Anonymous please....
HR will be requesting nearly 6% increase for raises.
In a recent meeting of the phase 2 working compensation group, it was mentioned that this years request is nearly 6 a percent increase. 5.9% to be exact. Seems we're behind the average market pay by nearly 6%.
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51 comments:
It would be nice to see a 6% raise this year, but I'll believe it when I see it. When LANL raises finally arrive at the lower employee levels, I suspect it will be far less than 6%. The budget for FY09 probably won't support a raise this high, regardless of the fact that lab salaries are currently slipping below market survey averages. This is especially true for scientific staff positions when you consider what the market currently pays for someone with a science MS/Ph.d and a TS clearance.
Dear 11:30,
What do you think you are being paid for? To compare salaries you need a similar job description. LANL is in a descending spiral that has been sped up by the end of Dominici. There is almost nowhere else where monies come in without peer review and with such a poor record of accomplishment. There are only a few comparable situations and chances are the others are not being paid as well as you are.
The lab has no task(s) that justify its overhead and no history (post 1950) of success in order to justify any further investment in research at LANL.
I suggest that you be happy with what you have or try to market your skills elsewhere. Meanwhile, the unjustifiable grousing about an already inflated salary is painful to read.
To 2:05
LANL and before that LASL actually has a very impressive history of success after 1950.
For instance, in the 70's, LANL (LASL?) had more papers per scientist in high impact physics journals than any other organization on the planet.
This list of major accomplishments is long. A current question is whether LANL scientists will be able to add to this list. Or stated differently, will LANL employees be able to do projects that are research, projects in which six sigma is meaningless because no one has ever gotten the experiment or computation to work before.
I hope that research can continue here. We will see what happens.
This is very VERY hard to believe.
Given our budget cuts, this will
just have us lay off more people.
OK! Here is how the 6% raises will
work. TSMs, TECs, SSMs, etc will
all get 2%. DLs and GLs will get
3%. ADs and above will get 15% in
recognition of their excellent management. The reason that they need larger per-centage raises is that
they have higher salaries.
Six percent would be really amazing.
I haven't seen a TSM raise that exceed, or even equaled, the rate of inflation for more than 5 years.
That means I have been taking a constant-dollar pay cut for all that time.
No duh we're below market.
Of course, the "hold back" at each level of management may cut the pay raise rate in half, but what else is new?
I understand that I've broken the unwritten "Ignore Eric" rule but I don't believe him and, furthermore, there is a better figure of merit.
That figure is the amount collected from patent licensing divided by the relevant research budget.
You will find that the first number is a well-kept secret at LANL but I daresay that it does not even cover the electric bill for the intellectual property bureaucracy. It is lower than that for any other nuclear lab and well below any research university.
8:03 - it is not a well kept secret, although I cannot give you a citation from my home computer.
LANL brings in about $1.5M in licensing income annually. I am not sure what you would call the relevant research budget, but maybe $500M in direct costs, made of LDRD at $120M + maybe 3 times that in programmatic research.
The average university return is about $30K income per $1M research (http://www.milkeninstitute.org/pdf/mind2mrkt_2006.pdf, see chart on page 16).
So LANL should generate about $15M in income if it were average. Instead it generates 1/10th of that.
6:46 PM wrote "I haven't seen a TSM raise that exceed, or even equaled, the rate of inflation for more than 5 years."
That is because you are not a male and are not friends or play golf or go out drinking every week with a group leader, division leader, or AD.
Mike found it necessary to make light of his salary at last week's All-Hands ("I wish I made as much as I've heard some people think I make on the Blog. Maybe I should petition UC for the Blog's salary.")
Let's attempt to set the record straight on this issue. It's possible to get some facts.
Here's what a UC memo dated 2006 has to say:
www.universityofcalifornia.edu/
news/2006/salaries0606_lab.pdf
----------------------------------------------
LAB SALARIES ITEMS APPROVED AT JUNE 2006 REGENTS
MICHAEL R. ANASTASIO, LANS PRESIDENT AND LANL DIRECTOR
During his five-year appointment as LANS President/LANL Director, will receive an
annual non-base building supplement in the amount of $100,000 in addition to his base
salary of $367,000 ($350,000 paid by LANS and $17,700 by the University).
----------------------------------------------
Given this info, plus a possible 20% bonus, it looks like Mike could be making the following:
$367 K + $100 K = $467 K
$467 K + 20% Bonus = $467 K +$93 K ===> $560 K
From a Congressional memo requesting this info back in '06 you'll find the following:
energycommerce.house.gov/
Investigations/
LANL.QFR.resptoAnastasio.QFR.ltr.pdf
-----------------------------------------------
Anastasio, Michael - Laboratory Director:
$357,000 (base), $451,605 (base + UC fringe)
-----------------------------------------------
Again, adding in a 20% bonus would give:
$451 K + 20% Bonus = $451 K + $ 90 K ===> $541 K
This is far more than a recent "anonymous" poster stated, who would have you believe that Mike only makes about $350 K.
I find it very interesting that Mike apparently seems to want to have the staff believe that his salary isn't all that high.
It seems that Mike easily makes over half a million dollars per year. He also gets a pension payout guarantee and a $743 monthly auto allowance to lease a nice looking luxury sports car.
Of course, if Mike really wanted to come clean about his Director's salary, he wouldn't be hiding it behind the flimsy excuse of LANS proprietary information. I find it curious that LANL's Director appears to have a need to be disingenuous about his salary.
Why all the phony posturing, Mike? Just throw the figures out to the public for everyone to see along with the salaries of all the PADs and ADs.
I'm grateful for the numbers given by 9:03 where LANL shows a patent productivity of about a tenth of an average university without doing much teaching. The calculation omits an important factor which makes LANL look even worse.
That factor must include some function of the time period over which research monies have been expended. Remember, the Manhattan project was the beginning of government supported research on a
large scale.
Shouldn't we be discussing this paltry performance? I suggest, also, that this number should be brought forward each time some public figure suggests that the skills of LANL should be focussed on energy or transportation. Let's face it: there's something very much wrong.
The thread through many of the comments on many of the postings seems to be that all that LANS management cares about is increasing their bonuses. Nobody feels that they care at all about science, productivity, safety, etc.
I believe that people feel that way because it is true!
You can keep adding bonuses all day, and it still doesn't change Mikey's base salary.
Which is not to detract from the point that he isn't worth even that much.
12:03 drives home the point yet again about credibility, and lack thereof.
"12:03 drives home the point yet again about credibility, and lack thereof." 7/1/08 10:26 AM
There are certain special moments at LANL when I get the distinct feeling that LANS upper management must believe that the troops below them are either (a) extremely stupid or, (b) have a total lack of curiosity and inquisitiveness.
How else to you explain some of the whoppers which they gingerly lay out like fresh turds in front of their employees?
My version of the patent metric is a little different than what was proposed.
First, I correct income to the Lab to subtract out all those projects that are unlikely to create viable patents. Then I subtract out the patents that can be obtained but for which there is no commercial market.
In what is left, I then ask whether patent productivity is good, whether licensing of those patents is effective, and, most importantly, whether the patents were licensed for 'fair market value.' If the patent is 'worth' $100,000,000 a year and is licensed for $20,000,000 a year, then even though the licensing income has increased dramatically for the Lab, licensing is still not doing well compared to licensing efforts at other places.
Even with my more complex metric, the Lab is not doing well and could probably improve at least ten fold.
I hope that the above is useful to some readers.
I'm worth the 6% and then some. I'll be pissed as hell if I don't get at least that, but of course I won't leave the Lab. If I leave, that's one less genius in your midst. So no, I won't abandon you. The best and brightest must shoulder the burden of keeping this institution afloat so that you, the rest, the meager, the less capable if you will, can survive. The curse of genius is what I must endure for the sake of the less fortunate. And so yes, I will endure the insult of a 6% raise if I must. I will do it for you.
"How else to you explain some of the whoppers which they gingerly lay out like fresh turds in front of their employees?" - 11:27 AM
Ah, so that's the recent pungent smell I'm noticing when coming through the front security gates at LANL on these warm summer days. Freshly laid out LANS turds. That explains it!
Number of patents or royalties is not a good measure of a lab. Sandia is an applied engineering lab - it should (and does) have a much more robust IP program. The weapons program has not historically generated much IP, and if it did, much of it would have been classified. Most of the big bucks in royalties from universities come from drugs or other health-related products. Having said all of that, I agree that LANL should be generating much more royalty income, although DOE's program for technology transfer tends to downplay royalties as a measure.
"The weapons program has not historically generated much IP, and if it did, much of it would have been classified."
Why would much of it be classified? How about measurement technologies, or manufacturing processes, or fast electronics, or software algorithms, etc?
Poster 11:49 PM offers excuses, but not much else. Hiding behind the excuse of classified work won't cut it any longer. The gig's up.
LANL compares very poorly when compared to many other national labs when it comes to spinning off useful research.
The Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) was notified by LANL Management of the RIF coming down on LANL employees. The LFC met yesterday.
The comment that the lab is not interested in patent royalties, from my experience with LANL patents, is not true. I further agree with the 8:05 poster that one discovers a patentable concept by accident and the weapons researchers should be able to patent unclassified discoveries. The lab has the further advantage in that the patent attorneys don't care a whit about the potential value of a patent and just want to appear valuable. They will patent "discoveries" that are obviously worthless. We once had an enthusiastic intellectual property director and he was not, I believe, a patent attorney. He left in disgust and is now very successful at Yale, I believe, where they bring in far more royalties than LANL on a much smaller research budget (and teach, too).
He mentioned that LANL only cared about the plain number of patents and the idiotic R&D 100 awards which have no meaningful value. They come from one of those "throw-away" technical advertising magazines which has almost no real technical staff. LANL discovered that they could throw money at the mag and score. I was once asked for a $50,000 advance from my grant for the LANL publicity office that dealt with the contest!
I was in a meeting several months back with a group of people associated with pit manufacturing. I was giving an overview of my office which interfaces Lab wide. The "leader" of the meeting, out of WGI, at one point jumped up, came across the table into my face, slammed his hand on the table, and yelled "I don't want it done like that, you are affecting my bonus". That shows that the outside people brought in have been promised sizable bonuses for whatever it is they are trying to do.
Oh yeah, later he admitted to a variety of people he had lost it. But I never did hear an apology for his behavior. I've been a Group Leader and have never treated anyone like that, nor in my many years of service been treated like that. Kinda took me by surprise. Luckily I didn't budge and he didn't win. But he'll still get his huge bonus.
That whole group they have brought in are a worthless bunch of bastards. Intend on making what they can off us, then moving on. Most still run with Tennessee and Georgia license plates so you know they aren't committed to being here.
They really aren't doing anything that we were not capable of doing ourselves if we had DOE and upper Lab management backing and support. We had smart people on board before LANS came in. They are not superstars as they might make you believe.
If these assholes are still runing with out of state license plates but are living and working in NM, then they should be reported. If you work in NN for more than a month you are required to get NM plates, pay taxes, etc.
"Most still run with Tennessee and Georgia license plates so you know they aren't committed to being here."
Hmm, I see a lot of Texas license plates. I assumed PX transplants.
Pinky, perhaps you can make this a top post:
Women get paid on-average 20% less than men doing the same job. In fact, women typically out-perform the men and management seems to think men are better qualified and worth more. How is it that a national laboratory gets away with such sexism and discrmination? Where is Congress? Where is the NNSA? Where is the IG? Why is nobody investigating this? The new salary compensation program for TSMs will be even more telling than those for the support staff ... discuss.
7:51 PM - what is truly upsetting about all this is that LANS has ADs who are women and who stand by this crap just to get their own bonuses. Maybe Obama will do something, God know Udall is just talky, talking.
If these assholes are still runing with out of state license plates but are living and working in NM, then they should be reported. If you work in NN for more than a month you are required to get NM plates, pay taxes, etc.
I have personally seen the license plates of the Rechtel managers who are in the Business Directorate, including Doris Heim, and the ASM managers, Kevin Chalmers, Nick Pery, Joyce Mathews. They all have out of state license plates TWO YEARS AFTER THEY REPORTED TO WORK. Yes, they are breaking the motor vehicle law in NM and ARE PROUDLY FLAUNTING IT. As stated in an earlier posting in another area, the Rechtel managers are not bound by any ethics requirements and deliberately break this NM law. TWO YEARS!! Isn't being trustworthy, honest, sober, drug free, and free from being blackmailed the basic tenant of clearance processing? Guess what - all these law breakers have Q clearances and earn six figure salaries. I guess they can't afford to pay for their registrations in the STATE THEY LIVE IN so it is acceptable to knowingly commit a criminal act.
I'm just guessing, but if they maintain a residence in another state and pay income taxes in that state it might be legal for them to continue using license plates from that state.
7/2/08 8:29 PM
Obama will definitely do something about it. Cut laboratory budgets even further. Haven't you noticed what a staunch supporter of the labs and such unimportant things like national defense he is?
Unemployed women (and men) will then receive equal levels of unemployment benefits.
LANS and their carpet-bagging low lifes are destroying this lab! Have you no shame, Mike? None at all?
"The Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) was notified by LANL Management of the RIF coming down on LANL employees. The LFC met yesterday." 7/2/08 3:08 PM
Mike showed a slick PR video at the All-Hands that bragged about how LANS was doing such a great job managing LANL that they didn't need to involuntarily layoff any staff this year.
Yet, only a week later we hear rumors of official discussions about plans for an upcoming RIF!
Jesus, what is it with these new LANS executives? Do they really think that can keep feeding these bold face lies to the employees? I guess so.
Anonymous at 7/2/08 7:51 PM complains that women work harder than men but are paid less. Certainly that is true in some cases. But, to understand some of the pay disparity, one should compare the amount of sick and family leave used by the wormen relative to the men.
Frank Young said...
I'm just guessing, but if they maintain a residence in another state and pay income taxes in that state it might be legal for them to continue using license plates from that state.
7/2/08 11:30 PM
Hi Frank - the following from the NM MVD - everyone, please note the fraud hotline number.
"There are definitely a few exemptions as to who needs to register a vehicle in the state.
Residency can happen by taking a job in state or simply hanging about for 180 days out of the year. If this is you and you have a vehicle that you are driving around, you need to register it in New Mexico.
Registration Requirements and Exemptions:
The following people are exempt from having to register their vehicles:
Nonresidents in the military who are stationed at a base in New Mexico can opt to keep the registration of their home state, as long as it is current.
Students from out of state attending a university in New Mexico and owning a vehicle can keep their home-state registration and plates. They will need to obtain a "valid nonresident" decal from the school and affix it to the vehicle."
Contact the MVD Fraud Hotline
MVD employees do not tolerate motor vehicle, driver license or ID card fraud.
Please report any suspicious activities.
The information you provide protects everyone!
Call or send email to the MVD Fraud Hotline:
MVD Toll-Free Hotline (866) 750-4833
Email: zerofraud@state.nm.us
What is the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC)?
I think women and men use the same amount of sick and family leave.
You mean, one should compare the amount of sick and family leave reported by women relative to men, 6:01.
So Mikey, here it is. Unless you give me half of your bonus and let me drive your car two days a week, I am going to injure myself on the job and you will not get a bonus!
Regarding 7/3/08 12:35 PM
My wife works in an area with mostly women. The ones she works with have perhaps worked one full week a few times a year. ALL of them always have some excuse for being constantly late, need to take off early, my kids sick, my mother is sick, my grandmother is sick, I am sick, need to go to doctor, etc.....see a pattern here. Some of them just disappear for hours with impunity. Management refuses to deal with these situations and know all about it. My wife runs circles around these supposed equal team members and all she gets is more work but no more pay. Seems the bosses do not want to hurt anyones feelings so at raise time they all get the same and are all within a $100.00 or so of total salary. Business as usual and maybe even worse than ever.
"So Mikey, here it is. Unless you give me half of your bonus and let me drive your car two days a week, I am going to injure myself on the job and you will not get a bonus!"
7/3/08 5:04 PM
Get injured on the job ==>
Mike and his PADs get no bonus ==>
You lose your job for a safety infraction!
It's safer to crawl off LANL property and just pretend it never happened. Got it?
7/3/08 5:05 PM, if the area your wife works in is staffed by "mostly women" - and if most of those women have family living locally - then it's statistically impossible that your wife is a TSM.
With the exception of maternity leave (which is protected from employment discrimination by law under FMLA - not that a lot of LANL managers have ever been clued into this fact) I'll wager that TSM usage of sick/vacation is about comparable between men and women. And from the looks of things lately, salaried women are having to put in more uncompensated overtime, just to stay even at raise time.
3:02 PM wrote ... "With the exception of maternity leave (which is protected from employment discrimination by law under FMLA - not that a lot of LANL managers have ever been clued into this fact)."
This is so true. But FMLA is NOT protected. I know a group leader in MPA (male) that punishes women in his group in their performance appraisals for taking off time for maternity leave. And yet it is 2008, go figure.
Yep, I was a VSP, SSP, whatever. No more lost sleep. I gave them back 1700 hours of sick leave, which I thought might go to into my retirement, with 29 years service, because I took TC-2 it's gone. My decision. No problem.
( I never thought I would be working for a profit making company making bombs, instead of the UC ). Stupid me? Maybe? Never, never, I have told my previous co-workers should you have more than 200 hours of sick leave on the books. You pay for disabilty insurance. Use it if needed.
7:30 pm, There was a group leader in (former) NMT who used the salary process to punish women *in advance* for taking maternity leave. As in: "I'm giving you a lower ORC score because you're going to be leaving in a couple months." I guess the assumption was that the female worker might decide to quit her job after the baby came, so why waste perfectly good raise money on her? The tragedy is that filing a grievance against such behavior is pointless because the manager can always claim the woman misunderstood what he said. (Dang those pregnancy hormones!) Needless to say, said group leader has been promoted since that time.
Well, 11:49 am, and I heard recently that the GL referred to by poster 7:30 pm is an applicant for the MPA-DL position. Now that he has the right female discrimination credentials he will without a doubt get the position - especially since Seestrom supports this kind of behavior in her directorate.
11:49 am. Hmm, I know what group leader you are referring to. This said GL would also dock you (as a TSM) for "not being able to do your job in the back, i.e PF-4" even though you were a declared pregnancy worker with rad protection requirements.
"The Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) was notified by LANL Management of the RIF coming down on LANL employees. The LFC met yesterday." 7/2/08 3:08 PM
The LFC is a worthless body of political hacks looking for a way to latch on to the Lab tit. Ben Lujan (so-called "speaker" of the house) has half his family working at the Lab these days. How many do you think Nicki-boy Salazar and Jan-babe Wallace have sucking on the Lab tit? Kiss the behinds of these morons if you want, but you ain't getting a lick of leadership out of any of them. Not so long as half their family is beholding to the Lab.
"The Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) was notified by LANL Management of the RIF coming down on LANL employees. The LFC met yesterday." 7/2/08 3:08 PM
Was this the presumed hypothetical RIF that could come to pass if (a) the House Committee's nuclear weapons budget is adopted by the next three entitites that review it, and (b) not a dime of the new money proposed for energy and nonproliferation comes to LANL?
my LANs 401 account is the only one not making money. Thank you DC. Vote for a change.
12:07 PM, we have got a group leader like that in P-Division as well. He got promoted as well.
Finding the ones to trim in the next RIF will be easy. The plan is to put anyone who appeals their CDP designation (after it is denied, of course) at the very top of that list. Once that RIF takes place, the 6% increase can be distributed with the vast majority going towards the top levels of mgt and very little to everyone else.
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