What's Up?

Nothing is really happening here at 111. And, apparently, few care.

The highest levels of UJC professional leadership have been in Israel for ove a week. Rieger, Kanfer (and one of his daughters) and Toni Young all participated on Panels at a "major" conference convened by Sheatufim -- you have all heard of that one haven't you? The Israel Center for a Civil Society. It has important work to do -- this Conference brought among others Olmert and Tony Blair to speak. We here in NYC were intrigued that the UJC restricted itself to three speakers, of course only from within its own leaders, to talk about fund-raising and strategic partnerships...about which UJC is doing really nothing...but talking.

We are in suspended animation here. The professional leaders of UJC Rieger "left behind" (he went on the the Jewish Agency meetings) are totally afraid to move UJC's agenda forward, if they could find it, in Howard's absence. You make a mistake, you're gone. So they seem to get periodic incoherent e-mail directions day -in and day-out often internally contradictory.

Meanwhile, another Senior Professional is leaving, joining the parade, moving on and into the federation system. Can anyone imagine why the grass is greener anywhere, everywhere else?

AT THE WATER COOLER

If you listen to the gossip here -- and, unfortunately, that's all this is -- there is real concern on the north side of UJC headquarters. Rumor has it that J. Kanfer will not seek another Term as Chair of the Board. We don't believe it, but the CEO is frantic. He may fear that getting the "wrong" successors to Joe and Kathy Manning might result in his firing. One problem is that two of the "candidates" to succeed the Chair are hiding behind the skirts/pants of their wife's/husband's gifts, and how would that look?

In all events the Chairs appointed a strong and independent lay person as Chair of the Nominating Committee. Now we will see if the law of unintended consequences will come into play -- having appointed Susie Stern of New York, will they let her and her Committee do their job? We have our doubts.

WHAT COMPASSION, WHAT HUMANITY

Over the past four weeks, even preceding the Budget Committee meeting at which a $37,000,000 Budget (still seems like an obscene amount of money) was recommended for approval and weeks in advance of the UJC Board meeting at which such a Budget will be routinely approved, UJC started firing us. Secretaries, some here for over 20 years, and caring and loyal professionals, gone. In his View last Friday, the CEO, Mr. Rieger, wrote of the pain of such an experience for those remaining and the pain of the entire experience.

Someone ask M. Rieger just who, specifically, he fired. Any one at all? Who did he seek out to give this most painful message to? Maybe the anguish was just too great for him to emerge from the Riegerbunker but we heard he just left the messy task to his underlings. But, his View said how difficult it was for him. In the Jewish Week Purim kuntz about Mr. Rieger, the premise was that "Mr. Revert" as they called him, fired himself. What an idea!! Buh-bye.

Women

On Friday, May 9, Howard Rieger sent all of us at UJC an e-mail message expressing his "mixed emotions" about a great professional's, Debbi Roshfeld's, decision to leave UJC for greener pastures. While Debbi may be leaving by her choice, we see a pattern as terrific women professionals have left in large numbers over the past two years that speaks volumes.

Look at the list of women -- all women -- professionals who have left should cause lay leaders the same concern it has us: the Senior V-P of Marketing and Communications, Senior V-P Development and Planned Giving, Assistant Director Planned Giving and Endowment, V-P Development (who also ran the GA), Associate Vice-President, Marketing and Communications, Senior Director, Governance, the Associate Director, Planned Giving & Endowment and, now, the Director, Overseas Programs/Missions and the Director, the UJC-Mandel Program for Leadership Excellence, Vice-President, Development in Atlanta. The list goes on and on along with a long list of secretaies many of who had dedicated their professional lives to UJC and thought they were part of a team. Women all. (And UJC would tell you, remember we hired Becky Caspi to head UJC Israel.) There is something wrong going on here -- does anyone care?

UJC, as we understand it, has strong women as Chair of its Executive, Chair of GOIO and Chair of its diminished JPI. Do they care?

Budgets

On this special day on the Jewish calendar -- Israel's 60th birthday -- the embattled CEO delivered an e-mail to us here in the bunker that is 111 Eighth Avenue telling us that 37 of us will be without jobs as the courageous Budget & Finance Committee approved a budget cut to $37 million as the Largest City Executives had demanded. (Of course most of us had already read these results in the JTA.) In what passes for management here, every professional, every staff member, fears for his/her job -- where the axes will fall are unknown but suddenly the Chairman says we will be fired by May 27 so "...as not to string us along" -- and the results are being blamed on the Budget Committee.

Where is that "Great Place to Work" survey form? In fact, where is the Great Place to Work Report?

Chag Sameach.

Not A Rumor...continued

Yesterday, the CEO convened an all-staff meeting to redeliver the bad, bad news that a Budget reduced to $37 million will result in major staff cuts but UJC will "help" those who will lose their jobs. No mention of what salary and benefit cuts top management will be incurring in this process. Our bet is none; what's yours?

Questions

Just two questions, not four:

1. Has the National Campaign Chair really decided not to accept a second year (after significant pressure to accept another term)? And, if so, why? And was he told not to go public with his decision? And, if so....


2. Has another UJC Senior woman professional tendered he resignation? And, if so, why? (Has any lay leader here any interest in "why" or in the bigger question, why does UJC appear to be so inhospitable to women professionals?)

Just asking if anyone cares about what is going on here.