The Vatican is making way for Mother Teresa to become a Saint. Mother Teresa who died in the same week as Lady Diana in 1997 was barely mentioned in many media outlets because her death was competing with Lady Diana’s – the People’s Princess. Mother Teresa, the small woman known as the “Saint of the Gutter” spent her life taking care of the poor and disenfranchised.

Pope Francis announced that Mother Teresa will be canonized next September, 2017. It is said that the Vatican is looking for one more miracle performed by the late Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa was from Calcutta and was also known as the Jewel of India. The Church is said to wait about 5 years before they even think about canonization of anyone. It has been well over 5 years since Mother Teresa died. As a matter of fact she, like Lady Diana, has been dead for 18 years. The people of Calcutta have something to look forward to next and so does the world.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

Dianna Tafazoli

Families in America today are either poor or rich

The Middle Class is very close to becoming extinct according to the PEW Institute. For more than four decades the Institute has never seen the current dynamics of our society. There appears to be only two classes of people in the country from an economic standpoint – the rich and the poor. The Middle Class – a long time determinant of the way in which the economy functioned has dwindled to the point of almost being a nonentity.

Families in America today are either poor or rich. The question is how did we get there? It is not a new phenomenon, yet one we hoped had disappeared as economic conditions from World War II and the Great Depression dissipated as more and more men took jobs in the Federal service.

While the pay was not all that great having a job in the Federal Government meant stability and health benefits for workers and their families. Individuals went to work for 30 years and retired with a pension, which also culminated in most instances with the retirement of a 30-year mortgage. A 30 year mortgage was taken care of with a job that lasted 30 years. Consistent employment is what creates financial stability and it is also what helped to create the Middle Class.

The surge in unemployment and the housing crisis that impacted families from all over the country were the beginning of the erosion of the Middle Class. Poor people generally don’t own homes and although there are surely the working poor, many people are poor because they are unemployed and living off of meager assistance from the state or nothing at all. The Middle Class is predicated perhaps more on the ebbs and flows of the economy than the rich or the poor. The poor will always be with us and it appears that the same statement is true for the rich. The Middle Class will only be with us if they can stay consistently employed. They don’t often have trust funds and they can’t blow dust off of old money.

P.S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.

Dianna Tafazoli

Why Not Retire Healthy?

A recent Mayo Clinic proceeding headed by Dr. Carl J. Lavie, Medical Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention at the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans asserted that lower doses of running may be the perfect recipe for keeping the heart healthy. He further intimated that people who run five or six miles per week improve their health and retire healthy.

Dr. Lavie revealed that runners generally weigh less and therefore are far less prone to obesity than people who jogged fewer than five miles per week or not all. The runners were less likely to experience diseases such as arthritis, high blood pressure, bad cholesterol, strokes, diabetes and certain cancers.

Dr. Lavie commented that one to two runs per week at three to six miles per week but less than an hour supports heart health. However, Dr. Lavie further commented that running 20 to 30 minutes or about a mile and a half to three miles twice per week should be near perfect. In order for federal workers to enjoy their retirement years given  American are living longer, it would be wise to read over Dr. Lavie’s report with people you trust and think about paying closer attention to the conversations our bodies are trying to have with us.

It is estimated that people are living longer and could easily live another 20-30 years in retirement to include Federal and Postal workers. That’s good news if we start now strengthening the heart muscle by giving it just the right dosage of common sense exercise, we should be on track to capture those 20-30 years in retirement and retire healthy. What’s retirement without good health so that you can enjoy it?

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

Dianna Tafazoli

PRESIDENT OBAMA PAVES THE WAY TO FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT FOR EX-OFFENDERS

There are a number of changes that need to be made in employment laws to get American citizens back to work.  The country underwent one of the worst economic disasters in the modern era that took center stage around 2008.  The economic debacle had been a volcanic eruption just waiting to happen and then we saw the explosion around the country and across the globe.

The ailing economy left many citizens out of work for long periods of time, many people lost their homes and had their lives turned up-side-down.  Their credit was ruined and for most employment, a bad credit evaluation means no job in the United States.  It is an oxymoron that makes as much sense as saying you are pregnant but you cannot have the baby until the new maternity ward is renovated.  Guess what – baby is on its way right about now – like it or not.  Well bad credit or not, people still need to eat, provide a roof over their family’s head and go about living.

We haven’t heard much about a push to correct that bad policy call but the President did decide that ex-offenders who had paid their debt to society need not continue to be punished by being denied employment.  It makes perfect sense because why let the prisoner out of prison located at a certain address when his society becomes his prison, judge and jury – a sort of government sanctioned double jeopardy.  No matter how hard I try  I cannot get a job because I have a record and without a job I cannot pay for a place to live or put food on the table.  Might this scenario be the reason for the high incidence of recidivism?

I applaud the President’s courageous stand to ask the Federal government to ease the door open for ex-offenders who have paid their debt to society according to the laws of our land and be hired as members of the Federal workforce.  Mr. President could you ask the Federal government to leave some room in the doorway to allow individuals with not good credit to get hired in the Federal service so that they can rebuild their lives?  After all, Timothy Geithner owed income taxes when he was hired as Secretary of Treasury, a position he held from 2009-2013 and credit didn’t seem to get in his way of having a great Federal job.  Then G. Gordon Liddy who served 52 months in prison – an ex-offender had a number of great paying jobs including Radio Talk Show Host from approximately 1992- 2013.

Given those facts, just as an illustration, I think it would be a grand idea to give just common folks a second chance.

P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.

Dianna Tafazoli

THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION DESERVE MUCH APPLAUSE – by Dianna Tafazoli

There has been a push in this country for quite some time now to hire the disabled and give them a fair and equal opportunity to demonstrate their skills and make much needed contributions to society. The disabled have always been a part of our society and we have seen times when the disabled were relegated to the basements of society, ostracized leaving them to depend on the largess of family and friends.

The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, public accommodation, transportation, communications and governmental activities. The number of disabled people has increased dramatically due to two wars – Iraq and Afghanistan. The number of young men and women who came home disabled from those two wars required the country to become more vigilant in its push to promote and support the hiring of disabled people.

Disabled people are not shadows in the dark. They are not the unknown. They are the men and women who have made great sacrifices to preserve, protect and defend the United States of America. They have lost life and limb to keep the rest of us safe. The Federal Government is the largest employer in the United States and many disabled persons are a part of the federal workforce.   It is an effort to be applauded when the Federal Government leads the charge to hire the disabled.

Recently, a report came out that highlighted the federal agency that employed the greatest number of disabled personnel. The agency earning that coveted distinction is the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).   There are countless young Veterans who have come home with injuries ranging from moderate to severe with many still able to perform a job function. They are a part of the disabled population who are capable of making significant contributions to the American workforce.

Diversity in the workforce includes hiring the disabled. The VA is doing a good job in hiring the disabled in the Federal government. The VA hired 6,680 employees under the All Disability category of employment which represents 23.6 percent of its workforce.  Although the numbers are impressive and are to be applauded, the Federal government must do more to include disabled people as part of its diversity efforts.   Many Federal agencies failed to hire even a single disabled person during 2014. If the Federal government does not set the example to hire the disabled in all Federal agencies then what message is being sent to employers everywhere?  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.

Dianna Tafazoli

WHO NEEDS PAID SICK LEAVE

One of the attractions for working in the Federal government is the terrific benefits.  There is a generous annual (vacation) leave allowance based on years of service and also sick leave to assist workers with taking care of their health as well as the health of their family members.  However, as the Federal workforce dwindles due to retirement, the workforce is being augmented by contractors.  Contractors play a vital role in carrying out the business of the United States government and yet they are people with families who have the same kinds of needs as the regular workforce.

Although contractors and regular employees needs are the same benefits to contractors are not the same.  If a contractor had to take time off, there was no pay and no provisions for sick leave.  Contractors work and get paid for the work they do when they are actually working with no   consideration for the need to be absent from work.  Such a situation is very taxing for contractors and their families offering them no security.

The President of the United States saw the situation as not being ideal and issued an Executive Order on Labor Day requiring paid sick leave for all Federal contract employees.  The provisions included not only Federal contract employees but subcontract employees as well.  The number of employees who are impacted by ”no paid” sick leave is in the hundred thousands.  The President’s issuance of the Executive Order may also improve the government’s recruitment of valuable contract worker.

P. S.   Always Remember to Share What You Know.

Dianna Tafazoli

REMEMBER WHEN DIVERSITY WAS THE NEW WORD?

In the American workforce it is par-for-the-course to come up with new words. Some words hang around and some get lost after a few months or so. I recall when the word DIVERSTY first took center stage there were very eloquent statements written about the word.  The most memorable statement I recall – “Diversity is not only a business objective but a business imperative.”  I think the statement is still eloquent but I am not sure how powerful or impactful the statement was or is.

Just what is diversity?  Webster defines diversity as “The fact or quality of being diverse: Difference.   So are we looking for difference in the workplace and if we are what kind of difference are we looking for?  Is it in our thinking, our approach to doing the job, the color of our skin, the color of our hair, the color of our eyes or the neighborhood we live in or the food we eat?  If we could get a handle on what kind of difference we are looking for then perhaps we could start to do something about it.

The truth of the matter is diversity is more than the Webster definition.  In the world of human resources and the American workforce the word DIVERSITY is multilayered, multidimensional and multidefinitional, if you will.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has all Federal agencies respond annually to the directives of the Management Directive 715 commonly known as the MD-715 which in essence directs agencies in eliminating or mitigating barriers to equal opportunity and equal access to hiring, promotional opportunities and all other activities related to employment equity.

The question of diversity or the lack thereof in many Federal agencies is a looming one and the question mark is quite pronounced when it comes to why positions are not filled by minorities, including women, at the higher compensation and responsibility levels of the Federal workforce.  The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is reported to have some rather serious diversity challenges.  Remember the statement was made earlier in the article that diversity was often spoken of in a very eloquent manner with very moving prose.  Every agency states that it is committed to diversity. You could not write something contrary to that statement, but you could act contrary to the statement by not promoting diversity via hiring and recruit outreach efforts to minority servicing organizations including colleges and universities.

The CIA does not understand why they are challenged by diversity issues but do acknowledge according to a study, The Diversity in Leadership  issued in June of 2015, that gave a very scathing review of the agency ranging from outright prejudice to withholding opportunities that would advance certain minorities.  The CIA Director, John Brennan states that he is determined to cast a new light on the agency’s image by making changes.  Again, could a statement to the contrary be made.  Of course, not.

The focus of this article is not on the CIA, but on DIVERSITY a word that seems to having staying power, but we have yet to demonstrate in the American workforce the true merit of diversity and why it really is a business imperative whether we like it or not.  The world we live in today will force diversity on the work world whether we move with the force or not.  The CIA Diversity in Leadership study is no more than a call to serious and lasting action by every Federal agency, the Federal Government, the largest employer in the country.

Lincoln said it best. ” We cannot escape history. We will be remembered in spite of ourselves.  No personal significance, or insignificance can spare one or another of us.  The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation.”

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

Dianna Tafazoli