We all used to hear the stories about the mob run unions where underworld assets were paid union salaries for jobs they didn’t work. Be it the longshoreman, construction, or waste removal it seemed there was always someone getting paid for not showing up. This is all pretty outrageous and part of our lore, but it is organized crime, after all. We may not like this, but we can at least expect this kind of behavior from organized crime figures.
On the other hand, when according to an article in the Los Angeles Times, school teachers for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) are getting paid not to teach, it becomes a whole other matter. Apparently, teachers under review are getting paid their full salaries not to show up for work. This is costing the school board around $10 million a year. Ten million a year is a lot of money in a good economy. In this economy where the State of California and the City of Los Angeles are in debt up to their proverbial eyeballs this is costly. It is one more addition, it would seem to the ongoing cluster mess known as municipal hiring practices.
Some months back it was reported, also by the Los Angeles Times that new hires for the County Sheriff’s Department and hospital and healthcare workers were either not undergoing background checks or that the background searches were taking so long to return, by the time they did so they were often ignored. Serious crimes were overlooked. Which is not a great idea for law enforcement and healthcare. The reasons for that should be pretty obvious.
But to be fair to Los Angeles, certain other cities encounter the same difficulties when their teachers are under review. Under review, means that the teachers in question are being investigated for possible disciplinary actions. In New York, teachers are assigned to what is called in the article “rubber rooms.” They just sit there untilt he day is done. In San Francisco, however, tachers are consigned to working int he warehouse or some other place where they are at least somewhat productive. In Chicago the move faster on the dismissal process,lightening the burden ont he school budget.
So the issue really is that if your company has such archaic policies, then I would reduce expectations about seizing your part of the market share. Like anything else, if there is dysfunction in one area then for sure there is dysfuntion in others as well. In the case of public schools the level of dysfunction has reached legendary proportions. With businesses in the private sector, often we fail discover the deleterious effects of such practices until way too late.
So perhaps in this economic downturn, time is put to good use by going over policies and practices. Streamline what you can, get rid of the nosnense and get down into the fighting shape that will make you comeptitive in an increasingly challenging market. As for the school boards and their teachers, they still have a lot to learn.
