THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN MY APT. BLDG.

Tonight I was chatting with a guy who's been here for about 5 years and I mentioned that archeologists have found pottery shards in Japan that date back to 16,500 BC.  He argued that that was only 3,500 years ago...

NOTE TO SELF

I have been thinking about starting my own computer business centering on people 55 and over but after helping a couple of my neighbors, I don't think this is a good idea because they simply refuse to spend the time necessary to learn the simplest rules.

THE RETURN OF A BOOB

Roger Forrester and his staff was fired from the local SCSEP program for being incompetent boobs yet he somehow managed to land another social service position:

New job-search support group launches this week in Tucson 
Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Sunday, May 6, 2012 2:01 pm

Unemployed professionals can get free help finding jobs from a new local organization launching this week.
The Professional Employment Exploration & Resource Service (PEERS), a new job-search support organization for professionals, kicks off Wednesday.
Registration begins at 8 a.m. that day at Pima Community College Community Campus, 401 N. Bonita Ave., Rooms A-109 and A-112.
PEERS was initiated by the Pima County Workforce Investment Board. PEERS Chairman Roger Forrester said the program will host industry-specific networking events, build strong employer connections and help job seekers fine-tune their job-search, social media and networking skills.
Job seekers and employers are encouraged to attend the job search and networking function that will immediately follow the kickoff ceremony.
To register for the event,  go to www.peersaz.com and click on the event calendar.

I sent a web-based email to the Pima County Workforce Investment Board and I'll update if I get a reply.

A NICE SURPRISE

As I was waiting for a bus, I talked with a guy I know from Parker Consulting. He told me that John Dollinger has been fired by the wife of the owner. According to my source, the wife showed up in Tucson and was appalled at the poor physical state of the equipment and that was the end of John. This should've have happened years ago, before John had a chance to ruin Parker's reputation and before that young woman had a stroke.

GREAT NEWS!!!

I filed a formal grievance about my exit from the program last Friday and today I had a meeting at PCOA headquarters and my grievance was upheld.  I still need to finish the re-certifcation procedure so I will meet with Kerry at El Rio tomorrow.

THE LATEST FROM SCSEP

I spoke with Roger Forrester last week about being grand-fathered into SCSEP and he said he would look into that but was non-committal.  I asked him if he had a meeting with HR at the U of A and he said he put in a call to the person Leslie Porter delegated the task to but had not gotten a return call and he wouldn't do so now because SCSEP funds have been cut.

This week, I called up Joel Miller and asked him if the the 30-day exit procedure was a rule. He said no but apparently changed his mind (see copy of Riecken below).

This week, I finally got an interview with Michelle at the Primavera Men's Shelter and she is eager to have me start.
I sent Forrester and Riecken an email about this good news:

I spoke with Joel Millman a few days ago and he said there
was no rule about mandatory "exiting" after a placement
doesn't work out.

Even better, the Primavera Men's Shelter wants me to
work for them through SCSEP!!!

This is Riecken's reply:

Steven;



Joel spoke with me on Wednesday and confirmed that he explained to you that there was a 30 day limit to the leave of absence last fall, as I had implemented.



Regarding your application status, we are beginning to process people into SCSEP. By policy we process those who are considered “high priority” before any other candidates, and I have no idea how long it will be before your file rises to the top of the list as there are many factors to consider.



Regarding Primavera, they, as well as the University of Arizona , are not a Host Agency with Pima Council on Aging’s SCSEP, nor will they be in the foreseeable future.



As Roger Forrester and I discussed with you more than once in the past few months, it is extremely inappropriate for you to represent SCSEP in recruiting Host Agencies or promoting yourself to organizations as a potential candidate. I again advise you to discontinue this activity.



Laura Riecken

Program Manager

UMC UPDATE

Today I spoke briefly with Keith Wilburn and he said he would get back to me by Wednesday but he wanted to check with HR people.  I told him that Allison Vaillancourt and Leslie Porter were already involved and he seemed to like that.  I also said that Roger Forrester had to meet with one or both of them to get the final OK for the U of A.

Joel Millman hasn't replied to my e-mail about SCSEP's definition of "unemployed."

SOME NEWS

Today I made an appointment to speak with Roger Forrester.   He agreed to meet with me but it was clear that he preferred that I deal with Laura Riecken. 

I had been trying to contact Martina Johansen, the Main Library's HR person, for over a week but my phone calls and e-mails weren't returned.  Today, I saw her and found out that there isn't a slot for me right now at the Information Commons but they will keep my resume on file and she suggested that I get back in touch with them in 5 or 6 months.

TALK WITH PEGGY & KERRY

I met with Peggy O'Brien who is a SCSEP intake person at the El Rio DES Center. Like me, she was surprised that I (and others) had to start all over again with SCSEP and she told me that since Liz Melin left, SCSEP had gone downhill.  Peggy said that she was pretty much kept in the dark about what subsidized openings SCSEP had and had been told to mind her own business when she questioned any of the recent decisions by SCSEP.  She and Kerry Kemp had looked for the justification for requiring people to start all over in SCSEP and just like me were unable to find any.

Kerry told me that Laura at SCSEP wants to take people off the street and train them to get a job instead of placing anyone in a subsidized position.  That might explain why Laura told me that getting a position for me at the U of A was a "low priority."

While I was talking with Peggy, I discovered that on January 3rd, 2011,  there were about 15 host agencies and among them there were only 3 or 4 open slots for SCSEP clients.  This was about the time I was waiting for SCSEP to look into seeing if I could work for the U of A.

REALLY GOOD NEWS!!!

Yesterday Martina Johansen sent an email to let me know she will speak with the leader of the Information Commons staff next week and I may then be contacted for an interview or asked for more information.

AARGH!

Today I called Laura at MWC because I seemed to be getting pretty close to being hired at the U of A Main Library and I wanted to find out what sort of paperwork MWC would need.  It turns out that Roger Forrester hasn't done a damn thing since my last post and the Main Library is not a "certified" host agency. 

On my end, Allison Vaillancourt passed me off to Leslie Porter who in turn connected me with the Main Library's HR person, Martina Johansen.  I sent Johansen a cover letter and a copy of my resume and should be hearing from her next week.

MORE ON FORRESTER

I finally managed to contact Forrester and he gave me some good news: The U of A is an acceptable host agency.  Below I noted that I was told that no one at MWC seemed to know ho to contact at the U of A but when I spoke with Forrester, he told me he not only knew Vaillancourt, he had worked with her before. Perhaps Laura didn't know that Forrester knew who to contact at the university.

STILL LOOKING?

I wrote below that Laura of SCSEP told me that the U of A qualified as host agency but I just got a phone message today from Allison Vaillancourt at the U of A that according to Roger Forrester, it's not clear that the U of A does qualify. 

I have been unable to reach Forrester by phone so last week I sent him an e-mail but I haven't gotten a reply.  At least Vaillancourt had the courtesy to give me a call.

SCSEP?!

The week before Thanksgiving, I met with Laura at SCSEP and she said she would look into whether or not the U of A qualified as a community operation.   The week before Xmas I called back and she said it did qualify and George (I think) was looking into getting an agreement between SCSEP and the U of A but the U of A is a large place and this may take a while.  Yesterday  I got back in touch with Laura and she told me that getting an agreement with the U of A was not a "top priority" so I offered to help out.  She again told me that U of A was a large place and SCSEP would like to know who to contact.  I found out that very afternoon and sent Laura e-mail.  She replied that she had forwarded the information to Roger, who apparently is now in charge of establishing a link with the U of A.

I'm a little annoyed that whoever is in charge of recruiting at SCSEP didn't bother to take the time to contact the U of A.

"I CAN'T GET NO SATISFACTION" :-)

I got a training job placement through Mature Worker Connection (MWC) to Armory Park Senior Center and what initially seemed a near-perfect setting has turned into a hostile environment.   My main opportunity there is tutoring seniors on how to use computers and the Internet but the man who rules the public computers, Kent Phillips, refuses to let me add software and files that are necessary to do that.  In fact, he has threatened to remove the internet connection to all the public computers if I make any changes.  Phillips is the head of CALC and is not a city employee, so the center management can't seem to do anything about this.

About a month ago, I told MWC about this and Laura recommended that I wait for a couple of months for a new placement because they just hired a new job hunter person.

MWC - HOME FOR THE UNEMPLOYABLE?

Last week I received an e-mail from the director of Mature Worker Connection and he wanted me to contact the office because the matter couldn't be handled over e-mail. The question: Am I over or under 60 years old?

STUCK IN THE 50S???

I received an e-mail from Roger Forrester, Program Administrator of Mature Worker Connection:

Dear Mr. XXXXX:

Because a new regulation that is related to the Mature Worker Connection, I need to get some supplementary information from you. Please give me a call at 623-3304. It should take me less than a minute to gather the information. I look forward to hearing from you.

I replied that if it would take less than a minute, why not do it by e-mail? Shortly, I called him and hsi burning question was whether or not I was under or over age 60.

I'M DISAPPOINTED

I was hoping to find a job fairly soon through Pima County's Mature Worker Connection program. I applied on line for 2 jobs on the weekend of April 25-26 and I didn't hear back until May 1st. That was an e-mail asking me to call Nancy at the MWC office. I called on Monday and was told she wouldn't be in until Thursday. I spoke to her on Thursday, I think, and explained that I don't have a phone and I would greatly prefer to answer her questions by e-mail. She seemed to understand so I was expecting an e-mail with her questions. Instead, I got this on May 14th:

Steve,

You called in requesting I e-mail you. I’m in the office until 3:30 this afternoon, please call 623-3304.

Nancy

OBAMA HAD MY VOTE

and this is only one of the many reasons why:

WHO GETS WHAT: Stimulus to pad pockets of jobless
Feb 10 01:09 PM US/Eastern
By DEB RIECHMANN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - More jobless workers would get fatter unemployment checks longer in the massive economic recovery package moving forward in Congress.
Helping the nation's jobless has not been a controversial part of the stimulus package. Both the House and Senate versions offer an extra $25 a week in jobless benefits to millions of workers through the end of the year. The current average weekly benefit is roughly $300.

It also would keep unemployment checks coming through the end of 2009 for more than 3 million people whose state benefits will run out after March.

I live in a typical low wage, "right to work" state and collecting only $70/week in unemployment benefits right now and that means I keep having to pay a $15 late fee every month for rent. When this goes through, I'll be able to catch up on rent.

PUSHING BACK A LITTLE

I just sent Tony Parker and 3 other executives an e-mail listing some of Dollinger's flagrant disregard and contempt for the employees. Maybe I'll get a reply.