Feb
2008
patriotism vs. company policy
February 12th, 2008 at 02:23 pm by wRitErsbLock in UncategorizedI broke my speakers at work yesterday. Lukie sent me this link. What’s the gist of the video?
A member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, Terry recently returned from his third tour duty in the Middle East. He is a genuine patriot and has proudly flown his unit’s American flag over the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan.
When he’s not defending our country overseas, Terry Skiest works as a technician for Verizon Business. For three years, Terry displayed his American flag outside his cubicle. But when Terry left his flag hanging outside his cubicle during his last tour in Afghanistan, Verizon Business removed it.
A co-worker of Skiest’s reported that a local manager said that the American flag “could be considered to be propaganda” and “might be offensive to some workers.”
Terry isn’t trying to organize workers against VZB - he just wants to put the flag back up on his wall. Tell Verizon Business to put up Terry’s flag.
Look into Verizon’s policy yourself and decide if you think Terry should be allowed to display the American flag in his cubicle.
Do you think they’d allow a flag to be displayed if it were less patriotic and more controversial?
Welcome to Pereiraville! I'm wRitErsbLock; I live in Central Florida. Make yourself comfortable, comment often, and try not to spill your wine. Enjoy your stay!
Your 2¢
I’d like to set the record straight on the display of Terry Skiest’s flags at Verizon Business’ Acton location. Mr. Skiest’s flags were never taken down. They were relocated from an outside wall to an inner wall on his cubicle that is prominently visible to anyone passing by.
Moreover, the manager who relocated the flags served 20 years in the National Guard and displays a U.S. flag from the side of his own home. It should go without saying, but for the record, this patriotic manager denies making the remarks attributed to him, and they certainly they don’t reflect our company’s reason for relocating the flags.
It should also go without saying that Verizon Business respects Mr. Skiest’s service and the service of the more than 1,000 Verizon employees who have been called to active duty since September 2001. The facts – which you probably weren’t told — bear that out:
The notion that Verizon Business regards the U.S. or Massachusetts flags as “offensive” is silly. We proudly display a company-owned U.S. flag in Acton and at other locations across the country. Because we are a large company, we have a policy that non-offensive, personal property should be displayed in personal space.
However, we recognized months ago that Mr. Skiest’s flags were special and so when – four months ago – he offered to donate the flags to us so they could be displayed in common space, we accepted his offer and planned to return the donated flags upon his request. But he told us that he had changed his mind.
Verizon Business has a track record of honoring our military veterans. Our military leave policy is among the best in the country. When our employees, including Mr. Skiest, serve their country on military leave, Verizon Business makes up the difference between their base pay and their military base pay. In addition, Verizon Business provides health and well-being benefits for these employees and their dependents for the length of their Emergency Military Leave.
Not surprisingly, the CWA has ignored these facts as part of its ongoing campaign to organize Verizon Business. This kind of unwarranted attack on the reputation of Verizon Business only works against the interests of our 32,000 hardworking, dedicated employees who wake up every day looking to earn for the business the good will of our customers in a highly competitive global marketplace.
Contribute your 2¢: