Two weeks ago, I took both NorCo Human Services Director Sue Wandalowski and Exec Lamont McClure for their unsuccessful attempt to enlist County Council in a scheme to punish two county workers for trying to improve their careers. They were employed at child protection services (called CYF) and wanted to transfer to become probation officers, and Court Administrator Jermaine Greene wanted them to start at a slightly higher salary than they were getting. She complained that she had 38 vacancies in CYF, so these workers should suffer the "consequences" for leaving. In my view, that bullying attitude is precisely why there are 38 vacancies. That, and McClure's stubborn refusal to finally do a pay study. When he was a candidate McClure called a news conference to complain about 13 vacancies at CYF under the "callous" John Brown administration. Now, with three times as many in that same department, it's time to reset wages. But guess what? Wandalowski, in an excellent impersonation of Officer Barbrady, is now claiming there's nothing to see here.
After my story posted two weeks ago, Wandalowski sent me an email that, like most county emails under our great IT department, went smack dab right into my spam folder. I was completely unaware of it until I was actually called about it two weeks later. In fact, Ass't Director of Administration Becky Bartlett felt the message was important enough to post on my blog. I published it, but for those of you who missed it, this is what Sue Wandalowski had to say:
I wanted to provide you with some updated info about the CYF vacancies and historical info.
• In January 2018, there were 115 staff in seats in CYF, along with 13 vacancies.
• We have created 36 new positions since 2018, and we currently have 127 staff in seats in CYF, with 38 vacancies.
• After going six months with very few candidates on the civil service list, we saw a significant increase in applicants in July 2022. Of those applicants, 10 have accepted positions with CYF, 4 more offers are pending, and 2 interviews are scheduled for later this week.
• 2 of the individuals who accepted offers previously worked in Northampton County CYF and asked to return.
• So while we work diligently to fill every position in CYF, we have more folks working there now than in January 2018.
Wandalowski said something similar to County Council last week. She told them that, in January 2018, there were 128 positions in CYF. Since 13 spots were unfilled, there was a 10.15% vacancy rate.
Thirty-six additional positions have been created since her arrival, so there are now 164 positions in CYF. Since 38 spots were unfilled, there was a 23.17% vacancy rate.
The vacancy rate is actually more than double what it was when McClure called a news conference.
What Wandalowski failed to say, and what I'd like to know, is how many of these vacancies are the caseworkers who actually go out into the field to investigate reports of child abuse.
Wandalowski's apparent point is that she now has more people in desks than she did. in 2018, even though the vacancy rate is double what it was four years ago. So there's no need for alarm. So if that's so, why did she want to punish two employees for leaving.
She is speaking ouit of both sides of her mouth,
The real problem at CYF is low pay, high stress and civil service lists.
Unfortunately, the state civil service commission is underfunded and understaffed. The county began the process of opting out in 2019.
High stress and burnout are real. I have spoken to a caseworker (now retired) who tells me the most difficult decision, and one that is haunting, is to separate families. This is why it's important to have these departments fully staffed so that caseloads are manageable.
Finally, and this is where McClure falls short, is the low pay. It is absurd to continue resisting a pay study, especially in such a demanding area. Last week, Council member Ron Heckman said there should be a separate pay classification for these workers.
I have spoken to one caseworker who told me the hardest part of that job is separating children from their families, no matter how justified it might be. It's a decision that haunts her.
28 comments:
All of the emails NorCo sends me go to my SPAM folder also. I am glad I am not alone.
It is impossible to work with this administration. some of us are talking about leaving until another Administration comes in. Then we may come back to work for the County. Mr. McClure doesn't care about us as employee' and it shows in his outright refusal to deal with wages. Talk to some of the employees at the courthouse and you will find almost 100% of them are upset about the way we are treated. This is no longer a nice place to work. They changed our pay scale so there are now 20 different pay grades. We never get to the top of our scale. If you're on the good side of Mr. McClure or Mr. Dirtinger you may get paid a little better than most. Thank you Bernie for bringing this to the attention of the voters. It seems our pleas fall on deaf ears.
Again I must ask: when will Northampton County ever get up to the level of Lehigh County? This is embarrassing.
I worked there 20 years ago and even then then pay was crap, required a college degree, the use of my own car for work travel and a case load that wasn’t manageable.
There cannot be a pay study as Mr. McClure does not want one.
Bernie,
Think the dept. has job wanted ad online but who wants to apply if the boss treats folks
like this!
Again, you are not going to fill these vacancies by waving a magic wand at them. You must pay your workforce what the market demands. Do the friggin pay study and put that argument to rest. Should the pay study show that these workers are paid adequately, then you can look at the next problem. That would be morale and leadership. That is where this Administration fails and earns a big fat "F". Talk to us and we will tell you the problem. You don't want to hear what we have to say because of your pride and ego and fear that you may be wrong in your assessment of how to deal with the shortage problem. Must something really drastic happen to get this administration to act? Please, act now. Swallow that false pride and take the necessary steps to prevent a major catastrophe in CYF.
Council just approved a contract that gives all Human Service workers 15% over 3 years. They ratified the contract and a majority agreed with the deal. They get paid better than several of their counterparts in similar Counties!
Who would ever work for her.
"Anonymous Becky Bartlett (Deputy Director of Administration) said...
The issue of staffing at DHS is being taken very seriously by the County of Northampton. Director of DHS Susan Wandalowski contacted Mr. O'Hare about this on Aug. 23rd, explaining that the number of positions in the CYF division have been dramatically increased in recent years.
Good morning,
I wanted to provide you with some updated info about the CYF vacancies and historical info.
• In January 2018, there were 115 staff in seats in CYF, along with 13 vacancies.
• We have created 36 new positions since 2018, and we currently have 127 staff in seats in CYF, with 38 vacancies.
• After going six months with very few candidates on the civil service list, we saw a significant increase in applicants in July 2022. Of those applicants, 10 have accepted positions with CYF, 4 more offers are pending, and 2 interviews are scheduled for later this week.
• 2 of the individuals who accepted offers previously worked in Northampton County CYF and asked to return.
• So while we work diligently to fill every position in CYF, we have more folks working there now than in January 2018.
Sue Wandalowski, M.S.Ed.
Director of Human Services"
September 2, 2022 at 10:57 AM
McClure’s news conference was 5 years ago, no ? Did he fill the positions he talked about 5 years ago ?
"Council just approved a contract that gives all Human Service workers 15% over 3 years. They ratified the contract and a majority agreed with the deal. They get paid better than several of their counterparts in similar Counties!"
15% over three years is below the rate of inflation for this year alone. Any union boss recommending this to membership should be toppled. Also, ifthe pay rate is similar to other counties, why be afraid of a pay study? Why not have one just so the staff knows it is being paid fairly and appreciated?
The Pandemic was hard on all employers. Look at the Juvenile Jail. They can’t hire anybody.
Bernie,
How can this be legal?
"They changed our pay scale so there are now 20 different pay grades. We never get to the top of our scale. If you're on the good side of Mr. McClure or Mr. Dirtinger you may get paid a little better than most. Thank you Bernie for bringing this to the attention of the voters. It seems our pleas fall on deaf ears."
September 6, 2022 at 12:19 AM
Five percent guaranteed each year for three years even if you don't perform well......and you think that's insufficient? Bernie what world do you live in? We the taxpayers pay for that raise. And the private sector employees aren't getting raises. How do you propose we pay for those type of raises? I'm not saying they don't deserve a pay study. Five percent is alot . This is part of the problem.
A brand new hire CYS worker at NorCo has a 40 hour work week and earns a salary of $42,510.
A brand new hire CYS worker at Lehigh has 37.5 hour work week and earns a salary of $47,020. I wouldn’t say NorCo gets paid better.
NorCo got a 4.5% 2021, 4.5% 2022, and 2.5% 2023. That is 11.5%, not 15% over a 3 year contract.
It was 11.5%, not 15%. The contract is online and available for the public to see.
Awhile ago I was familiar with a woman who was a CASA volunteer. Some of the stories are heart breaking. It takes a special kind of person to deal with this sort of thing for any length of time paid or not.
"All of the emails NorCo sends me go to my SPAM folder also. I am glad I am not alone."
The county IT department blames our email servers, but this did not happen when the county had a different IT provider. Ordinarily, I would blame my own system. But the mail continues going into spam even after I note it is not spam.
The pandemic illustrated the rules-for-thee-but-not-for-me fundamentals of county government. Nobody in charge cares because they got theirs. Lamont hardly showed at council meetings when he was so-called member. But he was quick to hold a news conference about something he eventually made exponentially worse. The first step to resolution is getting someone to care. That's not going to happen with this administration. They got theirs and don't care about the noisy poors of the county.
So let me see if I have this straight:
After supporting the democrat county executive with cash, campaign help and endorsements, the union negotiates a generous new contract paid for by the taxpayers. A majority of union members are satisfied and ratify the contract.
Now, because the gains from that contract are being eaten up by the inflation, union members want even more taxpayer dollars.
Mind you, the cause of the inflation (that is eating up the gains in the contract and affecting us all) is the policies of democrat politicians at the national level. Those democrat politicians are overwhelmingly supported and funded by the public sector unions.
And the solution is for the taxpayers to pony up even more to keep public sector union members happy?
In a sane world, the taxpayers would be demanding that the unions reimburse THEM for the effects of inflation! When do the taxpayers stop having to clean up the mess caused by democrat politicians and their policies?
"Five percent guaranteed each year for three years even if you don't perform well......and you think that's insufficient? Bernie what world do you live in? We the taxpayers pay for that raise. And the private sector employees aren't getting raises."
Though the subject is one of considerable debate, I am here on Planet Earth. That raise, which appears to have been misstated, is inadequate here on Planet Earth. We are experiencing inflation that has easily outpaced those raises. WE are also experiencing the great resignation. People are walking away from jobs where they are treated like shit. I consider Lamont McClure an excellent Exec EXCEPT when it comes to people. Who here on Planet Earth would think that employees would like being told they will pay the consequences, in the form of a lower salary, if they transfer to another job within the county? Why would Wandalowski think that such a mean-spirited move would be embraced by County Council? Why did no one in Lamont's inner circle tell him he was simply going topo far and that his move would be perceived as vindictive and one which also would piss off the courts in a meaningless battle?
2022 SS COLA = 5.9%
August Inflation rate = 8.5%
Gas inflation since 1/1/22 = 18.7%
NorCo was a majority blue county in 2020 and voted for all of this. Fewer employees and lower wages are not bad for taxpayers, who will see no discernable difference in their county government's performance. Government went away for months during the pandemic and nobody noticed or cared; least of all those who run government.
15% over three years is below the rate of inflation for this year alone.
And it's going up due to these bills passing via reconciliation. Even far left Bernie says so. Keep voting for these people. Left wing receipt below
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/08/07/bernie-sanders-inflation-reduction-act/10260411002/
If the email is sent from anywhere, county or otherwise, it doesn't matter. Wouldn't that be on your provider to sort the email based on its algorhythm? How would an IT department control where your provider sorts your mail? That's like me mailing you a letter and your mailman putting the letter under your mat instead of your mailbox and you being pissed at me. Wandalowski just sent the email after it hits the internet, she nor any IT dept can control how YOUR provider sorts it. I'm afraid
Bernie, I’m not sure where your readers are getting that CYS 15% raise information from. Would you mind putting an edit somewhere stating what their contract actually reflects which is the 4.5% 2021 4.5% 2022, and 2.5% for 2023?
That equals 11.5%
12:19 am: Work is work. You get a paycheck in exchange for the job you do. I have learned pretty late that management talks a good game but really doesn’t care. It isn’t up to management to “validate your feelings” (what a dreadful term) or make you “feel valued.” Employees should feel good because they work hard and put in an honest day. Once I stopped moaning about my lackluster supervisors who placate and are phony, I found myself much happier and far less stressed.
Exactly. I was a Co for, let's say many years. This job is very mundane and boring if that's how you choose to work. When I decided to interact and talk to the inmates I felt alot better and my days there were more fulfilling. I could relate to their stories, specifically addiction recovery. This is because I've been in the same boat and I know I made progress with some of them. Addiction is a MF. Not all inmates are ""scumbags," as many of my co- workers felt. I never understood a C.O. leaving work bummed out because there was no "action." At the end of the day I walked out thankful I was in one piece and knowing that maybe I got through to someone. This country sorely lacks empathy and if people would just shut the hell up and LISTEN maybe, just maybe, we can turn this thing around. I felt good about myself because of how I approached my job, not expecting a pat on the ass from any administrator. I wasn't getting one anyway but I really didn't give a shit.
The contract does not cover all human service employees--only the union employees. What percent of human services employees are union? Middle management is not and seems to be overlooked here.
I believe a former Humam services employee once told me that CYF salaries are reimbursed from the state in the budget. IF this is accurate--why not pay people for the difficult job they do that none of us would ever want to do?
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