The Vt.Labor Dept ongoing call-in contest

Tacky (4.00 / 3)

This is so tacky, even coming from the Department of Labor.  With all due respect to Commissioner Moulton Powden, she must stop comparing the DOL hotline to a radio contest.  The commissioner has apparently forgotten that unemployed and underemployed Vermonters find the current economic situation anything but humorous.  And why hasn't the Free Press called her out on this?  At least the Times Argus had the courage to print something.

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by: ml @ Wed Jan 21, 2009 at 14:27:49 PM UTC

You know, it is more than tacky. (4.00 / 2)

It is insulting to people who may already be stressed and are simply looking for help that is promised them by the state .What will state agencies operate like after Douglas gets done streamlining them and looking for "new" efficiencies? This may be a prelude .Take number and stand in line .
Also,it is good that the Times Argus pointed this institutional attitude out but this should be what papers do everyday,an everyday act ,not a remarkable one .

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by: BP @ Wed Jan 21, 2009 at 15:30:36 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

She's telling them (4.00 / 1)

... if they can't get help from the department, it's their own fault for not trying hard enough.

Beware the Everyday Brutality of the Averted Gaze

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by: mataliandy @ Thu Jan 22, 2009 at 08:19:01 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Sounds Like My Grandpa (n/t) (0.00 / 0)

"GMD's once proud libertarian-socialist"

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by: wdh3 @ Fri Jan 23, 2009 at 02:58:20 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yes (3.00 / 1)

And when the time comes, consider your contacting Social Security and trying to retire as a Darwinian exercise. If you can make it thru the process, you get to retire.

Don't be so assured of your position, Powden. You can (maybe should) be replaced.

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by: annikee @ Wed Jan 21, 2009 at 15:24:00 PM UTC

A wide range of applications (4.00 / 4)

In the spirit of the DOL advice, I submit the following for consideration...

Food stamps run out? Think of it as a diet.

Lose your job? It's the beginning of an entrepreneurial adventure!

No health insurance? Explore the healing properties of your mind, body and soul.

School cutbacks? It's a chance to reconnect with your kids.

No heat? It's kind of like camping out in your own home.

Homeless? It's exactly like camping out.  

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by: jvwalt @ Wed Jan 21, 2009 at 15:39:48 PM UTC

you really (4.00 / 2)

really need to send this around to everyone you can think of including state reps & senators, reporters, editors, advocates, etc.

brilliant

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by: Doug Hoffer @ Wed Jan 21, 2009 at 16:22:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Ask The DOL Diva (4.00 / 1)

What happened to the federal dollars that came to Vermont in the summer of 2008, specifically to be used to hire additional staff at the labor call centers? Ms. Powden didn't start hiring the staff until December 2008. Wonder what happened to all those dollars? Must be some of those federal dollars that the Douglas folks have yet to account for to the Joint Fiscal players. How long will Joint Fiscal let the State not account for how excess federal dollars were used? It's already been months. Vermonters are waiting for a full accounting.  

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by: bozo @ Wed Jan 21, 2009 at 17:07:01 PM UTC

Why doesn't DOL have online access? (3.50 / 2)

One can file online but not open a claim, if there was the option to open a claim through the internet it would cut the call volume quite a bit. Folks who get fed up calling over and over again can go to the library and open their claim online.

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by: Ivan Jacobs @ Wed Jan 21, 2009 at 19:09:13 PM UTC

Powden (4.00 / 1)

Well, they don't want to make it convenient for unemployed people to file for unemployment, for cryin' out loud.

I mean, c'mon. We're talkin' about the doogie debacle. Who the hell do ya think you're dealin' with, pal!

Clearly, being customer-friendly isn't exactly their primary concern.

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by: Coop @ Thu Jan 22, 2009 at 01:47:30 AM UTC

Letter from today's Times Argus (0.00 / 0)

Here's a letter to the editor from today's Times Argus.  Couldn't have said it any better!

Article published Jan 22, 2009
Powden's comments were callous

I was saddened, frustrated and outraged by your recent article on the dramatic increases in the number of Vermonters seeking unemployment benefits.

Your newspaper reported that, according to Department of Labor Commissioner Patricia Moulton Powden, the number of weekly unemployment claims jumped from 7,300 in November to 16,000 by the end of December. And the avalanche of new calls have left most people either getting a busy signal or that annoying message indicating that "All circuits are busy right now." But that's not the worst part of the story.

That's saved for Powden's advice to the hard-luck workers seeking the state assistance they deserve but cannot attain due to the - ahem - Department of Labor's staffing snafus. Here's how Powden - via The Times Argus - advised unemployment seekers to approach the frustrations of calling her department: "Think of it as a radio contest. Just hit the redial button."

Based on this comment, I can think of one more person who ought to be calling in for some unemployment benefits: Commissioner Powden.

There's simply no excuse for her cavalier comments or the grossly inadequate staffing at her department.

Trying to attain unemployment benefits isn't a contest - it's a lifeline. And getting through to the Department of Labor to secure that lifeline is what is standing between 16,000 Vermonters and the funds they need to keep food on their tables, fuel in their furnaces and roofs over their heads.

Instead of making light of the unfortunate situation of the callers and her own administrative failures, Powden should be nothing but contrite. Moreover, she and her boss, Gov. Jim Douglas, should be working overtime to hire as many people as it takes to staff the unemployment calling centers adequately and appropriately in these tough times. And given that 16,000 unemployed people are calling her office every day, it shouldn't be hard to find workers.

If Powden doesn't apologize for her cold-hearted comments and correct her department's inadequate staffing soon, Douglas should see to it that Powden joins the ranks of the unemployed. And then, perhaps, she'll see how unfunny, uncaring and unhelpful her little "radio contest" quip was.

Michael Colby

Worcester

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by: ml @ Fri Jan 23, 2009 at 01:51:23 AM UTC

Michael Colby posts here as 'LeftField' N/T (0.00 / 0)

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by: Ivan Jacobs @ Fri Jan 23, 2009 at 21:26:13 PM UTC

[ Parent ]