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Big Texas companies demand storm survivors go without pay
The Washington Post / Mark Felix / GettyDALLAS – They first had to deal with the nightmare of a winter storm, a historic assault that wiped out their electricity, heat, water, or all three at once. Now they have to face the bosses who turn them down. Company internal emails and texts obtained by The Daily Beast indicate that dozens of employers in Texas, many in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, have told people who cannot go to work or work remotely due to loss of electricity. during the winter storm Uri, that they have to consider the days lost as vacation, otherwise they are not paid. Several large companies are part of it, such as Bell Textron Inc. – formerly known as Bell Helicopter – United Ag & Turf, BAE Systems and the city of Dallas itself. And the workers are seething. “People are greedy”: absurd electricity bills Slamming Texans “We are forced to take vacations on stormy days when I had no heat or WiFi, or I can forgo the money and not get paid “said a Bell Helicopter employee, who like other workers cited in this story on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, told The Daily Beast. “I’m disappointed and nervous for next year,” the worker said, adding, “Even though I’m a salaried employee I’m just starting out, and hitting anything on my income will put me on the streets – and that’s terrifying.” Bell representatives did not return a call or email requesting comment, but emails sent by management and reviewed by The Daily Beast clarified the policy. “Employees who cannot fully devote their time and pay attention to company business due to current situation Unditions should use available PTO, vacation or flexible vacation periods if they wish to be paid today. Otherwise, employees who are out of business ‘PTO, vacation or public holiday hours or who do not wish to use their unused PTO, vacation or vacation time will not be paid for today, ”reads an email sent last week by l Bell senior management. The worker told the Daily Beast that Bell’s facilities were closed all week, but at one point they were unable to access the VPN – a “virtual private network” that they received. provides access to company systems – meaning many Bell employees couldn’t work from home even when they had electricity. Executives at United Ag & Turf – a John Deere equipment dealer – and executives at BAE Systems – a British multinational armaments, security and aerospace company – sent similar messages. But they also enabled employees to effectively borrow paid time off, which would come from their future allowances or wages, according to emails reviewed by The Daily Beast. Some employees did not appreciate the offer.[I] just feel like people should know. This is not correct, ”a BAE Systems employee told The Daily Beast. A BAE Systems spokesperson told The Daily Beast, “As a government contractor, there are regulations we must follow for labor billed by our employees. The events of the past week are unusual and we are working with employees on how to properly manage whenever they are unable to work. Additionally, we have activated our Immediate Response program to support our colleagues and provide financial assistance to affected employees and their families. United Ag & Turf employees, meanwhile. they were even told that they had to take responsibility for maintaining a balance of leave in case such events did occur in the future. This is despite winter storm Uri and the associated electrical crisis being “the biggest insurance claim event in Texas history”. “To be prepared for such circumstances in the future, every employee must manage their PTO and be encouraged to always keep a balance of unexpected situations like health issues and inclement weather. This type of assistance will no longer be offered in the future, ”reads an email from United Ag & Turf senior management. United Ag & Turf did not respond to a request for comment. “I’m angry. They could have said nothing and be fine. They could have paid people for the canceled days and looked like heroes. They instead chose to add insult to injury,” one said. United Ag & Turf employee. For-profit employers weren’t the only ones who told their employees they had to use their vacation days. Even some government employees were affected: an email sent to the the Dallas City Library has told employees to use personal time off for lost work. The veracity of the email has been confirmed by Dallas City Council member Adam Bazaldua and a representative from City Communications, Catherine Cuellar. “It’s really disheartening that HR (who has worked entirely from home over the past year, by the way) just deciding whether people are getting paid or not “Said a city employee.” It’s a cauc mad hemar ”: Mom recounts the last moments with her 3 children who died in Texas Power outageCuellar told the Daily Beast that for those without paid time available“ No one can ‘just decide’ anything; we have processes and levels of accountability for taxpayers’ money, ”she said. becomes a question at the federal government level as to whether the payment of emergency administrative compensation to this worker was a necessary expense during the meteorological event, “added Cuellar.” It is city policy in this regard. weather-related emergency pay for a decade, when asked if the policy could be changed to cover all employees, Cuellar said things would be handled on a case-by-case basis. Austin Kaplan, an Austin-based labor attorney, described these situations as a consequence of a lack of adequate labor protections in a state with notoriously weak guarantees for workers. “There is no requirement in Texas that people pay vacations. There’s just no safety net, or anything like that, ”Kaplan told The Daily Beast. This means that it was entirely up to employers to decide how to manage the fallout. Some, like Cisco, have not only paid their employees for the days lost, but have also offered offices as shelters and sent resources for mental health support, but it seems they are in the minority. And without any clear sign of government action – Gov. Greg Abbott hinted at relief for workers facing sky-high electricity bills, but nothing else – they seem to be alone. “In my opinion, the state that turned off the power grid should be the one paying,” Kaplan said. For more, check out The Daily Beast. Do you have any advice? 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