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• Communications Workers of Ameria (CWA): CWA Backs Comprehensive Health Care Reform Based on the Success of Medicare. Excerpts: The Communications Workers of America supports and commends Rep. Pete Stark for his efforts to address the failings of the nation's health care system by building on the success of the Medicare program and expanding health care coverage for all who need it. "The AmeriCare Health Care Act is a good step toward the goal of major, comprehensive reform of the nation's health care system, reform that truly provides health care for all. CWA shares Rep. Stark's conviction that the Medicare program – one of our nation's most successful public policy initiatives – should be the basis of a health care system that will be universal, affordable and efficient," said CWA President Larry Cohen. The Medicare program has guaranteed health care for older Americans for more than 40 years and CWA strongly supports the concept of "Medicare for All." The Stark bill would provide health care coverage for every American, effective 2010.
• Washington Post: Kerry Proposes Universal Coverage by 2012. By Glen Johnson. Excerpts: Sen. John Kerry on Monday proposed requiring all Americans to have health insurance by 2012, "with the federal government guaranteeing that they have the means to afford it." The Massachusetts Democrat, whose name is figuring prominently in 2008 White House speculation, repeated his 2004 presidential campaign call for expanding the federal Medicaid program to cover children. He also proposed creating a program to cover catastrophic cases so an employer providing insurance doesn't have to pass the cost to his other workers, and; offering Americans the ability to buy into the same insurance program used by federal workers such as members of Congress.
  Kerry proposes to pay for the program by repealing tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration that benefit those earning over $200,000 annually. He did not immediately elaborate on how he would enact his insurance mandate, but one aid said he would do so with a requirement written into the legislation spelling out that the government covers anyone who is uninsured.
• Bloomberg News: Bush's Health Savings Accounts Are Badly Flawed. By John M. Berry. Excerpts: Health savings accounts, the centerpiece of President George W. Bush's efforts to slow increases in health-care costs, have a serious flaw that makes them largely ineffective. Another Bush proposal, the creation of an electronic health record for individuals, perversely appears to be leading to bigger, not smaller, bills for patients and higher costs for providers. Those are the conclusions of academic researchers detailed in peer-reviewed work in the July/August issue of the journal Health Affairs.
• New York Times commentary by Paul Krugman: "Centrism Is for Suckers". Excerpts: If you want to understand the state of America today, a good place to start is with the contrast between the political strategies of conservative business advocacy groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and those of more or less liberal advocacy groups like the Sierra Club.
  The chamber recently got into trouble because of ads it ran praising Republican members of Congress who, it said, voted for the Medicare prescription drug program. It turned out that one of the congressmen praised in the ads actually voted against the program, while two others weren’t even in Congress when the vote took place.
  Oops. But the bigger question is, aren’t business groups supposed to favor fiscal responsibility and reducing the size of government? So why is the chamber praising a program that substantially increases the size of government and has no visible means of financial support?
  The answer is obvious: the Bush administration hopes to win some votes in the midterm elections from older Americans now receiving drug benefits, and the chamber, like many conservative organizations these days, believes that its interests are best served by helping Republicans win elections. If the administration and its allies in Congress want the chamber’s support on an issue, they get it, never mind the details.
• Los Angeles Times: U.S. Employers Look Offshore for Healthcare. As costs rise, workers are being sent abroad to get operations that cost tens of thousands more in the U.S. By Daniel Yi. Excerpts: After going overseas to outsource everything from manufacturing to customer services, American businesses — pressed by rising healthcare costs — are looking offshore for medical benefits as well. A growing number of employers that fund their own health insurance plans are looking into sending ailing employees abroad for surgeries that in the U.S. cost tens of thousands of dollars more.
  Carl Garrett of Leicester, N.C., will fly to a state-of-the-art New Delhi hospital in September for surgeries to remove gallstones and to fix an overworn rotator cuff. His employer, Blue Ridge Paper Products Inc. of Canton, N.C., will pay for it all, including airfare for Garrett and his fiancee. The company also will give Garrett a share of the expected savings, up to $10,000, when he returns. Garrett chose to go abroad rather than have the operations locally, where he would have paid thousands of dollars in deductibles and co-pays.

• ThinkTwice for Summer 2006 [PDF]. Articles in this edition include:
  • Employees fight force-outs due to medical conditions
  • IBM to invest $6 billion in India. Where is your job going?
  • Study Reveals “Jobless Recovery” in Tech Labor Market, Despite Industry’s Contrary Claims
  • SSR’s Sold Out to Qualxserv
• AFL-CIO: Bush Denies AFL-CIO China Trade Petition: A ‘Slap in the Face’ to Workers. Excerpts: The Bush administration’s decision today to reject the AFL-CIO petition demanding China’s government stop denying workers their rights is “a slap in the face to Chinese and American workers who expect our government to uphold the law,” AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka says:

  In rejecting this petition, President Bush has shown once again that he is beholden to corporate interests at the expense of working families. It’s a travesty that after five years of failed trade policy that have contributed to the loss of almost three million U.S. manufacturing jobs and a record trade deficit of $726 billion, the Administration continues to take no meaningful action to support America’s workers or stop the abuse of workers in China.

  The AFL-CIO, along with Reps. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Chris Smith (R- N.J.), filed a petition June 8 with the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) charging China’s government systematically denies workers’ basic rights and prevents them from exercising internationally recognized workers’ rights, such as the freedom to form unions. Further, the petition documents how China’s failure to protect workers’ rights is an unfair trade practice that costs U.S. jobs.
• From the Job Cuts Status & Comments page
  • Comment 7/28/06: I've spoken to counterparts across the labs, including Austin, Poughkeepsie and Rochester, and the cuts have come down really hard. Contractors and supplementals seem to be the most affected. Engineers, as another poster wrote, are being directed out to the field. I spoke with a manager off the record and this looks like a senseless cut that will aggrevate future revenue. Projects are being moved out to a later date and the engineers with the skills to complete the projects are being moved out to the field to produce billable hours. -Anonymous-
  • Comment 7/28/06: STG in RTP and Rochester terminated contractors this week, effective immediately. Supplementals were given 2-weeks notice. I overheard someone making calls to contractors all day. How absurd is it that one contractor got a voicemail to tell him he no longer had a job. -Anonymous in RTP-
  • Comment 7/29/06: Had a team conference call with our 4th liner the other day. he made a couple interesting comments - he mentioned that we shouldn't be too concerned cause they are only targeting fifty percent of our jobs to move to India and Brazil. During q and a someone asked if ibm management was concerned about recent bombings and terrorism in india. His response was ibm has solid processes and procedures in place to ensure the safety of it's employees, but of course we won't be moving hardware over since it's too volitile. -Anonymous-
  • Comment 7/30/06: More than 100 contractors were let go in RTP on july 2006, and will be more on august 2006. the cut could effects IBMers too lately on august. -Anonymous-
  • Comment 7/30/06: Resource Actions in Tucson, AZ have begun. Friday, 28 July 2006. I know that 47 contractors were let go on the spot. That is just the beginning. My department, which is under head count, will get cut. A suit mentioned in a presentation a reduction 500 or 600 but did not say exactly where that would happen in STG. The contractors mentioned above were in STG. We are doomed. -Anonymous-
  • Comment 7/30/06: IBM Tucson let 47 contractors in one lab go last Friday. More to come and IBMers to be let go in August. My dept is under head count but we will still lose people to layoffs. Band 9 and 10s are asked to work in the field and with customers for a 2-year assignment. STG is being cut big time. Duck and run, people. I polished up my resume and am looking to jump ship. -Yellow-
  • Comment 7/30/06: Disgusted! Especially when we'll ride through the storm in two weeks: The Systems and Technology Group will have another series of layoffs. They want to finish up this by October, so the affected employees get 30 days to find job elsewhere within the company....so the layoff announcement will be made very soon. I wouldn't want to identify myself, but I'm from Poughkeepsie and was confirmed by reliable sources. -Anonymous-
  • Comment 8/02/06: As a member of the latest resource action, I am appalled by Sam's comment in the recent webcast to employees. To quote him, “We’ve been here before," said Sam. "Today's market is reminiscent of 2001-2002. You remember what a lot of our competitors did then — they hunkered down. We know that is not the course for a mature company like IBM. This is the time you go for it. This is the time to take risk. Given our strong financial position, our record cash flow and our overall efficiency, now is the time to invest in the future. Now is the time for us to get focused and get aggressive.” Aggressive as in getting rid of the people (contractors and supplementals) who do the work! How about gettting rid of a coouple of layers of overhead that does not contribute to productivity. -Anonymous-
  • Comment 8/02/06: After seeing this quarter's results, and hearing Sam's comments here in Austin, I have to say that I am also disgusted and disappointed with IBM. Sam's speech was nothing more than a ham-handed attempt to shift blame for this quarter's STG results from himself and to others, namely those much farther down the chain of command. Any CEO worth his salt owns up to his part in failures of the company. His idea for turning STG around? "Get aggressive." I second the previous commentor in that this should be told to the execs. Get aggressive and take some risks. Another thing, how can he expect us to be innovative (which he talked about repeatedly in his talk) when we are constantly expecting the axe to drop?-Austin Employee-
  • Comment 8/02/06: The 500 Complex in RTP is within days of being sold. Seeing that the main RTP complex has less free seating than the 500 complex has total seats, the excess employees who can not find a seat on the main complex will be resource actioned. All SWG contractors and supplementals in RTP will be let go on August 4, 2006 with a 30% layoff of IBM regulars occoring on 8/11/2006. IBM plans to entirely outsource SWG in RTP to India, China, and Brazil by 12/31/2006. Get out while you can. -Anonymous-
  • Comment 8/02/06: When I first learned I was being "resourced" I angry. Then I decided it was IBM's loss and I owed it to myself and my family to work for an honorable company run by people who value their employees. It took me a while but I got a great job working with people who like one another and treat one another with care and respect. I look forward to going to work every day and no longer have health issues brought on by 60-65 hour work weeks and the stress of working for piteous marionette managers who carelessly dissolve jobs, discard people as if they were luncheon left overs and damage families of dedicated, skilled employees in order to "make the numbers" for amoral, greedy execs. -Anonymous-
• From the General Visitor's Comment page:
  • Comment 8/03/06: I have just completed the UK IBM Global exit survey as follows (enjoy) : I have been very dissappointed in the way IBM treats their people. We on the front line effectively producing the massive profits that IBM makes consistently year in year out and I have been among the top 5% performers consistently in the last 8 years with no reward worth mentioning and no SIP at all in the last 4 years. If this is the way IBM 'supports' their people then they have a very bleak future. IBM thinks more about profits than their employees happiness. I have never had so many managers in my career as I have here and the red tape that blocks career progress and decision making is laughable. You couldn't pay me enough to work with IBM again. -Beachwalker-
• Pension Comments page
• IBM employees on employee raises
  • Comment 7/28/06: IBM is experiencing the pain from the dotCom boom years when they handed out raises like candy. Many of us who survived the dotCom bust have the skills IBM needs but the salaries IBM does not want to pay. When they have driven us out with long work hours, no raises, and shrinking pensions they will not have the skills to compete. Shame on you, IBM. Our customers valued our conservative business ideals and you have sold them and us out. -IBMersDozen-
  • Comment 7/29/06: Ancient history, but . . . Back in the 1970s, inflation was running rampant. When employees would ask for a cost-of-living increase, IBM would say "we only give increases for merit". At the same time, however, prices for IBM hardware were raised because of "the increased cost of doing business". -Anonymous-
  • Comment 7/31/06: I have had no raise for 3 years and my pay was reduced by 15% in 2004. I am now paid 30% less than my peers in a comparable position in any of a number of companies that compete with IBM. I have had a PBC 2 or better for last 5 years. Shareholders haven't had a raise either (when you net the share price loss for buybacks and dividend increases) Quite frankly, this is the worst place I have ever worked and the worst investment and career move I ever made. Managers have utter contempt for employees and are generally unqualified and untrained in management. And yes, I'm in the process of leaving - hallelujah. -Anonymous-
  • Comment 8/03/06: Tired of getting a 0% raise for all your hard and dedicated work? Complaining and venting about no raises or paltry raises will do little if anything since IBM just does not care. We can actually do something about it. Take the first step to work towards negotiating a fair contract where raises are put in writing by taking collective action by joining the Alliance! -Anonymous-
  • Comment 8/03/06: Dropped from a band 7 to a band 4 and no raise in three years. Told I was lucky to have a job. All this with a PBC rating of 2. Some "Strong Performer" rating that is. I can't wait for a vote to Unionize the workplace. Bring it on. Am fed up with all the disrespect from management. Lets raise the bar on Sam P and see how he likes it. I feel so badly for him really. How will he survive with only a 29% raise? -Angry in VT-

• "Public Sector - Fairfax" by "tim_2". Full excerpt: I have received an offer from IBM within the public sector in Fairfax as Senior IT specialist. Can someone comment on how this business unit is to work in. Also, do they have project work local to Fairfax, or travel within DC metro area or nation-wide travel?
• "Update" by "MoonShiner". Full excerpt: At the request of ancient blue consultant, and probably everyone else, I am going to continue with a description of my experience so far with GBS/BCS whatever you want to call it. Dose has already written me off as an HR mole, along with some others on this board which I am very flattered by- a pathetic rebuttal to my statements, nonetheless! Dose and ey_ore, that’s great guys, keep thinking that.
  I don’t know what practice you guys all work, or worked in, but I have yet to meet a band 10 or above that isn’t a former PwCC. If you all worked there like you say you did, then maybe you can take a good guess at what practice I am in, because it sure seems like they all know each other here. Upper management has been very supportive of me, including my BP manager, and I am very satisfied with the position that I am in right now. My RDM was worthless and I got myself where I am right now with the support my network. So the bottom line is, to the rest of new hires, be proactive. All RDMs care about is getting you billable, even if it’s a PMA position.
  The accommodations have been good- marriotts and hiltons, midsize rental cars, so-so meal allowances, nothing fancy but comparable from I hear from my friends.
  Dose’s description of the of the IBM culture is skewed towards his bias, but I agree with a lot of what he describes. IBM is definitely not an “up or out” culture. What I’ve observed is a lot of people in 35-45 year of age who are stuck at band 8 with no desire to progress, most were hired in the last 1-2 years just to fill a spot on a project. At the same time, there are a lot of smart and motivated people who take the initiative and have the desire to move up (or build skills and resume to leave for something better) and they are very easy to notice and learn from. The younger band 7’s and 8’s who have been doing this since fresh out of college are the ones I prefer to associate with.
  Dose never goes into the details of how bonuses and raises are computed so I’ve determined the fundamental flaw in the BCS/GBS career growth model. Bonuses and raises are first determined by sector (ind, dist, comms, etc) and then by practice (crm, scm, etc). Then by rating (1, 2+, 2, etc.). The BP manager meets with the other partners in the sector and they decide your rating. If the sector doesn’t do well, no matter how good your practice did or your rating was, you may not get a raise or bonus, even with a 1. This drives top performers who get 1’s in a crappy year for a sector to jump ship. I know what the 1’s and 2+’s got in my sector/practice this year, and I would be satisfied with it (although it was the first raise in 3 years). If I’m not satisfied after 2-3 years, I will still have no problem jumping ship, making a lateral transition, and getting a 20-40% in base. Actually, I am planning on doing it because I predict GBS wont be able to meet my competing offers! So I guess my mentality is a good example of how IBM drives high performers to jump ship eventually.
  But I still refuse to buy into all of this apocalypse, end of days mind set that you guys all have with GBS. Its still a good place to build up skills, in my humble opinion. Cheers
• "Is it me or..." by "deep_eye". Full excerpt: does this read like a recruiting brochure from HR? Yes by all means, get "some feedback from other persons who've had positive experiences at IBM, etc.," Yes, find those three insanely happy rascals wherever they are and get them to spill the beans about IBM BCS.
• "Hmmm. This positive stuff sounds fishy" by "civilliberty". Full excerpt: I've worked at 8 organisations during my time now - 3 of them consultancies- IBM is the worst place I have worked at for the all the reasons everybody else here has stated. I wish I could say something good about the company - oh, just a thought - at least you get 4 weeks to hang around when they make you redundant rather than kicking you out straight away - not much of an incentive to join the company though.
• "Life at IBM" by "ghmgim". Full excerpt: Hi. From the messages on this board, it appears Big Blue is not valuing its employees very much. Is there a consensus on this statement? What is life like at IBM? Is it run-of-the-mill zoombie with rare opportunity for creativity? Is it a good place to grow a career? What about IBM Consulting?
• "Opportunity" by "ancientblueconsultant". Full excerpt: Beware of the difference between the myth created by a powerful brand and the reality of an organizationally psychotic corporate environment. A close relative of mine was a POW in Hanoi during the Vietnam War. He proved that even in captivity, with no freedom, abused daily one can exercise creativity and personal growth.
  If you are strong, willing to learn a little (not much) in exchange for a lot of personal pain, then it could be a place for you. Otherwise, I'd say stay clear, caveat emptor. If you join, plan on leaving at any moment and be fully aware of the temptation of the employee retention addiction which destroys careers. It's a free country, and some of us could enjoy career masochism.
• "Death at IBM" by "Dose of reality". Full excerpt: Yes - it is "run of the mill Zombie with rare opportunity for creativity". It is also deceptive and exploitative compensation policies, coerced project roles regardless of career fit, geography or interest, heavy offshore babysitting, technology slams in lieu of consulting work, and a promotion track that has as its one objective the stifling of advancement to ensure that you work like a dog for nothing. Any more questions?
• "Good Place to Be" by "wrknhrd4damoney". Full excerpt: Overall, IBM Business Consulting Services is a good place to be. I was with PwC as well, so I was a part of the acquisition by IBM. During my time there, I worked on several challenging business process improvement projects. I had fantastic leadership and most often good working relationships with my team members.
  I was afforded the opportunity to lead small teams with little oversight from the partner. Because of this, I was able to be creative at my discretion and take ownership of my project.
  Also during my tenure, I worked on a commercial project that gave me the opportunity to do weekly travel to the midwest. That was a great experience. I worked for DoD for a stint and was able to travel extensively in the states as well.
  At what stage of your career are you? Just starting out or an experienced hire. There are more opportunities to grow when you come in at a lower level, because the promotion process for a person coming in at a higher level is tough. All in all, you should get some feedback from other persons who've had positive experiences at IBM to balance all the negativity that's displayed about the company on this board. Good luck!
• "The worst hovel from an employee perspective..." by "deep_eye". Full excerpt: ...that I have ever encountered. Not only are employees not valued, the mindset seems to be to eliminate the more highly paid talent and replace them with clueless naifs right out of college - US or foreign (read Indian), doesn't seem to matter. IBM consulting??!??! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, you slay me, that's rich, you should be writing for Letterman. IBM is to consulting what Hizbullah is to world peace.
• "Bad experiences within IBM are common" by "civilliberty". FUll excerpt: I can relate to most of what the americans on here have to say about IBM , but I'm australian. This just shows me how pervasive and sinister IBM's management style and agenda is. For you own sake , review what others have written here about their experiences.
• "Band D" by "MythAndMeaning". Full excerpt: In the US, the Band D pay scales are not a huge bump over Band 10. My recent experience has been that a number of new "partners" have been shocked and disappointed by their pay adjustments. One data point is a Band D now making 180K salary, which was a 20 - 30K raise from his Band 10 base. The benefits for executives are, however, quite a bit better than for non-exec's. M&M
• "Bingo!...Today's Winner" by "deep_eye". Full excerpt: What does BCS (or whatever the hell the name is this week), make? Don't furrow your brow - I'll handle it - nothing. Yes, nothing tangible - not TVs, DVDs, aircraft parts, nothing, nada, zip, zilch. They are at best, "knowledge brokers and crafters." They examine systems, determine gaps, performance inequities and suggest, coax, wheedle or otherwise influence the client base to adopt some change in how they operate in the future.
  How can we shave costs in such a system? Well in TV or DVD or aircraft part manufacturing, you contain costs through more efficient manufacturing systems, concessions from subsystem suppliers (who has the cheapest parts?), offshoring, outsourcing, etc. Hard to accomplish these when the nucleus of your system is human capital. Wait! I got it!!! - promise new recruits high bonuses, fantastic wages, peace of earth, yada, yada. Once you have them, renege on all of your promises. Set goals and standards that are mathematically (and physically) impossible to meet, and then hand out 1-2% token bonuses and raises. It doesn't matter whether the employees stay or not - that was never in your plan anyway - you'll be outsourcing most of these positions anyway - what do you care? The beautiful part? You continue to charge your clients filet mignon prices while force feeding them tripe. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful!
• "Thank You - It's Just Ethics and Decency" by "ancientblueconsultant". Full excerpt: It's the least I can do for people who have been misguided with brand image blindness and bamboozled by fine print. People are a human asset, not a human resource. The longer I'm away from the blue pig the more I realize it's not a cancer on American business, since by definition a cancer would eventually destroy its host. It is not near destruction or capitulation.
  The pig is more of a terrible genetic aberration which lives on, consuming and hurting those who come in contact with it by choice or not. It is the supreme manifestation of the multinational amoral corporate profit engine for a few at the top, not its shareholders. Other than those who THINK they've profited from their relationship with the pig many realize too late that their personal balance sheets have been robbed or scammed.
  The pig, in its entirety is essentially a financial borg that eats into the fabric of its employee souls but never kills them off or compromises itself. The supreme mechanical greed bred in IBM leadership dictates that a human is not an asset, but a tool to be used. Hence the application of supply chain technique to human souls. Once a person is "consumed" and doesn't deliver the expected ROE (Return on Expense) then the human is cast off with the minimum of loss. An amoeba is more caring of people than the pig.
  The blue pig is a good study on how executive greed and the financial desperation of commoditization makes a psychotic organization focus strictly on short term gratification, push the ethics envelope, and abandon its human assets while covering itself with a blanket of good will and slogans. It's almost like an antichrist of an investment and values based organization.
• "There is nothing..." by "mogrits". Full excerpt: ...special about adding IBM to your resume these days. The word has been out among customers, etc. for some time. In two cases I know of, it actually was held against me coming from IBM. Feedback was they didn't want a long term ex-IBMer in the company since IBM is now considered a den of liars and pompous executives who have no clue about real solutions for customers. I think its a big mistake but if you must experience the PIG, make it a short stay.
• "Congrats and a few comments" by "Regional Player". Full except: I left about 4 weeks ago and have been thrilled. It took me about 8 weeks to pick from several job offers. I was a top performing Band 10 in BCS that was passed over for Partner for two years. All promotions went to legacy PWC folks with substantially lower performance than me. That is a different topic though. I am making $225K with up to 100% bonus with a leading competitor. By the way I am amazed at the talent level of the folks I am working with. They blow away IBM folks. Also, they totally have their shit together on thought leadership and go to market strategy.
  I have said it before. There is no reason to be at IBM unless you are at the end of your career and want to coast. Please do yourself a favor and leave. YOu will be happy you did. You will have companies thrilled to hire you and they will pay you more. Don't wait.
  As a special note to those hoping to make partner in BCS. It is a sham. It is all about who you know and not about performance. Please believe me when I say this. So, if you are new to the company or new to BCS you will not make it for many years. My results were off the chart compared to Partners and APs for three years and I could not make it. Disregard this advice at your own peril and ongoing frustration.
• "Looking a little deeper" by "wonderaboutibm". Excerpt: We are suffering a sclerotic decline. As we stiffen, personnel mobility suffers. Employees become costed resources rather than valuable assets. Internal transfer opportunities decline as management fears of "excess headcount" grow, and as silly and unrealistic expectations build on an untrained and neglected staff. Promotions die off in part because there isn't much being worth promoted to. Upper management churns on the marketing machine -- or should we say the apple pie and motherhood machine -- to hide the decline. But that decline has started, and it will pick up steam over the next few quarters.