Topic: No Free Speech
started by: 1adam12
Posted by 1adam12 on Aug. 30 2003,10:34 am
It seems the county board is not the only one interested in prohibiting free speech - Did you know....City employees are forbidden from contacting the mayor or city council members. It is an offense for which the employee can be fired.
Former Mayor Haukoos tried to abolish this rule, but was overruled by Sparks.
Haukoos was actually interested in hearing from the employees. He would go out on occasion and speak to employees on his own, which drove Sparks nuts. However, employees could not (and still can't) initiate contact with administration to address a problem. They must adhere to the chain of command, even if the problem is with their department head.
Posted by Spidey on Aug. 30 2003,10:46 am
Many Admin's, Boards, Directors are this way. There does have to be some kind of protocol to follow or you would have mayhem. I believe it has to do with everyone at the board has the right to now about the situation at the same time. As does the rest of the food chain. I'm not sure what the answer is. I don't think you can really call this prohibiting free speech because you can speak ... you just have to speak to all that is involved which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing. If everyone could go around to all of the members of all of the different sectors telling this and telling that no one would be on the same page.
What do you propose for an answer to this, and how has this been a problem so far?
Posted by GEOKARJO on Aug. 30 2003,10:54 am
As I remember my military chain of command I also remember an open door policy were once a week the company commander allowed anyone to speak to him for 2 hours if mkore than one person had the problem you could talk as a group, In a military situation were you are in a live or die situation that open door kept us tight as a team.
Posted by 1adam12 on Aug. 30 2003,10:56 am
Sorry - should have explained further.Yes, the chain of command is essential. But there have been serious incidents in the city government when the employees should have been able to supercede the chain, i.e. illegal/unethical conduct, nonfeasance, mismanagement, wasteful spending. These things have been allowed to happen without the city council ever knowing. The library issue now is a perfect example. None of the employees can go to the mayor or council and tell them what they're having to do. They would be fired.
The city where I work now has a chain of command, but we are free to contact city administration with our concerns without being penalized.
Albert Lea says under no circumstances will an employee contact the mayor or city council member. That's not right.
The mayor and city council are ultimately responsible for how the city operates. They should want to hear from their employees. They can be the ones to dismiss the complaint as trivial if need be.
Posted by GEOKARJO on Aug. 30 2003,11:20 am
Are you trying to tell us that city employees are the ones parked in front of the library with their families inside 
last few sundays?
Posted by GEOKARJO on Aug. 30 2003,11:24 am
I see think we should interview the people who use the library and find out more about them.
Posted by Ole1kanobe on Aug. 30 2003,11:29 am
That does seem kind of odd, never being able to speak to a council person or the mayor just because you work for the city?So if you take a city job, you lose your right to participate in city government?
Posted by Spidey on Aug. 30 2003,11:35 am
Thank you for the clarification 1adam12 ... I agree with you in that respect. Mayor and City Council are top dogs .. everyone should be able to go to them when not satisfied with the first step of the chain. In any business there should be a way to "go over" your bosses head if you feel unjust or not getting satisfaction in first step protocol. With that being said ... what can anyone do about it that isn't directly involved?
Posted by cwolff on Aug. 30 2003,12:43 pm
I think the chain of command should be used unless the complaint is against your first line supervisor, then you should be able to go over their head and report your complaint. If your complaint is against your first line supervisor and their boss, then you should be able to go over both of their heads to report your complaint. If this is not the policy, then your complaint will not be heard by the person who needs to hear the complaint and nothing will change.
Posted by hoosier on Aug. 30 2003,2:41 pm
The chain of command may be fine for the military, but I believe it has no place in government, it only allows things to stay the same and protect people in charge. If they really cared about doing a better job, they would incourage any and all employees to visit the mayor or council member with their concerns, chain of command just protects those in command, plain and simple.
Posted by minnow on Aug. 30 2003,3:00 pm
Well, I see what they're trying to prevent. Ever work with say 10-20 people and a few start going to the foreman with complaints because they want to gain power over the other workers by back stabbing and the llike. There are always empolyees who use these kind of office politics. It happens all the time and I bet AL city workers would be the worst!
Posted by rosebudinal on Aug. 31 2003,3:07 am
I don't know how the rest of you feel about the guy, but I gotta say Bob Haukoos, whata guy!!! He really really tried. Probably the nicest guy ever sworn into office in this area. His is the one face at those city mtgs. in the audience that I really like to see. Gives me another reason to still want Sparks to move on. And I am not afraid to say that either.