From: crosmun@crosmun.rtp.dg.com (William Crosmun)
Subject: Re: Family leave farce (was a most pressing COncern)
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 92 15:40:59 GMT
Organization: Data General Corporation, RTP, NC.
Keywords: significant words from a document used as an index to content

In article <1992Oct13.150209.2167@ncmicro.lonestar.org> ltf@ncmicro.lonestar.org (Lance Franklin) writes:
>mwilson@ncratl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM (Mark Wilson) writes:
>}
>}You haven't answered the question.  Any temp will still take time to get up
>}to speed.  I'm a programmer working for a small group within a large company.
>}When we hire somebody new, it usually takes that person 6 months to a year
>}before they know enough to contribute.  
>}
>}Even though my company employees thousands of people, over 300 at this site
>}alone, my group has only a dozen people in it.  There is nobody within the
>}company with the requisite skills to step in should one of us take off for
>}three months.
>}
>
>So, Mark, what are you arguing for?  That:
>
>  a) If someone on your team gets pregnant, or has a sick kid, they
>     should have to keep working regardless, or
>
>  b) People with kids shouldn't be hired for important positions where
>     their absence would cause the company some problems.
>
>I don't think either option is very palatable...if you can think of a
>third, by all means, post it.  
>
>It seems to me that, if a company wishes to obtain the advantages
>of hiring an employee with a family (increased stability, good "values",
>whatever...), they should also be willing to accept the occasional
>disadvantages.  

So whatever seems like a good idea to you needs to become federal law?  If
there is a company that is so marginally profitable that an employee taking
time off will push the company into a loss, this leaves them no way to bargain
with their employees, and say "listen, if you need family leave, we can't
afford you".  Instead of finding employees who don't need family leave, this
company now goes out of business.  The decision on family leave should be
between the company and the employee, not the employee and the Feds, (or,
rather, big companies losing market to small companies and the Feds.)

>                Quite frankly, if a company can somehow manage to
>"make do" when an important team member gets sick suddenly, and "disappears"
>for three months with no warning, they sure as hell ought to be able
>to handle a well-telegraphed three month "disappearance" by a similar
>employee in the case of a pregnancy.
>
>
>Lance
>-- 
>Lance T. Franklin            +----------------------------------------------+
>(ltf@ncmicro.lonestar.org)   | "You want I should bop you with this here    |
>NC Microproducts, Inc.       |    Lollipop?!?"                 The Fat Fury |
>Richardson, Texas            +----------------------------------------------+


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William Crosmun
crosmun@dg-rtp.dg.com

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"Socialism has a bad name in America, and no amount of wishful thinking on the 
part of the left is going change that in our lifetimes....The words Economic
Democracy are an adequate and effective replacement."

						   Derek Shearer - Advisor to Bill Clinton

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"That was the ultimate heckle."
	
		Then presidential candidate Al Gore to a heckler who suggested that he
		would make a good vice-president - 1988

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