DLSE supervisor exam to be held in Los Angeles, mid-November: the bat guano referred as DLSE execs. begin their biased, unfair, & traditional testing!

Well, it's time for the good ol' girls club at DLSE (Greg Rupp and Lupe Almaraz included) to start their biased, unfair, predetermined supervisor's exam. At the last supervisor's exam (DLC IV), how did some friggin' noob like Eric Rood (dink bureaucrat hailing from EDD) manage to pass the exam & promote to Regional Manager while seasoned supervisors failed the same exam? Yeah, tell me that the DLC IV exam was fair & unbiased.

Here's the real kick in the grapes: the DLSE doesn't (even) attempt to appear fair, which is the very purpose of the merit-based, civil service exam. The civil service exams & promotional qualifications appraisals' purpose are supposed to eliminate this kind of crap, yet all it does is shield the guilty from the microscope.

Why is California's State Personnel Board not up DIR's butt as to why such exams are continuing? These DIR retards have proven, to themselves and others, that they will not self-correct. It is the managers that need constant supervision, and it is the managers who need to be investigated. Why are Deputy Chief Lupe Almaraz and Assistant Chief Greg Rupp still collecting paychecks, after placing California taxpayers in harm's way? Why have they not been disciplined and investigated for their actions against the citizens of California? Does Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet need more communications from Assembly Members to get off her lazy ass and take action? What's her major malfunction?

Come mid-November, the Kabuki Theater called the DLSE supervisor exam will go thru the motions, and then pass & pick whoever they want to pass and pick. If the State Personnel Board fails to supervise the DLSE, then are they just as liable?

What is degrading our country is what degrades this Division OR, DIR pimps whore out taxpayers funds thru CMS contracts

Communism is when the government takes control of the corporations. Fascism is when the corporations take over the government. For example, look at how this division bends over for companies like Wal*Mart; friggin' incredible.

The United States of America endured the entire Cold War, under constant threat of launched nukes, without the Patriot Act. Osama bin Laden kills LESS PEOPLE THAN SOLDIERS WHO HAVE DIED IN THE IRAQ WAR, and we (now) have a government conducting secret examinations of citizen library cards---how Orwellian is that? Selling fear to our citizens, thereby giving up our rights in the process & giving power to those who refuse to act responsibly. There's this semi-famous blogger/author who posed two questions to the moral conservative:
1) if you had the chance to abort the fetus of Osama bin Laden & avoid his reign of terror, would you commit the abortion?
2) If the world's terrorism could be erased by having gay sex, would you have gay sex to prevent terrorism?
These questions, and the person answering them, are quite interesting.

Instead of this country making us less dependant upon fossil fuels, we're whored out again...Dubya could have grabbed the oil companies and the car makers and said this, "Fossil fuel is a dead technology. You give us something meaningful in electricity, hydrogen, and solar and we'll give you tax breaks up the wazoo...fight me and your companies will be taxed like cigarettes." That takes balls, and we've become a nation of whores instead of pimps.

Our country has been whored out to the corporations, and why? Because we didn't want to pay for anything: we outsource our national security, and American corporations like Wal*Mart have their goods made in China (and those Chinese workers couldn't care less about Americans brushing their teeth with poisoned toothpaste, feed poisoned dog food to our pets, and leaded toys for our tots).

Bringing it back to this division, the leaders at DIR whored out government contracts to Hansen and Unisys and what did the taxpayers receive? Some multi-million dollar, piece-of-crap CMS. Not only are we stuck with it, but our very own Labor Commissioner keeps screwing us (and the taxpayers) with her horrible "keep the faith in CMS" memo. It seems that our division only bends over for big corporations. They should change Angela Bradstreet's title from Labor Commissioner to Pimp. I'm sure Unisys, Hansen, and Wal Mart won't have any heartburn over the title change.

What is up with the IT crapola going on in Nor Cal? Can't Bradstreet fix something in her own backyard? [click link to view]

"Comments:
DIR also is wasting money on paying the salaries of the IT managers who appoved and oversaw the CMS project, Jim Culbeaux, Leslie Clement,....
# posted by Anonymous : 10/23/2007 3:57 PM
Last year Jim Culbeaux from the IT Department and Dan Nishijima both managers solicited questions from certain individuals with the intent to promote. One such individual named Jefferey Seeman came forward and exposed them. Other individuals such as Jose Nevarez, Jackie Chang and others benefited from these exams.
# posted by Anonymous : 10/23/2007 7:45 PM
Did the IT Department loose two employees because of those exams? I heard there were two employees who quit cause they could not tolerate all that is going on here at DIR.
# posted by Anonymous : 10/23/2007 9:12 PM
There are heavy staff turnover at the DIR IT Unit under the management of Jim Culbeaux and Dan Nishijima. This is unusual for state. These two managers committed fraud in conducting promotional exams and have been caught. This issue is not resolved by any means.
# posted by Anonymous : 10/24/2007 6:32 PM"

Let's re-cap: DLSE & DIR managers read this blog, and that includes any manager that that whines about this blog. Now, these managers also have an obligation to forward any allegation(s) for investigation. So this begs the question, what has Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet done with these allegations? Is she going to sweep them under the rug, just like dumbshit Regional Manager Abigael Calva protecting Hearing Officer Vicki Tamoush (all these years) with complaints made against her?

Suck-asses and snitches (sub standard employees who cannot stand by their performance) will always be protected by DLSE/DIR managers, and the public continues to suffer from this perverted customer service.

Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet's burn-taxpayer-funds & do-nothing approach to this job

CMS is the biggest boondoggle this division has seen since entering the 21st century; our latest Labor Commissioner has seen fit to continue this multi-million dollar, taxpayer-paid fiasco instead of halting this fiscal hemorrhage.

Our latest Labor Commissioner seems to only be in the news when generating citation news releases as to how she's cracking the whip with those darn sweatshops or when reporters highlight how her appointment may be less-than political and more of another type of appointment.

Our Labor Commissioner has a ruling issued by the California Supreme Court discussing how DLSE Assistant Chief Greg Rupp violating the 14th Amendment of the United State Constitution, and what does she do? She doesn't do anything, she just sits on her ass and does nothing.

Our Labor Commissioner has a ruling issued by a California Superior Court discussing how DLSE Deputy Chief Lupe Almaraz violated the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution, and what does she do? She doesn't do anything, she just sits on her ass and does nothing.

The taxpayers are paying her over $120,000 per year to authorize more taxpayer waste into CMS, to do nothing with Greg Rupp, and to do nothing to Lupe Almaraz. Who holds her actions accountable to the People of California?

DLSE Regional Manager Abigael Calva: protecting her female co-workers no matter what damage those women do to the public...Women helping women!

CLICK PIC TO ENLARGE, and what a surprise that Angela Bradstreet did not send this to OD Legal for investigation, but gave it to fellow girl's club member Abigael Calva for proper disposal whitewash. Back in 2002, Deputy Chief Tom Grogan issued a memo that discussed the costs of translators used in the 98a wage claim process. As per current management, that memo still stands. Spanish translators are paid $45 per hour, unless you are a female, work for supervisor Jorge Gomez, and are managed by Abigael Calva.

This one translator worked for 1.25 hours and was paid for 4 hours worth of work. A complaint was filed, and in record time, DLSE Regional Manager Abigael Calva dismissed the complaint, stated that the translator was paid appropriately, and that the hearing officer did nothing wrong. When asked for further details, then all of the sudden Abigael Calva couldn't shut up fast enough. When supervisor Jorge Gomez was asked about this, he said that the translator was working on "other stuff" and that Hearing Officer Vicky Tamoush's recording of time regarding the 1.25 hours was incorrect. He then directed all questions to Abigael Calva, since she was the one that issued the memo that cleared Vicky Tamoush of any taxpayer malfeasance.

Apparently, Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet's philosophy of "women helping women" is now being applied to our day to day operations. Is its goal to protect the collective asses of women who screw over the taxpayer and misappropriate taxpayer funds? Through Bradstreet's delegation, Regional Manager Calva did everything she could to protect Hearing Officer Vicky Tamoush; indeed, Vicky Tamoush is protected, and if push came to shove, then it's a safe assumption that Angela Bradstreet would protect Abigael Calva. It also seems that Abigael Calva found a new Lloyd Aubrey.

Commissioner Bradstreet's 'Women helping women' is a cute, but sexist philosophy...imagine a man's philosophy of 'men helping men'

Click this pic to enlarge, or click title to jump directly to pdf.

I'm not a fan of sexists, whether they are female or male sexists. People whose primary goal is to invoke the gender card are 3rd-rate public servants, so read the last paragraph to this puff piece of Angela Bradstreet, "Women helping women" is not a catchphrase for Angela Bradstreet. It is a philosophy that infuses how she conducts her life and fuels her passion and committment to the advancement of women.

After reading that last paragraph, it doens't seem that men will ever be treated equally in the eyes of Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet. Labor Commissioner Bradstreet's philosophy of "women helping women" has no place in public service, where she's free to prioritize her gender card as she sees fit.

Women helping women, rich people helping rich people, asians helping asians, klansmen helping klansmen; where does that line get drawn? One of the commenters posed the question: how many poor, indigent women has Angela Bradstreet helped? It would be nice to see what kind of pro-bono work she did, separate from her big law-firm employer, in helping women who needed help...but then again, puff pieces are just that, puff pieces.

Report Card for Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet

Halting further taxpayer-paid fraud, waste, and abuse regarding the multi-million dollar CMS computer software contract: F-

Initiate policies & procedures for Settlement Conferences: F-

Initiate guideline policy for dismissing wage claims: F-

Bringing DLSE into compliance after Corrales supreme court decision: F-

Disciplining DLSE Deputy Chief Lupe Almaraz for violating the constitutional rights of a DLSE employee: F-

Disciplining DLSE Assistant Chief Greg Rupp for violating the constitutional rights of those victimized by him as described in the Corrales supreme court decision: F-

Initiate policy & procedures for issuing & rejecting child entertainment work permits: F-

Making the safety of DLSE/Santa Ana employees her #1 concern by installing safety glass (just like her office): F-

In summation, Angela Bradstreet is a perfect manager for this division. She doesn't do shit, she hasn't done shit, and she's made no material progress on the issues that plague DLSE.

Bradstreet's lame (and few) press releases about issuing citations to non-donators/non-lobbyists are boring: any monkey can write a citation (versus the 'hard' statistics on citations paid, citations to collections, citation appeal hearings won/lost, etc.). This division is a failure because the people at the top are a failure; they are failing the taxpayers of this state, and no one (at the top) gives a rat's ass.

new Labor Commish cheerleading memo on CMS; burning taxpayer money would take less time

Click this pic to enlarge. Let me sum it up: blah, blah, blah, CMS will be great one day but not now. I love it and you should love it, too. I won't tell you how much it cost, and don't ask: it's really embarassing how much money we've wasted on this nightmare and it still doesn't work. Our very own DLSE is too stoopid to figure it out, so we went to EDD for help. Keep the faith.

News Article on our new Labor Commissioner...I'm sure there's more to come. Will DLSE ever acquire a Commish without the accompanying reporter drama?

Click here to read full report. I have not have time to read all of this, but I do believe in selecting the right person for the right job, and it should not be based on anyone's sexual identity, whether they are gay, straight, or bi.

Tiffany Rystrom is Angela Bradstreet's domestic partner, who heads up the state's Public Employment Relations Board, and that position pays $123,897 a year. Susan Kennedy is GAS' Cheif of Staff. Susan Kennedy and Vicki Marti share a home in Fairfax. Ties between the Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger administration and Marin Services for Women of Greenbrae are being scrutinized because the domestic partner of Schwarzenegger's chief of staff, Susan Kennedy, is a longtime employee of the nonprofit.

Schwarzenegger has kept Vicki Marti on the California Medical Assistance Commission even though her term expired in January 2005. The position pays $54,250 a year. In February, the governor appointed Renee Zito, the former director of programs at Marin Services for Women, as director of the state's Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. The position pays $142,965 a year.

It seems to me that if you want a really high political appointment under GAS, it really helps to be connected at the Marin Services for Women of Greenbrae, and it also seems that your sexual preference must be lesbian. Now, before everyone starts crying and wiping their eyes with rainbow flags, let me make one thing perfectly clear. I'm all for gay rights in this state. If Angela and her crew had any real courage, they would demand from their Governor (their boss)that gays must have the same rights as straights, especially marriage. As we know, GAS is not the People's Governor, because gays are people, too, and gays want to be married just like straight people, well - GAS stopped that legislation dead in its tracks. I bet if he was gay, then gays would be legally allowed to marry.

What the problem here is that once again, cronyism and favoritism dictate political appointments in state service, and it doesn't matter if it's (previously) from some fat, old, dumb, straight white guy like Greg Rupp or a (current) lesbian who knows people in really high places. The point is that the best person is not selected for the job, and that's how the taxpayers get screwed. This is our current Labor Standard: hang with lesbians, get kick-ass political appointments.

Ask yourself this question, why are multi-millionaires (like those mentioned above) coming down to such lowly positions like state political appointments? Couldn't they sit on their asses and collect bigger paychecks by doing nothing at their old jobs? Why must they come here for lower pay, do nothing, and screw the taxpayer for such shitty service? Santa Ana still has no safety barrier - unlike our Labor Commissioner, that multi-million dollar taxpayer-paid abortion called CMS is deader than Susan Nakagama's career, Lupe Almaraz & Greg Rupp have yet to be punished for violating our United States Constitution, and Ms. Angela Bradstreet refuses to get off her lazy ass and actually do something about that Corrales beat-down she suffered at the hands of the California Supreme Court. Ferchrist, I don't care if GAS appoints a monkey as Labor Commissioner, just so long as the damn thing can get something done around here. Labor Commissioner Bradstreet has yet to do a thing around this place except get her name in the papers, and it seems for all the right & appropriate reasons.

A smarter public servant = better service to the public (taxpayer). Try to believe this one...

So this Deputy Labor Commissioner (DLC) in Wage Claims figures out that another DLC is cherry-picking cases, meaning that this DLC is intentionally going through unassigned wage claims and picking only those that they want to have. So the supervisor is told of this, and then the supervisor asks the DLC if this is true. The DLC says that it's true, and that she was picking out the harder & more difficult wage claims...and this jackass, idiot supervisor believed it!

Now, here's a DLC who was running her game, got caught in the process, and had a cover story to get out of it. Instead of sitting her down and telling her to play nice with other co-workers, this monkey-manager said, "OK," and left it at that: never mind that the manager is too dumb to figure out that he got played by an underling, but then this moron continued to let her get away with it. Being a piss poor manager and a moron doesn't translate well for proper & efficient service to the public, and it really doesn't translate well for proper office leadership.

Labor Standards has no labor standards.

DLSE Van Nuys office: please pass out these strips to those parents who are demanding their kids' entertainment work permits, you have 60+day delay?

With this image: right click to download (save as...) and print, or left-click to enlarge and print. Just as easy as 1-2-3! Print, cut, and pass out! These informational strips are only needed if CMS causes an unnecessary delay in servicing the public. If you sense that the customer (our public) is upset or unsatisfied with the time it takes to process the issues under the Labor Commissioner's jurisdiction, then think about telling them the REAL reason why they are experiencing their delay.

If they appear upset, then you can ask them if they feel if they've been delayed...then you can ask them if they'd like more information about the cause of their delay. This way, the customer asked for it, and it specifically relates to CMS. All you are doing is providing information to the customer;

the public has a right to know why they are being subjected to such a disservice.

Remember, use this method only if CMS causes an unreasonable delay. Acting Labor Commissioner LWDA Deputy Secretary Robert Jones isn't working on it; he's working on his next promotion!