MaryAnn D. Calvo, who calls herself an “advocate for the LB employees” wrote Senate President Paul A. Manglona two weeks ago asking him to address the LB employees’ concern about Reyes.
A staffer of Sen. Luis P. Criostimo, Ind.-Saipan, Calvo told the Senate president “I will not hesitate to advise them to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to seek justice they deserve.”
Calvo hopes that Manglona, Ind.-Rota, “will be able to correct this matter before it falls into the hands of the U.S. Department of Justice.”
“I can speak from experience that it is something that needs urgent attention. The daily working environment of these employees is hostile,” she said.
Calvo accused Reyes of having a “tyrannical style” of management and of depriving the LB employees their constitutional rights like “freedom of speech.”
Calvo said that whenever staff members oppose Reyes, the director would reprimand them and scold each of them in a one-on-one meeting that usually turns into “deep interrogation.”
Calvo also accused Reyes of favoritism, of “extremely” micro-managing the bureau and of abusing her power.
“On the behalf of the employees, I urge you to do the right thing in the best interest of these individuals, of this Legislature and of our society at large,” Calvo told Manglona.
A separate petition paper from some LB staffers also opposed the Senate resolution maintaining Reyes as the LB director.
A copy of the petition obtained by this reporter did not disclose their names.
Asked for comment, Reyes said: “First, let me make it perfectly clear that Mrs. Calvo is an employee of an elected official and not an employee of the bureau. With that said, I want to state for the record that my responsibility remains solely on bureau employees and not of employees of legislators.”
She said Calvo “is obviously grossly misled. It is disappointing that having claimed to be a former HR manager, Mrs. Calvo never bothered to verify whether in fact the allegations are true but rather relied on gossips and hearsays.”
According to Reyes, “I am not discounting that there isn’t any issue with certain employees. There were in fact some issues but has been resolved, or so I thought. Those issues involved certain employees who are so accustomed to the old ways and the political atmosphere where employees are being paid without having to be accountable for their time and attendance and performance. Positive changes have been made and accountability is now part of the bureau’s workplace culture. Majority of the bureau employees fit right into the changes because they are diligent, industrious, and appreciate the requirement for ALL employees to perform and to earn their salaries paid out of public funds. Honest and hard working bureau employees expect and demand nothing less. I would like to think that Mrs. Calvo expects and demands the same.”
Reyes said “resistance to change and the requirement for accountability is one of the most challenging aspects of management. Mrs. Calvo should know this. We cannot continue to tolerate abuses of public funds. It is bad enough that government employees are generally labeled negatively, not because all government employees deserve such negative connotation, but because of the few that continue to expect and demand for special attention and treatment.”
Reyes added, “Such expectation and demand include, (1) altering time and attendance so that they get paid 80 hours instead of the actual hours worked; (2) to be compensated at a high salary level regardless of qualification, capability, job responsibility, and performance; (3) to be given compensatory time that they expect to earn in the future to cover for lacking hours in current pay period; (4) to change policies and procedures to fit their personal needs; (5) to clock in and station elsewhere in the building instead of being at their workstation working; (6) to freely access social network internet sites during working hours; (7) to report and perform work when they feel like it and be fully compensated; (8) to have first choice to vacant position and determine their own salary because that is how it’s supposed to work in the bureau; (9) to clean personal vehicle during working hours using government equipment and power source to do so; (10) to demote or terminate a performing and accountable employee because of personality conflict between employees.”
Reyes asked, “Is it right, proper, fair, and legal to carry on such practices in the bureau? We cannot be reckless in the handling of public funds especially at a time when our government is suffering from the economic crisis and struggling to stay afloat. Is it right, proper, fair, and reasonable for the bureau to operate under the whims of certain employees? The bureau has a constitutional responsibility to the CNMI Legislature and it is my job to ensure that the bureau is effective in carrying out such responsibility at all times and not only when employees feel like it. Is it right to give in to the ridiculous demands of certain employees to gain their support and to discourage them from using their voting power to try and influence members to remove an individual that requires employees to perform and to be accountable? The last time I checked, my job does not entail vying in a popularity contest to please employees who are accustomed to abuse of public funds just so that I can keep my job.”
Reyes said she appreciates Calvo’s concern about improper employment practices.
“But the fact remains that the real issue of certain disgruntled employees is a result of my refusal to accommodate or approve improper practices and misuse of public funds. Mrs. Calvo should instead be questioning and be concern about these issues because it is embarrassing, alarming, and wrong no matter how one tries to justify otherwise.”
She added, “In closing, I wish to make absolutely clear that this does not reflect on all bureau employees.
Majority of bureau employees are performing, earning their salaries, and appreciate the fact that accountability is now part of the bureau’s workplace culture. My only regret is that the bureau lacks the resources to reward productive and deserving employees.”
