Employees turn their back on Agriculture secretary over being relocated to Kansas City

[riversedge]

Last edited Fri Jun 14, 2019, 04:31 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: CNN





Updated 1:18 PM ET, Fri June 14, 2019



(CNN)Employees from two Department of Agriculture research agencies stood and turned their backs to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue at an all-hands meeting Thursday to silently protest a decision to relocate the agencies halfway across the country.

Perdue announced earlier Thursday morning that the Economic Research Service, which provides research and statistical analysis for lawmakers, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which allocates federal research funding, will be relocated to Kansas City from Washington, DC, the final announcement in a process that began last year.

The department says the move will save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, but many employees view the change as politically driven and a way to disrupt climate research and other work with which their bosses disagree. Both agencies recently voted overwhelmingly to unionize to push back against the move.

Perdue announced the final relocation site in a letter that was distributed to employees Thursday morning. Perdue and the department have argued that the move will lower living costs, save taxpayer dollars and move the agencies closer to "stakeholders." ......................................

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/13/politics/usda-employees-relocated-kansas-city-perdue/index.html

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I give them credit for their courage.





Bigger Pic at link of employees with backs turned as Purdue speaks.

[DBoon]

1. I hope a federal contractor pick up these folks

and bills the back at many times their original salary

That would serve this admin right

[erronis]

2. That's exactly what this (mis)administration wants. Give the money to their contractor friends.

Oh Dear, the civil servants don't want to move to the middle of the red states? Let them quit. We know some good people, some very very good people who would love to get into the Business of Agriculture, of which they know nothing but can learn how to make it really, really profitable. BIG WIN!

[KSNY]

4. Exactly...and, remember that the Federal government cannot discriminate in hiring

but there is a lot more leeway for private businesses to do so.

[riversedge]

3. pic now...........

[Farmer-Rick]

5. Closer to stake holders???????

Only if you live in the west. If you live in the east like TN, the Carolinas, Virginia, New England, Maryland and Florida it is further away. Since when do Trump suckers care about farmers in California?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

6. The employees who move will be pleasantly surprised to find they like living

in the Kansas City area.

Not too long ago I read where big companies have long learned that initially it's hard to get employees to accept a transfer to Kansas City, then they can't get them to leave.

[Jersey Devil]

9. Sorry, but KC isn't exactly where most east coasters want to be

I'm sure KC is quite lovely, but in addition to the culture shock, it is hardly the cosmopolitan experience that living in the DC area is. Plus, consider that most of these people will be moving far away from the rest of their families.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. I've lived in both DC and KC.

In that order.

I will just repeat that companies have the experience of finding it very hard to persuade employees to relocate there, then can't get them to go elsewhere. I know that wouldn't be true for everyone. We all like different places and for very different reasons.

I will say that completely relocating a division or office or some such is a common ploy with industry to get rid of senior, higher paid employees. It works, too, because not everyone is willing or able to relocate. Especially if a spouse is employed.

[Rebl2]

14. Cost of

living is certainly much less here. Kansas City MO unfortunately doesn’t have the greatest schools. Some suburbs have great schools. Crime rate is rather high here, but think DC is probably high too.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

19. Where is here for you?

I lived in Overland Park, KS from 1990 to 2008. It had its flaws, but it was a great place to raise our two kids. You are absolutely right about KCMO not having the greatest schools. We bought a home in the Shawnee Mission school district precisely for the schools.

And yes, the crime rate in DC is high. And it varies a lot in specific suburbs.

Again, I've lived in both the DC area and the Kansas City area. Neither one is perfect, but then no place is.

I also want to say that the vast majority of people live where they are because of their jobs. Hardly anyone gets to live exactly where they want to. I am a happy exception. When I realized that divorce was in my future, I traveled to several parts of the country and landed in Santa Fe, NM and am incredibly glad to be here. But this is not an ideal place for everyone. And there are probably any number of other places I could have gone to that would have made me very happy.

I like to say that we live in a wonderful country with fifty wonderful states. And while there are places you couldn't pay me to live in, I bet you couldn't pay others to live where I am. Every time I think that some particular place is so awful I cannot understand why anyone would live there, I come across someone who truly loves it there. Which is why I don't like to trash any state or city, other than to say I wouldn't want to live there.

[Honeycombe8]

7. So they have to move, or lose their jobs?

I guess the govt will pay them to help with moving costs? I hope.

It's good to save money, but this is a strange thing to do.

[marble falls]

8. Perdue said it would save $300,000,000 over twelve years. cheetolini spends comparably ...

that much on golf. Keep his big orange posterior in the Washington area, and we'll save tens of million more.

They want the 50's so freaking much you'd think they'd just love Camp David.

[TeamPooka]

10. Kansas City a "hot spot" for drugs, DEA says public would be shocked at amounts seized

https://www.kmbc.com/article/kansas-city-a-hot-spot-for-drugs-dea-says-public-would-be-shocked-at-amounts-seized/23311212

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. Do remember that Kansas City is in Missouri.

The Kansas side is another thing altogether.

[Miigwech]

13. Can't do this without Congress?

Kick the fuckers out in 2020 and get back to the business of everyday Americans.

[Lithos]

15. Mixed emotions

It's gonna suck to the more senior members who typically are more entrenched. May they find good consulting gigs for 2x their original pay.

For those who do move - it will help turn KC even bluer.

L-

[ck4829]

16. K&R

[FakeNoose]

17. They do this to get the long-time employees to quit their jobs

It's an old ploy, make the high-salary people take a job somewhere else (no choice) so they get mad and quit. Then replace them with low-wage no-experience kids right out of college who make no demands.

It totally sucks. If these people don't quit they'll regret making the move.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

20. Yes. I've seen this more than once in private industry.

This is simply a new tactic (or I think it's a new one) for the government.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

18. I would guess this move is just as much to change the culture...

of these agencies by stacking the staffs with right-wingers. Many current employees will refuse to move and industry-friendly minions will replace them. And, we can bet there's a plentiful supply available and ready to jump right in.....

There's no better way to cover up an internal personnel shakeup of an agency or company than relocation. It can also become a budget buster to get away with cutting services.

Republicans fully intend to demoralize, defund, delegitimize and infiltrate every single government agency serving the general public. Then, down the road, they'll say "see, we told you this agency is of no value!". Next comes "privatize!"

Elections have consequences folks and time is running out to bring this cancer to an end.....