February 20, 2004

Analysts Cry Foul over Lack of

Industry Survey Reviews;

Mid-Level Managers Blame the Guild

             At evaluation time, it seems like there are always enough hard feelings to go around.  But this year, some managers have tried to deflect heat from themselves by shifting it unfairly onto the Guild.

             Recently, the union asked that a Guild-covered copy editor stop doing work on Equity analysts’ reviews.  First, it is improper for a Guild employee to be reviewing other Guild staffers in a management review process.  Second, the copy editor holds a position on the Local’s Executive Committee, so these reviews might appear to create an additional conflict of interest in that both Guild and non-Guild analysts were to be evaluated by the Guild copy editor.

             The union made its request at a regular meeting with S&P Human Resources representatives, at which H.R fully agreed with the Guild’s position and said it was not proper for the copy editor to have such responsibility.  The reviews, it concluded, should be performed by management.

             You’d think that would be the end of it right? Not so!

             Last week, Equity analysts saw that reviews of their work on Industry Surveys were missing from their evaluations.  Some of them approached management to ask why.  They were told, “Go ask the Guild!”

             Because management failed to complete the analyst review process, they simply excluded the analysts’ work on Industry Surveys from their performance evaluations. (Each Survey is a 40-page publication written entirely by the analyst, twice a year.)  Middle management says this was the fair thing to do.  But analysts who count on doing well on their Surveys disagree.  When their Survey boosts their over-all rating, it can mean more money for them.  There’s also the issue of acknowledgement and respect.

             Your Guild representatives and S&P Human Resources representatives are now working on how to solve the current problem—one that was created by lower and mid-level managers shirking their responsibility to review analysts Industry Surveys.  We’ll keep you informed on the situation.

 2004 Code of Business Ethics

             Each year, employees are asked to read and affirm their understanding of the Code of Business Ethics. You may have noticed the posters up in the hallways that ask you to do that by February 27.  The Guild has reviewed this year’s document and found that changes we had had asked for have been incorporated into the COBE.  Therefore, please read the document and follow through on the company’s request to acknowledge that you have read it and understand it.

 President Street Safety Issues

             Not too long ago, a Guild employee working at the Standard & Poor's fulfillment center located in Brooklyn fell through a modular floor onto the sub-floor, injuring his leg.  The Guild investigated and alerted H.R. 

            Some repairs were made to the floor where that accident happened, but other spots in the flooring that could be the sites of future accidents were recently pointed out to the building’s owner (who is not Standard & Poor’s) by observant Guild employees, and the entire floor was re-inspected.  Thanks to safety-conscious Guild staffers, bids to replace the entire flooring system will be solicited shortly, and safety concerns about the flooring will be put to rest.

 

# # # # # # #

 

02/20/04