Today's News & Record article, UNCG firing details emerge came as no surprise to the EzGreensboro.com team as we'd already been warned that UNCG Vice Chancellor Paul Mason has a previous history of using these same sorts of tactics against his former employees at Jefferson-Pilot and other places where he has worked. All three UNCG employees, Carpen, English and Wilson, filed complaints against Mason so Mason retaliated by filing criminal charges against them just as he is accused of having done in the past.
Thus, the type of management the Fascist Brady Administration needs to remain empowered.
The fact is: the charges simply don't make sense. From the N&R:
"Those letters, written by Associate Vice Chancellor Paul Mason, accuse
them of misusing state property for personal profit, falsifying time
sheets and failing to report their second jobs to the university from
2010 to 2014."
But the article makes it clear their supervisor knew of their second job:
" Carpen, a communications specialist, did nothing to stop English and
Wilson’s allegedly fraudulent actions, according to her letter."
This is the Jamal Fox-Jim Key-A&T Story all over again. For those who might not be familiar. Jamal Fox was an adjunct professor at NC A&T University running against Jim Key for a Greensboro City Council seat. Jim Key went to the new Chancellor at A&T claiming Jamal had not informed the school he was running for elected office when in-fact Jamal had informed the previous management of the school who left the paperwork lying around and failed to file it away before leaving his post. The vice chancellor Paul Mason replaced was fired-- for what? Failing to keep up with the job?
As Allen Johnson with whom I almost never agree, points out in his N&R blog post, UNCG firings... plus criminal charges? writes:
"But there seems to be much more to this story than guerrilla freelancing and fudged time sheets."
Well for starters is the fact that English and Wilson appear to be salaried employees who are in-fact exempt to at least some of the rules Mason is attempting to hold them accountable to. Time sheets are just a formality in their positions and are treated as such throughout the entire UNC system. Both English and Wilson are required to photograph all UNCG events night and day and thus keep their UNCG cameras with them at all times. Doing so would also explain why it might be easier to use school cameras for their private photo shoots.
The same goes for use of UNCG computers. With photographers being forced to work irregular hours, basicly on-call anytime they're needed it would be impossible for them to seperate their time. A smart manager like Carpen would realize that great talent is hard to keep at the relativly low wages English and Wilson were paid and work around these problems rather than work in a constant state of expensive and difficult employee turnover.
This was proved true by the many years all 3 spent with UNCG before Paul Mason and the rest of the Brady Bunch showed up with their axes.
Here's reality, folks: As long as American institutions continue to reward Fascist administrations filled with hatchet men with higher pay for cutting the pay of rank and file workers you can expect freelancing to continue to increase, not decrease. This freelancing is America's rejection of Fascism and corporate control of our economy. If you want us 100% you have to pay us 100% and take your axes to those at the top.
The 99% be they conservative or liberal, will not remain crushed forever and it is within our institutions of higher learning that the fires must burn brightest. Down with the Brady Bunch!
