Editor's note: Here at The State Press we know how important local issues are. By local, we mean not only students, but also faculty and staff. That includes employees like Alex Bellesia, a 25-year electrician and 5-year electrical maintenance employee at ASU. Employees like him make this institution, and losing them could break it. We hope his words are enough to make you aware of the problems that some ASU employees face.
"Whatever is going to happen will probably happen."
I've heard that line before. I think it's kind of like a cross between Murphy's Law and Yogiism.
This seems to be the attitude of many staff maintenance workers and trades personnel when their supervisors tell them that their jobs are uncertain in the months to come.
Grounds workers, those who take care of the landscaping on campus, were told by a supervisor that if their work does not look "world class," their jobs will be outsourced by next April.
The Motor Pool department, the mechanics that repair ASU trucks and electric carts, had already been told that they were being disbanded. They were given until April 2006 to find new jobs.
About six weeks ago, my department met with an assistant director. The topic was employment, and the director again gave news of uncertainty. There might be many departments facing the same issues, but they are not speaking up.
Is this a prelude to a big change in the employment structure at ASU? Do we see privatization in the near future? If this is the case, let's not give in without being heard first.
For the last couple of years, cranes and construction scaffolding have towered over the campus.
This administration has approved and spent big bucks on capital projects.
I suspect that they have overspent and gone over budget, and are now forced to make cutbacks on expenditures, courtesy of their employees.
Have you seen the accommodations in the Foundation Building, by the top brass helms? It looks like the West Wing of the Pentagon. No skimping there, proof of utter arrogance.
I have noticed that uncertainty follows every time there are big debts, cutbacks, or "closed without hire" job listings. This usually affects the lower half of the work force.
Privatization is easy out here in Arizona. People have referred to our state as "the right to work state," or more properly defined it as the "right to exploit state."
Management firms outsource our jobs to a contractor, who then hires unqualified workers and unknowledgeable mechanics and pays them minimal salaries with no health benefits and no pensions.
They figure if big companies can do it, why can't ASU? Once again, this is a sign of arrogance.
What a pity! The struggle of our forefathers and union brothers, who struggled windward to secure a strongly skilled labor force, has weakened, only to be sold out by the trend of big business -- to corrode our country's job security for profit and greed.
It's ironic, but many people employed here at ASU financed their educations through savings, loans and grants for the purpose of securing employment.
Now, some might be denied the opportunity of earning a living here because their career is given to the lowest bidder.
My perspective, and I've seen this in my last job, is that corporations privatize for one reason alone: cheaper labor and more profit.
In my opinion, cutting cost and increasing profit come at a cost to society. Society loses when values and moral standards are neglected.
Does ASU have the moral responsibility to adhere to a system of values and promote human development? They do. If not, where will our work ethics be heading?
I'm sure Yogi Berra never thought that the first quote of this column, his quote, was going to be used in this context.
However, the lack of enthusiasm that I see here on campus -- not voicing opinions and not being represented by our superiors -- will hurt us all.
If we steer this course into complacency, it will not be forgiving.
