So, I hear that the programs are being charged a 5% retroactive (back to October 1, 2008) tax to help pay for a shortage in the "management fee".
My first question is this true?
My second question if true, does NIF have to pay, or do they get off the hook again?
11 comments:
Do you remember how LLNS was going to make things to look as if they were cheaper. Well they did. They simply fudged a few numbers on out hourly cost and are now making it up on the back side where no one can see it. It's a money game just like those in washington play. It's all BS. The bottom line is this. Each person cost so much and there's no way to reduce that cost except get rid of people. Oh and by the way I hear there's a list of names already compiled for the next lay off. They already know who they are going to can and why.
The tax is to pay for all the indirect costs (i.e., non-programmatic costs), such as F&I, ESH&Q, etc.
The ISP got rid of many indirect employees. Unfortunately many of these were gardners, crafts, and others that did real work. That's why it takes so long to change a light bulb. The ISP did not get rid of the expensive white collar staff that doesn't make any positive contribution to your life. That's why there are still so many committees that just create more useless work for the rest of us.
LLNS is a total failure.
PS: I am a manager, but one who does not charge indirect accounts.
You could axe 60 per cent of ESH&Q with zero reduction in service - actually, you might improve service. But only if you kept the best. The problem is, the people who would survive the RIF would be the oldest, best politically connected, and most worthless of the bunch.
I think its more than just the indirects, its the bloated staffs that ULM have built around themselves. It should be considered criminal that these managers don't trim their staff in order to stay on budget and get to tax the WFO. Also, many of the scientific management positions provide no benefit to the scientist they supposedly manage.
If I was a sponsor of science at LLNL I would just no more cash. That would might force ULM to wake up and provide real leadership!.
It is an elaborate scheme.
If LLNS is smart they should get rid of anyone who has the word 'deputy' in their title and that will prevent anymore layoffs.
Hey folks, the majority of my 26 yrs.at LLNL, was in the WFO arena. NAI,Z,Q,M,no matter what the acronym is, has been slowly disintegrating years before the transition. With only one exception in head shed management, a lot of a particular projects direction wasn't entirely governed by the principal investigator. Project management did that for them. This management virus slowly morphed into infecting the business link ((regardless of access level(to some extent))between the sponsor and the researcher. Management slowly took over, until those that can, left. Those that have left, have taken their sponsor's with them, as well as some outstanding, technical, and imaginative talent. Check out the second floor of 132S, lots of echos.....A 5% retro tax does little but bury the knife a little deeper
How about an audit to see how much of the indirect funding was spent on NIF and how much NIF paid in indirect taxes.
No the cost issues are simple. ULM laid off some indirects, but they did useful work. Few managers were laid off, and that is where your high costs are coming from. ULM apparently is too cowardly to lay off the excessively paid managers that contribute no useful function to the lab. If the bloated management is serving a useful function, please point it out to me, as far as I can see, the only thing that has occured in the past two years has been decimation of talent, but not ULM. And please REMEMBER, some ULM make 2 or 3 times higher pay, in some cases more than the folks doing work. Laying off one of them saves 3 people actually doing useful things. Instead, we can't get our trash emptied because they laid off the 3 workers, and kept the ULM.
I am just curious, this shuffling of money (essentially lying about costs using accounting gimmicks in my opinion), is this legal? I understand the government does these sorts of things, but private companies ARE NOT the government and often cannot do such things. Just curious if anyone had any insights into this.
Instead, we can't get our trash emptied because they laid off the 3 workers, and kept the ULM.
July 6, 2009 10:10 PM
You fail to understand... LLNS is a largely a "money machine" to enrich the protected ULM class at LLNL. It's not about getting work done or having critical operations addressed. It's only about perks and pay at the top from this point on out. The term "for-profit" management means their profits, not yours!
The 5% tax is being used to cover the cost of NIF Dedication and Family Day. A ridiculous amount of money was spent on these activities. Trees, roads, bark, paint, shrubs, more bark, a water conservation project (complete with amphitheater), grass, irrigation, signs, pavement, and oh, was there a spot that didn't get bark? Hopefully someone will shine the light of truth on the games that are being played with our tax dollars. How do you think all of this work was paid for?? What Science? We have become an arboretum. It does look nice, no?
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