AMAZON AND OTHER EMPLOYERS ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

 13 December 2021

Dear Mayor Jones:

The death toll from the storms and tornadoes Friday night highlights the need for citywide emergency plans. I hope you will consider the proposals I put forward both in my letter about future water shortages, and in my most recent letter about building self-sustaining neighborhoods while also tackling chronic unemployment.

If the St. Louis area were facing the same challenges as Kentucky, would we be prepared? Would residents without power have somewhere to go? Especially poor people? I hope there is a plan in place. I hope there are reciprocal agreements with other cities and counties, that should we need to seek refuge in another area we have brother/sister communities that will host our displaced (and we theirs).

And the bad management of trillion-dollar Amazon needs to be addressed. It’s not enough to look at the managers of this particular warehouse. These six people died because of the overall culture of work and employment in this country. They died because we lack unions which gives voice to labor and is the only power strong enough to leverage bad management and greed.

I hope the City of Saint Louis supports unions for all employees in every kind of job and industry. The people who do the work deserve a voice.  And the collective knowledge of people who perform the labor needs to be collected and retained. We will all prosper when unions prosper.

In addition to supporting and encouraging unions among city businesses, there are several other things that could be done to increase safe, sustainable employment in Saint Louis (and everywhere else).

Businesses need to shut down when emergency alerts are issued. The safety of workers should be the priority. It is ridiculous to even have to say that. And the public needs to be asked to take this into consideration too.  As a culture, we should not expect people to work through tornado warnings and bad storms because we ordered something we can’t live without for another day.

We need to promote a healthier, more relaxed culture, both in our work life and our leisure. What can we do to be sure no one is so desperate for something they ordered from Amazon that it can’t be a day late due to weather?  Can we make sure the city is able to stock up on essentials, and have supplies locally?  The cultural aspect of this is also part of the city-wide emergency planning for disasters- making sure we know what people need, and that they have it. Let’s start talking about it.

But there are a lot of other things, too. Amazon’s turnover rate for hourly associates is 150%.  That is obscene. Companies should be sanctioned and or fined for failing to have anything below 50%.  They should at least be questioned. And all companies should be required to interview applicants receiving unemployment. (It is difficult to take the myth “no one wants to work anymore” seriously because not only are many of these places chronically understaffed and badly managed, they also often do not call back even 10% of the applications they receive.)

When I apply for a job, I am often subject to background checks, reference checks, credit report, and a full list of my past employment, including dates, employers, etc. Many of these companies will not interview me, but I must submit all my personal data to them.

As an employee and as a temporary, I have worked at many places that did not keep enough in the bank to cover payroll.  Or the owners were in debt, on the verge of bankruptcy. Sometimes the writing is on the wall, and sometimes it is not.  But it is the employees who suffer when the pension plan has been gambled away in Vegas or drained by executive stock buy backs, or when they show up at work one day to find the doors locked and the coffers emptied.

Society would benefit from more transparency from businesses.  Payroll accounts should be required and transparent. The history of each position should be available as well.  How long has this position existed, how many people have filled it, and what are the common complaints in exit interviews? And just as an employee’s past is transparent for scrutiny, so should owners and managers. Workers have a right to know who they are working for, including familial connections.

While it may not be possible to institute these changes in the private sector, the opportunity exists to hold recipients of government assistance (i.e., taxpayer funded) accountable to these standards. Any business that receives TIFs or grants needs to have all their details transparent and available to the public. 

https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/communities-of-color-paid-for-amazons-new-warehouse-through-tax-breaks

I will cover independent and contract-based workers like Uber in more depth in a later letter, but Saint Louis city should strive to create special protections for all the independent laborers as well.  We need to become a safer place to live, for everyone, and that includes working conditions and our response to extreme weather, as well as the more discussed (and funded) issues like crime.

Thank you for your time,

TACKLING CHRONIC UNEMPLOYMENT AND CREATING SELF SUSTAINING NEIGHBORHOODS

Dear Mayor Jones: 

Instead of attracting “talented young professionals with an entrepreneurial spirit” to save the St. Louis area, I suggest making sure the talented people- of all ages- in our city are fully engaged.

I’ve met better entrepreneurs up in Baden, hustling window washing and bootlegged DVD’s from traffic medians and street corners, than in most boardrooms. Some of the most talented and intelligent people I’ve met were homeless, coming to the library every day to read books on economics and politics, and keep up with current affairs, as well as look for jobs and services on the computers.

These forces could be engaged in working for the city.  So many things need addressing in each neighborhood!  A person standing on a street corner has the power to both talk and listen, to deliver and receive information.  Engage the people that are already out, and put them to work, creating a new blueprint for city living, and tackling unemployment at the same time!  

First hire activists and volunteers and social workers first.  They will work set hours every day, either with teams or alone. They will locate and coordinate with people that suffer from chronic unemployment and/or are unhoused. Give each lead person a geographic area and let them set meet-up places and times for day labor jobs. Let each lead have a team of 4 or 5, as with a regular street team, and specific tasks or goals. 

You can use these street teams for many purposes- to inform residents of news and services, to gather data about needed improvements. And to form a city-wide task force to put a disaster plan in place, including evacuation procedures. 

Recruit a captain from every block. Block Captains communicate to 6-block Team Captains (as outlined in my letter on responding to possible grid disruptions and water shortages) and Team Captains communicate to Neighborhood Captains, who communicate to Alderpersons (and I encourage more wards, not fewer).  With this format in place, there would be no situation or problem in the city that could not be handled quickly and locally, even during a disaster and without phones or internet. 

Develop conscious neighborhoods that are self-sustaining. This won’t happen overnight, but it will be immediately transformative and impactful. It will change the way people view their neighborhoods.   It will encourage people to develop networks in their communities.

Let each Neighborhood be encouraged to include a fireman, policeman, E.M.T. or nurse, lineman, pipefitter, tree-trimmer/landscaper, telephone lineman, bus driver, truck driver, mechanic, builder, repairman, interpreter of other languages, HAM radio operator, coder, etc.  

For those that are chronically unemployed but unable to talk to the public about city news, assistance, and/or the new emergency plan and conscious neighborhood development, grants should be sought to employ people for things like clearing invasive species like kudzu and creeper from public spaces and parks, and vacant or abandoned properties. And our city’s trees need more attention than they are receiving. Again, many people that are already doing this work as volunteers, and could be hired to form similar task forces- going out during set hours and taking along day laborers in small groups.

The City of St. Louis has so many entities that do not pay taxes- schools, churches, and government institutions, including this new National Geo-Spatial Intelligence agency, to whom we granted quite a lot of land for free.   All these entities that do not pay taxes should be encouraged to donate funding generously to these programs. 

I’d be happy to assist with this in any way, including a more specific plan that goes ward by ward, but I hope you will initiate these changes immediately, or as soon as possible. 

Thank you for your time,

STATE OF MISSOURI AND THE DETRIMENTAL REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP

 Dear Mayor Jones:

One unfortunate thing about the city of St. Louis is that it is located in the state of Missouri, or Misery, as it was called by my generation when we were teenagers.

Our state government, supported by rural red voters that only seem to care about abortion bans, illegal immigration, and unlimited access to guns and ammo, has basically been waging war against us, especially in the last five years.

When, in 2017, we raised the minimum wage, the GOP dominated MO legislature immediately shot it down. The voters statewide passed Medicaid, and the governor overturned it. And even Centene threatening to leave the state wouldn’t budge the Republican regime, it was the people and the courts.  (That we have to take our governor to court is an outrage in and of itself.)

Even something as simple as our mask mandate was opposed by the GOP Attorney General.  Which was very ironic, considering how deliberately state leaders routed the vaccine to rural areas first. Or how federal Covid funding in rural areas was expedited and processed by the state but limited in urban areas and given no administrative assistance.

But, in my opinion, one of the most grievous and detrimental attacks was on the federal Covid unemployment funds. Governor Parson felt the need to rob the state of potentially $7.8 million in Federal unemployment funds.  Even though unemployment had been steadily decreasing, and Missouri was actually ahead of the national average, Parson chose to end the unemployment in June. His justification was that there were 220,000 vacant jobs in the state of Missouri.

This statistic was supplied by the Economic Development Department.  I’ve long heard complaints about the state’s Economic Development department.  Is it a hotbed of corruption, favoritism, and handouts? Falsified reporting? Nepotism and legacy hires? It’s on my long list of things to research, but based on what happened this spring, these rumors seem well-founded.

Given that there were only 150,000 unemployed people, that indicates a much greater problem than unemployment funds. 70,000 jobs would remain unfilled even if every unemployed person was hired. No audit was given of what these jobs were, where they were located, and if the vacant positions matched qualifications of the unemployed people. No plan to fill these jobs was put forward.

And how many of these jobs pay living wages? From the state’s website: “Employers engaged in retail or service businesses whose annual gross income is less than $500,000 are not required to pay the state minimum wage rate. Employers not subject to the minimum wage law can pay employees wages of their choosing.” (I cannot find data on how many of 151k businesses that includes.)

The state of Missouri does very little for its unemployed residents.  Many people seem to think that Missouri is being “fair” by not requiring employees to pay half the insurance, but really this just serves to keep the power in the hands of the employers and encourages the state to deny claims so that it may keep the funds in a trust.

I lived in California for most of my adult life (from age 19 to 44), and I was on unemployment twice during those 25 years. I paid half my insurance, and I had a say in whether I deserved to receive it or not.  I was expected to apply for 12 jobs a week, and the state audited my applications to be sure I was telling the truth. The state would often submit my resume for me and asked to see it and my cover letters when I went in for required appointments at the unemployment office.

The state also made sure that employers were required to give interviews to a certain number of unemployed applicants. I suspect that many employers receive resumes and applications that are summarily discarded.  (I have seen this firsthand, at many places I have worked, including SLPL, as mentioned in my letter dated 4 December 2021 on that institution.)

In your position as the mayor of the largest city in this state, I hope that you are investigating the claims of Governor Parson, the Economic Development department, and that you are implementing auditing for the applications for city jobs, to be sure that everyone has a fair chance. Moreover, the city itself could develop assistance to job seekers that the state fails to provide.

In September, Missouri Jobs for Justice did file a lawsuit against Governor Parson, based on the hardships many people faced in having this $7.8 million canceled. It was overturned by a judge rumored to be friends with the Governor. Thankfully, they are renewing the fight and I do hope you will offer them every assistance.  If nothing else, the federal funds should be paid to workers for the 3 months (or whatever portion) they were denied.

https://www.mojwj.org/press-release/unemployment-lawsuit/

And really, at this point, it is the principle of the thing. Our governor is bankrupting us and destroying our economy.  We need strong local leadership, like yourself to defend us, and go on the offensive when necessary.

Thank you for your time.

IMPENDING GLOBAL WATER SHORTAGE

 Dear Mayor Jones:

Nationally and globally, the world is facing a shortage of clean water.  Municipalities that sold away water rights to commercial bottlers in the 1950s are now trying to get them back in court (and mostly losing).

If this suggestion seems like the plot to a dystopian science fiction movie, then you are not paying attention.  St Louis is one of the few places in this country that has the capability to prepare fully and even lead by example, but we must start now.  There is no time to waste.

Money will not buy clean water when there is none. Hoarders will not be able to save enough to save themselves. The National Guard cannot distribute supplies that don’t exist. And supply disruptions to computer chips will be disastrous to grid dependent nations like ours even before the shortages of drinking water become serious.

Underdeveloped nations still have accessible natural resources and the ability to use them. In the U.S., hoarding toilet paper won’t help when there is no water to flush the toilet and no grid to sustain our sewer system.  Some folks might be able to purify water from the Mississippi and other bodies of water, but it won’t be like camping for a few days, it will be a slow and painful disaster for millions of people. 

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/trend/archive/spring-2019/a-map-of-the-future-of-water

https://www.fb.org/market-intel/first-ever-colorado-river-water-shortage-declaration-spurs-water-cuts-in-th

https://www.consumerreports.org/bottled-water/how-coke-and-pepsi-make-millions-from-bottling-tap-water-as-residents-face-shutoffs/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/29/the-fight-over-water-how-nestle-dries-up-us-creeks-to-sell-water-in-plastic-bottles

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/midwest/2021/10/01/634847.htm

https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/584266-american-supply-chains-face-a-dire-threat-from-chinas-water

One of the good things about a shrinking city is that it will be much more manageable to organize if a shortage or natural disaster strikes. Especially if we are prepared.  Also, we have abundant water resources.  But we need to capitalize on this now, and start taking rainwater collection, greywater systems, and groundwater preservation seriously. 

The first thing we need is a real plan in case of shortage or disaster. One of the first things we can do is divide the city up in 6-8 block sections and find neighborhood “team captains.”  In a natural disaster, a situation like Katrina, or a supply chain disruption, where there is a threat of looting, neighborhood team captains would coordinate distribution of supplies from stores and warehouses, so that everything was accounted for and distributed equitably, fairly, and with proper accounting for later reimbursement.

Team Captains would also coordinate communications if there was a grid shutdown that prevented cell phones and wifi from operating, when even solar charging devices won’t help. (Solar charging stations should also be in the plan, though.) This could be by other means like HAM radios, or person to person.

Neighborhood captains would also be prepared with supplies for people with medical conditions and other issues that are grid dependent- oxygen tanks, mobility devices, etc. In each area, there needs to be people that know the area and the residents well. (As a sidenote, I disagree with the re-districting plan for the Alderpeople. We need more representation, and more leaders, not fewer.)

If we combine this city-wide Neighborhood Team network with the collection of rainwater in each area, purification supplies, and begin asking residents to conserve water and adopt greywater systems in as many public facilities as possible, we will be able to “weather any storm” figuratively (or is that literally?) speaking.

Have a plan in place and start preparing now.  And if nothing happens, we have conserved water and are prepared for any emergency.

Thank you for your time.

PROPERTY TAXES AND PARK CENTRAL DEVELOPMENT

 

Dear Mayor Jones:

I hope that your office and the assessor’s office, and the LRA, will offer every assistance to Park Central Development.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2021-11-30/st-louisans-facing-tax-foreclosure-would-see-relief-via-new-fund?

I urge complete transparency in all tax records, and in all LRA holdings. No more McKees, no more North Point Developers. No more rumors about LRA special deals for friends and campaign donors.

Moreover, owners of vacant properties need to be held to a stricter standard.  Vacant properties are a detriment to neighborhoods and equity.  Especially commercial owners with multiple properties should not be allowed to fall behind on taxes at all. And they should not be allowed to own properties that are in disrepair or otherwise untended or uncared for.

Conversely, residents need to be given every assistance available.  And especially those in low-income neighborhoods. These are “the widow with two mites.”  In a shrinking city of 300,000, with such a great divide between North and South, and Black and White, it is the poor resident property owner that needs to be cherished.

(Many vacant properties could be turned into community gardens, playgrounds, rainwater collections sites, community chicken coops, and/or bird sanctuaries.  Not to mention tiny houses for homeless and veterans, etc.)

Thank you for your time,

SAINT LOUIS PUBLIC LIBRARY

 

Dear Mayor Jones:

 

Saint Louis Public Library has the potential to transform Saint Louis City, but proper focus is needed. What patrons want the most are: available meeting and conference rooms, office services, including fax machines, notaries, on-site instruction for computer programs, assistance with resumes and business development, early opening times, especially at Central, and jobs at the library- there are many people that want to work at SLPL. *

 

Much of the library’s business is opaque, and I think it is likely that the much-touted number of 93,000 library cards is inaccurate. However, even if it is twice that, that is still only two thirds of the city’s population, and many cardholders are from the counties.

 

Library cards should be automatic for every city resident, and services should be focused on residents. County residents and tourists do not need the free $5 monthly print credit. And all City residents, even those that owe for lost or damaged materials, should have computer privileges.

 

All full-time city jobs should belong to city residents, including the library. ** SLPL is funded solely on property taxes, in perpetuity and written into the City Charter. And the library receives payment on assessed values (meaning they get one half cent on the dollar of the total assessed value, $5 billion in 2019, even though the city collects less than a third of that).

 

The minimum wage for all library jobs should be $15 an hour, and the two most important and vital jobs at the library – the clerks and the janitors- need their pay scales increased. ***

 

All full-time city jobs should require retirement at age 65 and pay enough so that retirement is possible at that time. Older people have a lot to contribute, and this is not ageism, but a recognition that retirement is necessary so that government institutions and agencies remain invigorated and allow for “fresh blood.” Part-time, advisory, and volunteer opportunities can be made available.

 

And there needs to be stronger rules in place, about family members (by blood or marriage) working together. This creates factions, and unfair scheduling accommodations for commuting, among other things.

 

Especially among the highly paid managerial and executive positions, there are too many “lifers” that have become entrenched. Regular job audits should be conducted by every employee. Every single job at the library should have a “book of knowledge” or guidebook that explains exactly what that job does. No one should be “indispensable”, and no tasks should be left undone because no one else is trained to do the job.

 

Moreover, the Library does not need such highly paid executives. In a city where the median income is $65,000 for white people, and $33,000 for black people, to have three top executives, all earning over $125,000 (and the Director makes $185,000) is outrageous. And there are another 9 positions that are salaried over $80,000, which quite frankly, should be the very top salary level.

 

These highly paid executives are out of touch with the patrons, the public, and overly focused on producing marketing materials that do not address the real needs of library patrons and residents. The Foundation raises about $1.5 million, but at least $250k of that goes to salaries for the Foundation staff. (The salaries, I believe, come from the tax money. Again, why is this opaque?)

 

Managers can rotate the Director positions, and the outreach to communities should be done by the staff at the branches. And human resources, especially, needs to be restructured. The city of St Louis does not need a library Human resources executive that makes $99,000 a year with a staff of three people.

 

I also encourage you to replace every member of the Board and set term limits. They have served too long and become too comfortable with the executives and the major donors. Meetings are often cancelled, rarely posted publicly and the public is often discouraged from attending. The meetings serve little purpose other than the highly paid executives to quote circulation and gate count statistics. The library needs fresh eyes.

 

Branches need to be assessed, too. Several are redundant and costly. Charing Cross is in an area overserved. (University City library, Washington University, and SLPL’s Cabanne- one of the remaining Carnegie branches, and a building that requires frequent maintenance) are all within two miles of each other. Charing Cross only has one computer terminal and needs to either close for lunch or have an employee travel from another branch.

 

Central Express detracts from Central itself and requires coverage from another branch for lunches and staff.

 

Both Marketplace and Machacek need to be audited. It is likely that one is redundant, and Marketplace often needs coverage from another branch, like Charing Cross and Central Express.

 

Finally, I have written to you before about the need to recognize the service that SLPL, and all libraries, provides to homeless populations. Libraries provide the only public toilets and keep human waste off the streets. Libraries provide shelter, computer services, and a place for outreach workers to concentrate efforts. In addition to the NGO for transient populations that I have suggested before, the library needs at least one social worker on staff, particularly at Central.

 

I have made all these suggestions, and more, to the library itself, both as a (former) employee and a patron. I was fired, unsurprisingly. And as an employee, I was told in no uncertain terms by the manager that fired me that I would be banned from attending any Board meetings. I am not seeking revenge or a library job, but the continued irresponsible fiscal management is intolerable. I have waited almost three years to address these issues publicly, in hopes that the executives and managers would make real changes. They have not.

 

I am happy to assist with implementing any of these suggestions and can also present you with a full restructuring plan if you would like. But either way, I hope you will look to improving the services that SLPL provides to the city. It has great potential, and many good employees and managers.

 

Thank you for your time,

* African-American men, in particular, seem to be under-represented, but in my observation, apply in great numbers, and apply repeatedly. I’d like to see job application statistics on all city jobs- i.e., demographics of who applied, versus who is interviewed.

 

**I am not suggesting firing all non-residents en masse, but this rule should be put in effect immediately. And if every employee is required to audit their job, non-performers can be removed, and places made for city residents. And this can be combined with creating more jobs and job training at the library, especially part-time for students and underemployed residents.

 

*** One of the biggest fiascos I have witnessed was in 2018 when library executives decided to raise pay scales and hired a big consulting firm. The actual employees were not consulted. The consulting firm was horribly inefficient. At one point they assigned every job that had “Tech” in the title to market averages for IT salaries. People that worked as “techs”- a title given to employees that are advanced and useful but lack the required education level, usually a degree in Library sciences, and also the “techs” that performed actual repairs on damaged materials- were then notified that they would be receiving these salaries! It created a lot of crushed expectations, bad feelings, and reinforced the opinions that the executives were simply wasting taxpayer money and pretending they oversaw a large corporation, not a public library. The library had underpaid employees for many years, so it was a start, but it was very badly managed, and the wages assigned are still not fair or correct.

HOMELESS SHELTERS

 

Dear Mayor Jones:

Our City Hall is known for its Dickensian look, and our streets as well.  How cold and uncaring our downtown appears to tourist and local alike, and especially for a city so small.  A city with the population of the 1937 Grand National in Aintree, England, and not even half the size of the annual Summerfest music festival in Wisconsin. Why aren’t city leaders able to find sustainable solutions?

It’s time to stop pointing fingers at the people in the streets.  That only makes it worse.  This winter especially, public health and public safety needs to be strong.  And with a little forethought, solving the crisis with the unhoused this winter could be transformative for the city.  Solutions have a way of increasing.

Estimates are that at 150 people that are currently homeless will be without secure shelter this winter. The weather is expected to be severe.  Also, given the recent evictions, that number could easily double by the time the cold sets in.

Preparation is key to keeping costs down.  Many funding sources are available, and many local and community resources could be mobilized with little effort.  Larry Rice and Sunshine House, and other places that closed, had donors and staff.  Also, there are many people that are employed, or volunteer their time, to helping the homeless.  Why hasn’t the city organized all these forces?  All the resources necessary are already available.

City of Hope is currently running Biddle House, but costs are opaque.  (Why?) Homefull claimed $10,000 per year, per person, translated for our purposes to “bed.”  That’s $28 per night.  For the 96 days between Thanksgiving and March 1^st, that is $2688 per person.  2688 x 150 = 404,000 and up to $800k.

Biddle House has 98 beds.  Temporary shelters may have slightly higher costs, particularly if they house only 12-20.  Extended periods of weather mean more time spent in the shelter, and smaller units are more hygienic and manageable for staff and guests.  (In the 80s and 90s on Los Angeles Skid Row, the biggest complaint I heard from the unhoused population was the bigger the crowd, the more drugs.)

Again, these costs can be reduced by employing the activists that already do outreach and bringing them together to form units throughout the city- not just downtown and downtown adjacent.

There is an opportunity now to really make strides in working with individuals to get what they need to obtain stable housing, and anything else: job training, health issues, documentation.  Make sure everyone has ID.  If there is any sort of jobs that can be offered, especially if there is room for workspace at the shelter and coordinating with the Unemployment office and Economic Development Department.

Police and First Responders will have fewer calls, and calls originate from fewer locations, and known locations.  There will be fewer fires in abandoned buildings. An eye towards proximity of shelters to emergency services might be good. It will also be helpful if everyone has I.D. and is enrolled in Medicaid when there are emergency situations.

Safety will improve and tourism will increase.  I am happy to assist in anyway.  But please, address this problem while the weather is still good. Before it gets too cold, and too heartless.