Staff declares system abuse

CSU hearing addresses charges of favoritism among employees

The California State Employees Association addressed favoritism and other abusive employment practices in the Cal State University system at a Sept. 21 hearing.

The hearing was held before the Assembly and Senate Public Employees and Retirement committees at Cal State Los Angeles. Three Cal State Long Beach employees were scheduled to testify about their accounts of abuse but only one came forward.

Anne Staskewicz, a vertebrae technician from the department of biology who was not a victim of abuse, testified on behalf of fellow employees.

Staskewicz said deans at CSULB are making their own personnel policies, and she believes a campuswide system needs to be developed.

"Favoritism is rampant on this campus," Staskewicz said. "We need a system that will be accountable. There have been bills drawn up before and they were never passed."

The hearing was held to allow employees of the CSU system to tell their stories about favoritism in hiring and promotion, abuse of the classification and layoff system, arbitrary and punitive actions by supervisors and severe health and safety problems.

The other two Cal State Long Beach employees scheduled to testify - Hubert Lloyd, a CSEA union representative, and Eugene Prince, a CSEA chapter president - did not make it because their releases to testify from CSULB were too late in coming.

Although not able to testify, Lloyd was able to attend the hearing, but was taken off the university payroll. "I found that very interesting," Lloyd said.

Prince, who was not able to testify or attend the meeting due to the late release, said he believes it is just a continuation of the way he has been treated for his 23 years at CSULB. Prince sa id that he has been denied promotions throughout his career.

Staskewicz said even though the hearing gave employees a way to explain their frustrations, the problem is far from being solved. "I don't feel anything said is going to go further than t he hearing," Staskewicz said. "We all vented, but it won't go beyond that because it's political."

CSEA Spokesperson Pat McConahay said the next step is to lobby for legislation that will provide uniformity in the CSU system. McConahay also said tha t Cal State Los Angeles has the worst situation of abuse. One CSU Los Angeles employee explained to the committee that she had seen graffiti written about her on campus buildings.

CSEA President Yolanda Solari said hearings regarding abuse in the C SU system were held in 1987, when similar issues were raised.

"Seven years later, we see exactly the same abuses and more," Solari said.