The Great and Powerful Deaton
Deaton behind the curtain at the Energy Control Center (ECC).
In response to James Nash’s article in the Daily News, “Power broker Deaton approved as DWP head.” (http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20954~2557009,00.html#)
The great and powerful Deaton behind the curtain at the Energy Control Center (ECC).
I, for one, hope more than anything that Deaton can straighten things out at DWP. However, we know that no amount of marketing perfume can mask the rot that is eating away at the gut of this organization and its employees.
I anticipate that Deaton will have the usual entourage of Deatonites and cronies that GMs bring in. We hope that he will change that ugly minion custom and appoint just a few good-old-fashioned change-agents (like us) to bring about reform from the inside out. It would be like Gadfly maggots on gangrene (http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1220130.htm ).
I hope that Deaton with an understanding of civil service and a spirit of getting things done through others will demonstrate to existing ex-Edison and attorney-minded despots, that it is much easier to lead through empowering creative employees rather than to drive them into submission with intimidation and bullying.
It would not take much to bring about reform. We are so sick of being sick. Union-led self-centered management is a bottleneck. DWP culture is so far off course with special interest that 8,000 employees take no chances making decisions. They send everything up the chain of command to make sure they won’t be held responsible. It reduces output of 8,000 employees to the manipulations of a few unscrupulous cronies and their minions preoccupied with spinning tales, personnel issues, legal battles, and stomping out whistlers.
If Deaton is truly a powerful guy, he will waste no time in getting the 8,000 employees back on track and producing again. Maybe that one year golden parachute is the license and freedom to can a few unnecessary General Managers and appoint some real Civil Servants. Now, that wouldn't that be a grand turn of events for us all, wouldn't it?
Maybe Deaton, like the Wizard of OZ, will empower us to use what we already have to get us back where we belong. Don't go getting all blurry-eyed. There is absolutely no precedent for this kind of optimism.
Your thoughts?
posted by The Gadfly at 7:17 PM
3 Comments:
Hoping Deaton has the fortitude to dispense with corrupt exempt managers, isolate or neutralize wayward civil service managers, restore integrity to the civil service process, restore engineers to historical management positions, and properly account for, and limit, all transfers to city hall. And put IBEW Local 18 management in its place, the greybar hotel. Run DWP as a business. Make choices based on sound business judgment, not political expediency. Stop giving away the store to please voters, politicians, and cronies.
Treetop Yodeler
My comment is about your DWP article.
I originally complaint in 2002 and I have been experiencing retaliation since, for complaining about being overwork without proper compensation, abuses, discrimination and it all turned to retaliation, intimidation and harassment.
If not for the fact that I've been in so much pain for the past 3 years,
I would find your story interesting but funny.
But it is not funny, it's VERY SAD!
If my vehicles kept broking down, I would not go out and buy another used vehicle and I would carefully read the dotted line to make sure the new vehicle worked and had proper coverage in case something went wrong.
Angelenos and DWP employees keep paying for used vehicles without any kind of insurance every time DWP management denies and hideds the fact that the vehicle is broken.
BUDGET problems, originally gave management a sick idea and used it against custodians. Management took advantage of custodians being a mayority of African Americans and Hispanics and the fact that we have NO accessibility to documents, we do not have power and so on. WE HAVE BEEN DISCRIMINATED AGAINST! If protesting against discrimination is equivalent to being disgruntle in the mind of some managers, then so be it.
Part of your DWP story mentions our mayor HAHN, and a lemon tree.
Every time I trim my lemon tree, the branches seem to multiply. I end up in a mean cicle of cutting branches. When a tree is NOT taken care of properly from day one, it grows twisted (out of shape) distorded. Therefore, instead of a strong tree we end up with a weak, none productive tree that eventually will come down. Hopefully not on top of our homes.
Your article also speak of Alice in wonderland.
I sincerely hope I did not misundertood you. Alice is definately in wonderland but in this particular DWP situation, ALICE is SOME DWP managers, NOT regular employees.
As far as disgruntle employees.
I wholeheartedly recent being called a disgruntle employee by ANY DWP manager. I filed a formal complaint, A GRIEVANCE, which is suposed to be a PROTECTED ACT as of April 2002, which to this day, continues unresolved.
If being disgruntle MEANS you reject abuse, then I guess I have to agree.
But before DWP management calls me disgruntle, they best make certain they know who they speak of. They need to separate disgruntle employees from employees who have a VALID complaint and who had ZERO problems and management had no disatisfaction against the employee UNTIL the employee realized she was being abused.
As to smoke screens..
The only ones I know to be creating smoke screens are ALL part of management, NOT regular employees. We have no be blind or choose to NOT see that THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING EXTREMELY WRONG! Are ALL employees disgruntle? Are ALL employees BAD? Is management entirely INNOCENT here?
NOT all DWP management is bad. In fact we do have some terrific managers.
But the few bad ones are begining to sound like a BAD BLIND DATE who at first sight is simply ugly, then he rappes the woman then he expects her to NOT file charges and when she does, he denies knowing her and ends up claiming she rapped him.
sincerely,
Deborah Engel
I am sorry you have experienced these things. Like many others, you don't sound disgruntled. I hope city officials soon realize that the public is not going to tolerate much more of this.
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