Editor:
Inefficient, ineffective, illegal and immoral.
That describes the first month of the new administration (Mailbox, Feb. 13). It’s inefficient to have workers dismissed midday or on a Friday night and then oops, “not you, nuclear safeguards,” prison guards, firemen, park rangers, etc. If only we knew who they were and how to find them! That’s not getting rid of unnecessary staff, but simply last in, first out. Not a smart process and certainly not efficient.
These layoffs are ineffective, because there is no guarantee they will make for a more effective program. On the contrary, it has every indication of a less effective process as holes are left in crucial positions and the chain of command is altered. Just who is in charge? Some employees promoted to a higher level were listed as new hires and dismissed. There goes years of experience, knowledge and competent service. Not a smart process and certainly not effective.
The Civil Service Law was enacted because of abusive hiring practices: relatives, who you knew or who paid to play. The merit system was a vast improvement. Due notice of termination gave employees time to challenge their dismissal if they had a case. Mass firings without cause nor proper notification are being challenged in at least 76 cases so far and should be upheld in courts. And DOGE. Is that even a legal thing? Not a smart process and certainly should be adjudicated as illegal.
Morality? Is it ethical to treat your employees as chattel? To throw employees and families into distressful situations without forewarning? Does the fallout reverberate throughout the economy? More unemployment in all 50 states, mortgages, rent, insurance, healthcare unpaid, more competition for available jobs where experience and education may not match? Not a smart process and certainly not efficient, effective, legal or moral.
Kay Escarda, Eureka
This article appears in ‘Breathing Room’.