Archive for the ‘Social Justice’ Category
Hard times for workers: Hollywood says time to laugh
Friday, August 27th, 2010
NBC’s new fall show “Outsourced” and New Line Cinema’s 2011 movie “Horrible Bosses” speak volumes about our attitudes toward job loss and abusive workplaces. Both projects promote dilbert-like fun while simultaneously mocking employees. It’s all a distraction to prevent our focus on employers making horrific decisions — dumping working Americans on the street while chasing cheap labor elsewhere or propping up horrific bullies instead of purging them. Are they laughing at us or with us?
Tags: call centers, horrible bosses, India, ITES-BPO, layoffs, NBC, New Line, outsourced, Premilla D'Cruz
Posted in Media, Social Justice | 2 Comments »
University suicide points to nonreponsive employer
Sunday, August 15th, 2010
Ted Genoways, VQR editor accused of bullying by suicide victim's sister
At universities, people tend to think of teaching and research faculty and staff as the only employees. At the University of Virginia, the president supports a literary journal, the Virginia Quarterly Review, prestigious to poets and fiction writers. Kevin Morrissey, 52, the VQR managing editor had been hired by a young Ted Genoways, 38, new himself to the editor post in 2003.
On July 30, Kevin Morrissey committed suicide after a reported three years of torment by Genoways despite the two having a genuine friendship at the start of their work together.
There was a record of several calls by Morrissey to university institutional helpers (HR, ombuds, EAP, president’s office). Either his call for help was not answered or treated with indifference. Those familiar with Morrissey’s complaints said that the rationalization for Genoways was that creative people like him could be difficult to work with and were often bad managers! In other words, live with him, adjust to him, Genoways is indispensable. Note the abdication of responsibility by this employer for the safe working conditions of its employees.
Tags: Alana Levinson-LaBrosse, bullycide, John Casteen, Kevin Morrissey, suicide, Ted Genoways, University of Virginia, Virginia Quarterly Review, workplace bullying
Posted in Employer Action/Inaction, Social Justice | 15 Comments »
Workplace Frustration: Different Men — Steven Slater & Omar Thornton — Different Choices
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
On Aug. 3 Omar Thornton killed with handguns eight employees at Hartford Distributors (see related commentary). One week later. Steven Slater, a veteran flight attendant with 20 years experience working in a narrow aluminum tube of a workplace stuffed to the max with outrageously demanding, instruction-violating, petty passengers finally had had enough.
Tags: Jet Blue, Omar Thornton, Steven Slater
Posted in Employer Action/Inaction, Social Justice | 2 Comments »
Massacre at Manchester: Weak Connections to Bullying
Friday, August 6th, 2010
The massacre by Omar Thornton at Hartford Distributors in Manchester, CT is a “teachable moment” but not necessarily to advance awareness about workplace bullying as some claim.
Tags: Connecticut, employee theft, going postal, Hartford Distributors, Manchester, massacre, murders, Omar Thornton, shootings, Task Force on Workplace Bullying, Teamsters union, workplace bullying, workplace homicide
Posted in Social Justice | 16 Comments »
BP burning live turtles speaks volumes about people treatment
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
Why are we not shocked by this? The Obama administration confirms knowledge of the burning that sweeps up live turtles deserving rescue. According to Suzanne Goldenberg, writing for the UK Guardian, (where is the U.S. media covering this atrocity?): (more…)
Tags: BP, burning fields, Kemp's Ridley, sea turtles
Posted in Social Justice | Post a Comment »
Health harm from joblessness: Does anybody care?
Saturday, June 26th, 2010
Finally, read about the health consequences of joblessness, the human side of a “down economy” in response to the heartlessness of politicians.
Worklessness and health – what do we know about the causal
For an easy download of this document, go here.
Tags: cardiovascular, employee health, health, joblessness, stress, unemployment
Posted in Health Care, Social Justice | Post a Comment »
Hating Unemployed Americans
Friday, June 25th, 2010
Have we lost our soul? If most of us are only one paycheck away from destitution, why is the attack on the unemployed and down-and-out among us so proudly trumpeted by unfeeling lawmakers? See the evidence for yourselves.
Also read about the disturbing trend of employers refusing to hire the unemployed!
Tags: Rachel Maddow, unemployed
Posted in Social Justice | 1 Comment »
Podcast 16: Unobligated Employers
Monday, June 21st, 2010
If nothing else, BP and Goldman Sachs demonstrate clearly that U.S. employers have NO OBLIGATION to society or the world’s economic stability, so why should they care about little ole you? A Gary Namie podcast.
Download Podcast 16 (in .mp3 format) or Subscribe to the Podcasts.
WBI Podcasts are also in iTunes. Please rate the podcast there. Thanks.
Tags: BP, corporate irresponsibility, Goldman Sachs
Posted in Employer Action/Inaction, Podcast, Social Justice | Post a Comment »
Yellow vest is Wal-Mart's new scarlet letter
Friday, June 18th, 2010
Many bullies prefer a public setting to humiliate their targets. In Las Vegas, a low-level Walmart woman supervisor (unnamed for some reason) confronted an 18 y.o. male temp demanding to know if he was gay. Fernando Gallardo answered “yes” not wanting to lie. What followed is well known to bullied targets. She excluded him from his 50 co-workers, allegedly tried to bribe co-workers to turn against Gallardo as she had successfully turned other managers. Remarkably, she shamed him by making him wear a yellow vest (think yellow star used by Nazis to mark Jews) while at work. HR rejected his complaint despite a Walmart corporate policy prohibiting anti-gay discrimination. So, he filed with the state Equal Rights Commission. Good luck Fernando. Read the original report. Someone, please get me this woman supervisor’s name!
Tags: discrimination, Gallardo, gay rights, Wal-Mart
Posted in Social Justice | 3 Comments »
Senate wants to cut unemployment benefits, WTF?
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
US Senator Jon Tester (d-Montana), obviously one of the deficit-obsessed democrats determined to impose “austerity” on ordinary Americans, called for rolling back $25 per week for people receiving meager unemployment checks during this great recession. Tester told the Washington Post “we’ve got to look for ways to save money.”
Tags: NELP, Tester, unemployment, US Senate
Posted in Social Justice | 2 Comments »
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WBI is the only United States organization dedicated to the eradication of workplace bullying that combines help for individuals, research, public education, consulting for employers, and legislative advocacy.