I received the Comment that follows yesterday. It appears as a Comment to the Post AND 31 MORE but this painful message, if true, is an indictment of all of us who allowed this to happen to loyal staff who just wanted to serve the Jewish People. And all of us did allow this to happen. When the first senior professionals were forced to resign, we did nothing; and from there all else followed -- right up to yesterday. Worst of all, when the UJC professional and lay leaders approved an 18% budget reduction without any reflection whatsoever on the possibility of doing so in a manner that would save jobs, the responsibility became that of everyone on the Budget & Finance Committee and on the Executive Committee who acquiesced without the hard questions -- the questions that should have been asked by the Board Chair, the Executive Chair and the Budget Chair -- for starters. Good people were lost to us yesterday because other good people did nothing time and time and time again.
Read this and weep:
May 6, 2009 4:51 PM
"Anonymous said...
I am one of the 31 sacrificial lambs that UJC was sooo pained to dismiss. OUR many years of service meant nothing to them when they decided to give millions for their precious branding project in their new budget and cut our jobs that did not even add up to one million dollars. The women (yes, ALL women) that were so arbitrarily dismissed in the US offices meant NOTHING to them. There should be an audit of how much they are spending in their Marketing Dept. since they have done nothing but spend money on new initiatives and hire NEW high level MEN at HIGH salaries. Now they say they have no money to keep the WOMEN that have served them for years and have been the backbone of the organization. Their great idea last year was to move missions to Israel, now they are bringing it back after they realized they made a mistake. They should have cut some of the lazy highly paid MEN on top instead of the people that really work and makes a meager salary..."
Friends, we need an organization that is worthy of us; and we must be worthy of it, as well. Speak up and do what is right.
Rwexler
This has been happening the last few years to all too many women--and men--at UJC.
ReplyDeleteIt didn't start when some of the Senior professionals were forced out...in the year or two before that, there were some very good people that were unceremoniously let go or forced out.
The branding study is a boondoggle, as you've written. It should have been independently funded, at least in part, like UJC has done with other studies.
Instead, the costs and time far, far exceeded the original plan as the project lagged behind schedule (costing valuable $$, as the company was on retainer). No doubt it cost some of the 31 their jobs....paying millions of dollars to this firm is just outlandish. Where's the outcry?
And at what benefit? UJC's FRD study a few years back gave the same basic storyline. Ditto with the Jewish Population Survey.
And please don't forget that the Senior Managment Team /Executive Management Committee DID NOT TAKE A PAY CUT. It was considered, but apparantly taken off the table. When federation execs, university leaders and corporate execs are taking pay cuts - why not UJC. The symbolig gesture to the UJC employees and the communities we support would be tremendous.
ReplyDelete