Sep 8, 2008

Mirror mirror on the wall, has my ethnicity changed at all?

Survey of employees’ race/ethnicity, veteran status, and education begins

By Tatjana K. Rosev
September 8, 2008

Recent changes in federal reporting categories require all Los Alamos National Security, LLS employees to review and update their race/ethnicity and veteran status. The Laboratory also wants employees to review and update their education information.

Employees began receiving the short survey either via e-mail or interoffice mail this week. These surveys should be completed by Friday (September 12). The survey is every employee’s opportunity to ensure that the Laboratory is maintaining complete and accurate information regarding her or his selection of these statuses.

This information is being requested for statistical tracking and analysis purposes as required by the Lab’s status as a government contractor. This information will be kept confidential. When reported to the federal government, the data will not be linked to any specific individual.

Information about the survey also was in Wednesday’s Links.


If anyone discovers that their race/ethnicity has changed please send us a comment or email.

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think that what we should do is ALL put down BLACK as our race. That will help our diversity demographics and Mikey will get a bonus for having the most diversity of any DOE laboratory. And, we will ALL be eligible for all kinds of affirmative action stuff.

Frank Young said...

But you might end up with only 3/5ths of your paychecks.

Anonymous said...

what a moronic exercise in wasting time....

Anonymous said...

Technically, it would be no paycheck. However, the effective headcount would be 3/5ths of current. This would count as a 4000 person RIF, so there would be no need for further layoffs.

Anonymous said...

Fuck em'! I refuse to fill this form out to help someone else meet their PBI after I got screwed during PA time. Can you hear me now Mike? Terry?

Anonymous said...

The news is finally out on LANL FY09 raises. The listed figure for TSMs is 5.2%, for Techs it's 3.6%, and for Support it will be 2%.

LANS announced last year's raises as being 3%, but most people only saw 2% because of the hold-backs at the upper management levels (i.e., most saw reductions by about a third on the "official" announced rate).

Based on this, I would expect that the announced 5.2% TSM raise will actually result in raises of only about 3.5% for most of the TSMs. Current inflation at the consumer level is running at about 6%, so you'll still be falling behind with a 3.5% raise. Those TSMs who had their salaries "red lined" by CDP II (and there are a lot of staff in this situation) may see no raise at all!

Of course, some lucky people will be rewarded by the PADs and ADs with raises that will be far in excess of even the announced 5.2% rate. Those people will end up doing much better than the current inflation rate. And at the very top, LANS executives will probably be looking at bonuses in the 12% to 20% range.

Anonymous said...

What good is a raise if LANS has restricted your salary by the new salary caps? This next year's raise is going to be utterly meaningless for a large number of LANL employees!

Anonymous said...

I'm confused by all this talk (in multiple threads) of the "salary caps" for R&D scientists & engineers. If you have a salary > $142.5k but didn't get ranked as a level 4 or greater, it sounds like a market correction. You weren't earning that salary...

Anonymous said...

7:54 pm - BMB (which means bite me bitch) - market says we are worth more.

Anonymous said...

Don't know about other divisions, but in ours, almost every single person got rated at a 3.0. A group leader even made a slip of the tongue the other day in saying that there were a few people that deserved less than that, but the orders from above where to have almost everyone be a 3. What a crock of crap this new PerForm process has turned out to be.

I can only guess the next step.... "Hey, you performed at a 3 for the last year. With that kind of score, we cannot justify a merit raise. You really should find ways to improve your worth around here if you want to make more money."

Anonymous said...

7:54 am: "If you have a salary > $142.5k but didn't get ranked as a level 4 or greater, it sounds like a market correction. You weren't earning that salary..."

You think a market survey correctly determines what employees should be earning? Just as long as it doesn't apply to you, right? What "market" would you be happy to be placed in, against your will and against all logic?

Anonymous said...

More info found at http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/census/race_ethnic_data.html

Last time they changed this we had catagories such as Spanish-American, Mexican-Amercian, Cuban-American, Irish-American, etc. Suddenly anyone who spoke spanish natively, no matter from what part of the world they came from, they were suddenly Hispanic, then along came Latino.

Now when looking at the new categories you may be:

white (not hispanic or latino)

African American or African American and white (not hispanic)

Hispanic

American Indian or American Indian and white (not hispanic)

Asian or Asian and white (not hispanic)

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (not hispanic)

Balance category - 2 or more races (not hispanic)

Apparantly, if you are hispanic or latino, that is all you can be. Am I interpreting this wrong?

Anonymous said...

"7:54 pm - BMB (which means bite me bitch) - market says we are worth more.

9/9/08 5:09 PM"

Well, then go find this magical job that pays more.

You are much deluded.

Anonymous said...

"Well, then go find this magical job that pays more.

You are much deluded.

9/9/08 10:16 PM"

I do not agree with the "deluded" part as a number of people I know recently left for jobs that do pay better and I know a few people who have been courted. People stay at LANL for various reasons.

Anonymous said...

Terry Wallace did direct managers to give a "majority" of 3's. This is documented in a memo he sent to all PADSTE employees.

Anonymous said...

Well, then go find this magical job that pays more.

You are much deluded.

9/9/08 10:16 PM

Positions, NNSA/DOE thinks, to be outside of LANLs "market". Ok, LANL does not employ athletic coaches but faculty positions are definitely jobs for which LANL PIs successfully compete (data from 2005):
http://www.sfgate.com/news/special/pages/2005/ucsalary/

Anonymous said...

If you think that you can find better pay somewhere else, then go.

That really is your only recourse.

There is no right to a pay level matching what you think your peers make.

Anonymous said...

I'm looking for a job in the Minerals Managment Service of the Dept of Interior.

Frank Young said...

The party is over there.

Sex For Oil Scandal At Interior Department

Anonymous said...

Aw, shucks! How come the Interior Department gets all the sexy hot scandals?

I've got a couple of quarts of oil sitting in my garage. Any takers (wink, wink)?

Anonymous said...

"Recent changes in federal reporting categories require all Los Alamos National Security, LLS employees to review and update their race/ethnicity and veteran status. The Laboratory also wants employees to review and update their education information."

Why would anyone want to waste their time. Remember what LANS preaches: "we are a profit business and don't need to disclose anything." They think they are exempt..why shouldn't we think the same? Besides, LANS doesn't even value education, unless it is their own bachelor degrees! Besides, I didn't find the "Bechtel" box for me check.

Anonymous said...

I was told that as a seemingly "white caucasian male" I had not future by a manager. So I changed my etrhnicity to black female.

I am not a "white caucasian male" either, it was just a barely competent manager.

Anonymous said...

0/11 9:01PM
You dont make sense!

Anonymous said...

I do not make sense? You can register as anything you want to. Is thaty too complicated?

Anonymous said...

9/11/08 8:47 PM: If there was a "Bechtel" box for me to check, what would it get me?

Anonymous said...

My old manager told me I was part black because I had Sicilian blood. Works for me.

Anonymous said...

9/12/08 12:53 PM If there was a "Bechtel" box for me to check, what would it get me?

Checking a "Bectel" box might get you a salary that would cap out at the maximum level for that grade level. But that's okay, because then you would get a non-base raise, and finally a bonus! Not too bad, don't you think?

Anonymous said...

My race wasn't on the form...American

Anonymous said...

"Recent changes in federal reporting categories require all Los Alamos National Security, LLS employees to review and update their race/ethnicity and veteran status.

Q: What is the effective date of the revised EEO-1 report?

A: Employers must use the new EEO-1 report starting with the report due on September 30, 2007.

Anonymous said...

"My race wasn't on the form...American" - 9/13/08 9:56 AM

They never have ask correctly about sex either - "Y" or "N".