Archive for the ‘Commentary by G. Namie’ Category
Corporate defense attorneys who deny workplace bullying happens
Monday, May 20th, 2013
Here are the “lessons” about workplace bullying that a 24-yr. veteran corporate employment attorney (and self-described Machiavellian) chose to impart on lucky me during a recent flight between gigs.
I pass along his major teachings to you, the WBI reader, so you know the type of legal opponent, as plaintiff, you will face if you ever decide to sue your employer in court.
He believes:
1. HR has known about, and has dealt successfully with, workplace bullying for over 20 years.
2. The prevalence of harassment and bullying are exaggerated, overestimated.
3. Claims of bullying are made by workers who refuse to be assigned work or told to perform when management knows they are goofing off.
Tags: bully apologists, corporate attorney, defense counsel, Gary Namie, workplace bullying
Posted in Commentary by G. Namie, Tutorials About Bullying, WBI Education, Workplace Bullying Laws | 2 Archived Comments | Post A Comment (
Tennessee Community Television Covers Workplace Bullying
Friday, May 17th, 2013
May 17 at 7:00 EST CTV Knoxville will discuss workplace bullying and the Tennessee Healthy Workplace Bill with state coordinator Vivian Fivecoat and supporter Beth Poore. You can watch the livestream online, or on the following cable providers:
- Comcast channel 12
- Charter channel 6
- Knology channel 6
- AT&T U-verse TV channel 99
Posted in Fairness & Social Justice Denied | No Archived Comments | Post A Comment (
Workplace Bullying Support group in Seattle
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
Attention Seattle-Area Residents
The next series of support groups for targets of workplace bullying is about to begin!
WBI’s Professional Coach and Licensed Psychotherapist, Jessi Eden Brown, MS, LMHC, NCC, invites you to join the next round of support groups in the N. Seattle area.
This is an excellent chance to receive specialized guidance for dealing with your workplace bullying situation, as well as connect with other targets in our region.
Please email Jessi Eden Brown through her private practice to learn more about this opportunity.
Tags: counseling, counselor, eden therapy, Jessi Eden Brown, Seattle, support group, therapist, therapy, workplace bullying
Posted in Fairness & Social Justice Denied | No Archived Comments | Post A Comment (
Let’s Talk with Kalola: My coworker, a teacher, is a bully
Tuesday, April 30th, 2013
Dear Kalola,
I am a teacher with 29 years experience. I have only taught in two schools in my entire career. I am being bullied by a co-worker. I am her 5th victim. She taught 4th grade and spent years bullying a teacher until she nearly miscarried and eventually quit due to health issues. This bully was allowed to get away with it for several years.
She bullied students as well. One fellow teacher stood with the victim and filed a grievance with the school system. Nothing was done. This seemed to spark a fire in the bully and she intensified her attacks. This time she attacked about 4 students humiliating them in front of the entire grade. (4 classes). Several of the students had been repeatedly bullied by the teacher and they also filed grievances. One child was also the child of the brave teacher who stood as support for the other.
The system fearing a lawsuit by the parents, agreed to move the teacher out of the 4th grade. Unfortunately she was placed in Pre-K with me. The bullying was immediate. I first thought it was something I did, but as I tried to comply the bullying became more intense. This has gone on for over 4 years. I as well as another have filed complaints after complaints. She bullies students still. However, they are too young to go home and tell.
Over half the school has been “harassed” or “threatened” by her at least once. Over 3/4ths of the staff have seen her do these things. However, she continues to get away with it. Two teachers have left because of her bullying.
(more…)
Posted in Fairness & Social Justice Denied, Let's Talk with Kalola | No Archived Comments | Post A Comment (
Foundation of austerity built on Excel spreadsheet error! Sorry about losing your job.
Friday, April 19th, 2013
Two Harvard economists — Carmen Reinhart & Kenneth Rogoff — analyzed macroeconomic data from 18 countries for a 2010 American Economic Review article. Special attention was given to seven nations that had experienced periods of high debt. They looked at the public debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio. They concluded that growth slows when the ratio exceeds 90%. Austerity aficionados grabbed onto the R&R magic threshold to justify making debt reduction top priority. Sadly, austerity is but one economic theory, one with drastic implications (economic, health & justice) for people subjected to cutbacks in necessary social services that only government can or will provide.
American politicians embraced austerity citing R&R as evidence. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan famously cited R&R when he presented his budget. The politicians now pushing for cuts in Social Security and Medicare cite R&R. States and cities have gone broke. Self-imposed sequestration at the federal level has deprived people of human services — Meals on Wheels, Head Start, Chemotherapy for cancer patients relying on Medicare, etc. Misery somehow justified by the R&R model.
Turns out the adage — garbage in/garbage out — is still true about data. Economists — Thomas Herndon, Michael Ash, Robert Pollin — at the Univ. of Massachusetts Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) could not replicate the R&R findings. So, they asked for the raw data.
Oops. Turns out R&R entered wrong figures for New Zealand. They had excluded four years of growth data in which it was above the 90 percent debt-to-GDP threshold. When these four years are added in, the average growth rate in New Zealand for its high debt years was 2.6 percent, compared to the -7.6 percent that R&R had entered in their calculation.
The PERI study findings contradicted R&R: when properly calculated, the average real GDP growth rate for countries carrying a public-debt-to-GDP ratio of over 90 percent is actually 2.2 percent, not −0.1 percent. The justification for austerity is an error, a lie by any other name.
Tags: Center for Economic and Policy Research, CEPR, Dean Baker, Michael Ash, Paul Krugman, PERI, Political Economy Research Institute, Reinhart, Robert Pollin, Rogoff, Thomas Herndon
Posted in Commentary by G. Namie, Employers Gone Wild: Doing Bad Things, Fairness & Social Justice Denied | 1 Archived Comment | Post A Comment (
Rare, clear, condemning opinion from a politician — Gabby Giffords on cowardly senators
Thursday, April 18th, 2013
Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords wrote in a New York Times guest editorial forcefully about her feelings toward (46) U.S. Senators who voted against the gun control package of bills on April 17. Excerpts from her Op-Ed article are below.
We advocates for anti-bullying legislation are told to tiptoe around lawmakers lest we offend them. Meanwhile the business lobbyists lie about bullying and the specifics of our bill. We get crushed by remaining civil and polite. It’s time for a change.
But Giffords reminds us that elected officials work for us and can be fired when they make wrong decisions. When their self-interest in re-election funds overwhelm doing the right thing for public safety and they coddle the NRA and Gun Owners of America and do their bidding instead. Her remarks are not delicate. Candor from this former politician is welcome.
We take her words as inspiration for all who help the campaign to enact the Healthy Workplace Bill. Giffords is a one-issue advocate now, like us. She spares no wrath when telling the truth. We should be so bold.
Here is some of what she wrote:
Tags: cowardly senators, Gabrielle Giffords, Gary Namie, gun control, Healthy Workplace Bill
Posted in Commentary by G. Namie, Healthy Workplace Bill (U.S. campaign), The New America, Workplace Bullying Laws | No Archived Comments | Post A Comment (
New York City Workplace Bullying Conference — April 28
Wednesday, March 27th, 2013
The New York State Psychological Association
Organizational, Consulting, and Work (OCW) Psychology Division
hosts
Bullying In and Out of the Workplace and Other Organizations:
Psychological & Legal Perspectives on Prevention, Intervention, & Amelioration
Sunday April 28 – 10 am to 4 pm
John Jay College of Criminal Justice of CUNY
Tenth Ave. at 59th St., NYC
(more…)
Tags: Ann Winton, David Yamada, Gary Namie, Harold Takoosian, Judi Segall, New York State Psychological Association, NYSPA, Richard Wexler, Sharon Brennan, Sylvan Schaffer, workplace bullying
Posted in Events & Appearances, Fairness & Social Justice Denied, Healthy Workplace Bill (U.S. campaign), Workplace Bullying Laws | No Archived Comments | Post A Comment (
CVS mandates health tests bullying workers, no corporate responsibility for stress-related ill health
Thursday, March 21st, 2013
The pharmacy chain, CVS Chainmark, has taken employee wellness to new draconian levels. On the surface, they are a healthcare giant who can claim to care about employee health. Obesity is a national problem and strains the healthcare system.
So, the 200,000 employees were told that CVS will pay for health screening. By May 1, employees who use employer-provided health insurance (not sure if the premium is 100% borne by CVS) must provide their weight, height, body fat, blood pressure and glucose and fasting lipid levels — ostensibly to know their key health metrics in order to take action to improve their numbers, if necessary. CVS will pay for testing.
Coercion is involved. Employees must sign a form that the screening is “voluntary.” Results are then sent to to WebMD Health Services Group who administers benefits for CVS. There are two consequences for those in poor health. If they refuse to submit to testing, they will pay a $50/month penalty, $600 annually added to their health insurance premium. Second, if they do submit health data, the company, WebMD on behalf of CVS, can limit the employee’s choices of health care plans in the future. Fatties have limited choices.
Tags: bullying and health, CVS, Gary Namie, health insurance, health screening, hypertension, workplace bullying
Posted in Bullying & Health, Commentary by G. Namie, Employers Gone Wild: Doing Bad Things, The New America, WBI Education | No Archived Comments | Post A Comment (
Time for a POTUS for the poor — a revolutionary American idea
Monday, March 18th, 2013
I’m not Catholic. I’m sickened by child abuse by priests committed secretly under cover of archbishops’ robes for decades. I found the saturation media coverage of the Sistine Chapel chimney mis-prioritized. And I thought the pomp of pope selection process distracted everyone from the scandals boiling in the Vatican. However, the elevation of Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio to Pope Francis I, inspires optimism — even mine.
In November 2000, as Argentina’s economic crisis escalated, then Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio spoke for a conference of bishops when he attacked economic neoliberalism. Writing for Dissent, Mark Engler translated the bishops’ statement as describing the true debt of Argentina as “social,” not financial. It blasted the
“growing gap between rich and poor … negative aspects of globalization … the tyranny of the markets … We live in world in which the primacy of economics, without a base of reference in … the common good, impedes the resurgence of many nations … To accustom ourselves to living in a world of exclusion and inequality is a serious moral failure that erodes the dignity of mankind and compromises peace and social harmony.”
Tags: A Future Without Poverty, Catholic chruch, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Cornel West, families in poverty, Jesuit order, Jorge Bergoglio, National Poverty Center, poor, Pope Francis, poverty, President Obama, Tavis Smiley, Vision for a New America, working poor
Posted in Bullying-Related Research, Commentary by G. Namie, Fairness & Social Justice Denied, Social/Mgmt/Epid Sciences | 1 Archived Comment | Post A Comment (
Abused domestic workers may get champion at Obama’s Dept of Labor
Monday, March 18th, 2013
Just when it looked like President Obama knew no one to add to his cabinet that spoke the language of working folks, he has decided to use the nomination to Department of Labor Secretary to hoist Thomas Perez on his shoulders. Said the President today
“He’s the son of Dominican immigrants. He helped pay his way through college as a garbage collector and working at a warehouse. He went on to become the first lawyer in his family. So his story reminds us of this country’s promise”
According to reports, Perez, currently working in the Civil Rights Division of the federal Justice Department, was the second person of color to ever be elected to the Montgomery County (MD) Council. While on the Council, Perez pushed a “bill of rights” for domestic workers, tried to toughen county laws against predatory lending and supported the expansion of medical clinics to serve the uninsured. He also fought to import cheaper prescription drugs for county employees — a plan blocked by the Food and Drug Administration.
Tags: abuse of domestic workers, Barrack Obama, caregivers, domestic workers, GOP, home health aides, housecleaners, nannies, Thomas Perez, U.S. Department of Labor, Unions, workers' rights
Posted in Commentary by G. Namie, Good News, Media About Bullying, Print: News, Blogs, Magazines, The New America, Unions | No Archived Comments | Post A Comment (
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