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Union Files Complaint against DONE GM |
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City Hall
By Greg Nelson
Last May, CityWatch subscribers read about some tough challenges that this column felt would be faced by BongHwan Kim if he were to be confirmed as the permanent general manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. Click here to read that list.
 One of them, improving morale within department, attracted a
significant amount of attention as he went through the confirmation
process. As reported in CityWatch, Kim conducted an online survey of
his staff, and had the results analyzed by a paid consultant that he
selected. The process revealed a serious staff morale problem that Kim
promised the staff and the City Council he would address.
It is possible the problem may be getting worse. DONE’s field staff is now a part of the civil service system and unionized, which gives them new rights and boldness.
On September 22, 2008, the Engineers & Architects Association, the union representing DONE’s director of field operations, Mark Lewis, filed an unfair practice charge against Kim with the city’s Employee Relations Board.
The half-page charge, which is public information, stated that Lewis sent the union an e-mail message sent by Kim to a subordinate that may be proof of a serious workplace violation by both of them. Shortly afterwards, as CityWatch readers know, Lewis was demoted from the highest position among the field staff to the lowest.
The union charges that the demotion was in retaliation for Lewis bringing the information to his union, which it is his legal right.
Next comes Kim’s response, but it’s safe to say that more will be needed to improve the office-wide morale problem.
In the meantime, the neighborhood councils will also suffer from DONE’s problems. If the latest rumors are true, DONE staff will soon be directed to follow a “strategic communication” policy, which bureaucratese for reducing contact and help for neighborhood councils that do not actively support the mayor’s programs and projects. (Greg Nelson writes for CityWatch and can be reached at
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) ◘
CityWatch
Vol 6 Issue 81
Pub: Oct 7, 2008
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