtel and LLNS management.

Slander is not telling the truth or giving an account of one's experience. People have a right to their own feelings.

Anonymous said...

Did you know these employees? Did you work with them for many years? If you had worked for "LLNL" for over 25 years wouldn't you also have been emotionally distressed and sad? If you do work for LLNS then I would suggest that you look for employment elsewhere because you too can be let go and unceremoniously marched to the gate. Think before you type . . .

Anonymous said...

I laughed out loud, "Bechtel should sue for libel". Just what do you think a civil suit is. They just had one and lost! Are you delusional. You must be a Bechtelite for sure. Did everyone that got laid off suffer from age discrimination, probably not. Did LLNL do anything to prevent the appearance and assure that it was not going to happen? ABSOLUTELY NOT AND THAT IS THE GUILT LLNL BEARS, and apparently proven.

Anonymous said...

It's not libel or slander when it's true.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, some of these people who worked at LLNL for so many years should have been fired a long time ago.

Anonymous said...

A more legitimate question is, as the work force shrinks (then & now) why does the number of managers and support stay the same or grow?

Should less people equal less managers?

Anonymous said...

Ask Parney why he added high level management as advisors in this fiscal crisis?

Anonymous said...

The NNSA labs have become extremely top heavy with well compensated managers as the research staffing has shrunk to historically low levels. This has driven up the overhead costs on the remaining research staff, causing even more of them to flee to research institutions with saner overhead cost structures for the dollars they secure in funding.

It's time to start culling the highly paid managers from the NNSA labs. Unfortunately, it will probably never happen.

Anonymous said...

There is no such thing as dead wood. LLNL needs to change its culture of hate.

Anonymous said...

Wow you are open minded. We typically mirror our own opinions.
"There is no such thing as dead wood. LLNL needs to change its culture of hate."

I really do not think that it is hate. It is a question of what is the best for our nation and the progress for LLNL. LLNL is in trouble. LANL is in trouble. These are facts. It is not a judgement, just what is. Our funding is down and our overhead is up. This is not sustainable. That is it.

So, how do we fix it. Here are my suggestion off the top of my head and I am looking for constructive criticism.


I think that the national laboratory is a no sum game: funding is not going up.

Perhaps Parney's rational is that the more top people can help him get more money. However, I believe this is the wrong move because the people who he is choosing are really old school and we need new innovative thinking to solve this problem.

The laboratory leadership need to change.

Anonymous said...

Both LLNL and LANL have a history of bringing in occasional outsiders at huge salaries because they think these people can "grow the programs" using their Roledex connections. It never happens. They just end up costing far more than they are worth.

Anonymous said...

Past time for a top end pruning. Without additional funds available, let the managers fight among themselves for a limited number of spots.

I can't think of anyone who was brought in (high level) that brought in significant funding. If I'm wrong, keep that person(s) & get rid of those that failed.

Anonymous said...

Adam Rowen (manager of the Materials Chemistry department) from Sandia National Laboratories does not have a Ph.D.

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