Staggering number of city workers are skipping work (Atlanta, Alpharetta: real estate, houses)

[arjay57]

Even if 35% are laying out every day that's astronomically high.

Why should we taxpayers -- many of whom are struggling already -- be forced to pay for a huge number of non-working "employees" who don't show up, plus paying for an equal number of replacements to actually do the work?

[UrbanConquistador]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Er, how do we know these non-working employees are black? The story doesn't say that.

Given a majority of city of Atlanta workers are black, it defintely tips in favor.

[tigers84]

Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive

Whoa, sparky, calm the **** down.

The valid point here is that maybe the 40% number is a raw number, unadjusted for legitimate absents.

So, I imagine a question I have is: Is the 40% number actually representing what they're claiming.

Lookit - as a scientist, when I ask a question that can be answered by data I must first define my measuring stick. Then I must validate it. And THEN I can make statements about the results.

So if that 40% includes days off that are legitimate and/or contractual then the percentage isn't even 40%. It's some percentage less.

And if THAT number is still high, then we do have a real problem.

Easy there, bog boy. Look at the "raw" numbers again. They present a picture where EVERY DAY, 40% of staff members are missing. So in a dept of 10, 4 are absent, on average, EVERY DAY.

I don't know your experience, but personally I've worked at a few different joints. Illnesss, vacations, emergencies, those were always part of the mix. BUt hardly EVER, excluding MAYBE Christmas time, were 40% of us missing. Even then, very rare for almost half the staff to be out. Of course, were weren't unionized and didn't receive unionized benefits and vacation packages. Maybe unions get off 50 or 60 days a year. Wouldn't surprise me, frankly.

I have mostly worked around motivated, responsible, professional people. The idea of such high absenteeism is utterly foreign to me. In my work an employee who came anywhere near that would have been terminated so fast their head would spin.

[architect77]

I don't care what color they are...Employees of the city of Atlanta suffer from a culture of laziness and indifference.

I wish I could prod all of them to start taking more pride in our city... Straighten up the tens of thousands of crooked and missing street signs, missing water covers, excess litter along side the roads. Hell, as I walk I notice many intersections where the traffic signals aren't properly adjusted as they point in strange directions. Where 10th St dead ends into Monroe is 1 example. The lights are pointing towards Grady High School.

[plessthanpointohfive]

Originally Posted by tigers84

Easy there, bog boy. Look at the "raw" numbers again. They present a picture where EVERY DAY, 40% of staff members are missing. So in a dept of 10, 4 are absent, on average, EVERY DAY.

I don't know your experience, but personally I've worked at a few different joints. Illnesss, vacations, emergencies, those were always part of the mix. BUt hardly EVER, excluding MAYBE Christmas time, were 40% of us missing. Even then, very rare for almost half the staff to be out. Of course, were weren't unionized and didn't receive unionized benefits and vacation packages. Maybe unions get off 50 or 60 days a year. Wouldn't surprise me, frankly.

I have mostly worked around motivated, responsible, professional people. The idea of such high absenteeism is utterly foreign to me. In my work an employee who came anywhere near that would have been terminated so fast their head would spin.

Try bog girl, since I am of the female persuasion.

My experience is that I am a scientist and I know my way around numbers. And saying 4/10 people on a giving day and not accounting for annual leave/sick leave means you can't say 4/10 is absenteeism.

Now, I suspect that it's still a high number. Too high. And there's a real problem. But I don't like inflating a problem in order to inflame reactions. That's just as bad as playing it down.

Remember when that report came out from the CDC saying obesity was the second leading cause of preventable death, killing about 400K people a year? Come to find out that number was really about 112K. For one, CDC used BMI to classify people as overweight or obese when BMI is a poor indicator of fatness (ie, basketball players are almost always classified as obese). For two, they didn't account for other causes of death, such as a car accident. The best quote was this - Daniel Mindus, a CCF senior analyst, wrote: "If the technically overweight Kobe Bryant were to die in a car accident, he'd count towards the mythical 400,000 deaths figure."

Anyway, my point is, I'm suspicious of any attempt to create a scandal out of anything. I need to see the details before I get up in arms.

Though, it's probably NOT true that the absenteeism number is over-inflated in the same way obesity was in the CDC report.

[tigers84]

Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive

Try bog girl, since I am of the female persuasion.

My experience is that I am a scientist and I know my way around numbers. And saying 4/10 people on a giving day and not accounting for annual leave/sick leave means you can't say 4/10 is absenteeism.

Now, I suspect that it's still a high number. Too high. And there's a real problem. But I don't like inflating a problem in order to inflame reactions. That's just as bad as playing it down.

Remember when that report came out from the CDC saying obesity was the second leading cause of preventable death, killing about 400K people a year? Come to find out that number was really about 112K. For one, CDC used BMI to classify people as overweight or obese when BMI is a poor indicator of fatness (ie, basketball players are almost always classified as obese). For two, they didn't account for other causes of death, such as a car accident. The best quote was this - Daniel Mindus, a CCF senior analyst, wrote: "If the technically overweight Kobe Bryant were to die in a car accident, he'd count towards the mythical 400,000 deaths figure."

Anyway, my point is, I'm suspicious of any attempt to create a scandal out of anything. I need to see the details before I get up in arms.

Though, it's probably NOT true that the absenteeism number is over-inflated in the same way obesity was in the CDC report.

Geez, I understand that numbers can be manipulated. I work in the investment world, after all! LOL

40% abseenteism cannot be explained by vacation, obviously. If "sick days", allowed or otherwise, are the cause, Im inclined toward extreme skepticism. Consider this: If an employee recieves 3 weeks of vacation and five sick days, that is roughly one month, or 20 days. Based on a ~250 work days a year, each person is generously allocated 8% days of not working. Now, compare to the 40% number in the article.

How about them numbers, big girl? Clearly, a culture of either brazen irresponsibnility or extreme lethargy (or both) pervades the city of Atlanta SD.

[GAisGreat]

Originally Posted by northwinds

How is this surprising.....the City of Atlanta is simply a jobs program for the black community.....you could easily run the city with 40% of the current employees.....

YES...AWESOME...I always love it when the token 'right-winger' makes the first post dragging race into whatever the given post is about...Way to go Republicans

[GAisGreat]

Originally Posted by northwinds

How is this surprising.....the City of Atlanta is simply a jobs program for the black community.....you could easily run the city with 40% of the current employees.....

My educated guess...
1. Lives in Paulding, Alpharetta, Kennesaw, Forsyth, Hall or some other similar white trash haven
2. Is a member of the tea party
3. An avid listener to Kneel Boortz and Lush Dumbaugh
4. Is still waiting for evidence that Obama is American
5. Collects some form of disability/welfare from the gov't

[oldschoolChevy]

I think 40% might be a stretch, that's alot of people to not have an interruption in city services. Especially if that's the sanitation dept., I think you would see a huge drop off in stuff like garbage pick up, debris removal, etc. While the city gov't sure aren't shining stars, they aren't that bad.

[GAisGreat]

Originally Posted by oldschoolChevy

I think 40% might be a stretch, that's alot of people to not have an interruption in city services. Especially if that's the sanitation dept., I think you would see a huge drop off in stuff like garbage pick up, debris removal, etc. While the city gov't sure aren't shining stars, they aren't that bad.

Yeah this is just another one of those right-wing Faux News style hatchet jobs. They worked the numbers, facts, to their liking to make the 'left' which includes what the 'city workers' represent...unions, government, minorities...And made them look really bad! Its funny these same right-wing dbags would defend to the death a CEO that gave himself a 50million dollar bonus right before he resigned and his company went bankrupt. But they foam at the mouths about things like this!

WSB runs/owns/operates one of the most far right-wing nutjob radio stations in the country. If you want to see a glimpse into the heart of the Tea Tard movement...Just listen to Neal Boortz and the rest of the crap they broadcast from WSB (except Clark Howard).