Utopia Talk / Politics / DEI takes over a forestry department

Rugian Member	Mon Oct 14 06:48:02 ‘It is bad for women’: Workers condemn culture at Oregon Forestry Department Updated: Oct. 10, 2024, 9:33 a.m. The state has received about a dozen complaints against Oregon Department of Forestry leaders this year, with some employees alleging a hostile culture toward women, a lack of diversity and a fear of retaliation. The complaints include one from Brenda McComb, vice chair of the Oregon Board of Forestry, who told state officials that she had seen little evidence that the Forestry Department had advanced “diversity representation” among its workforce or advisory committees. She said the state forester seemed to have made no progress implementing a “draft diversity plan.” “If progress is being made, it is not apparent to me, and if it is not apparent to me then it is not apparent to other members of the public,” McComb wrote in her complaint. McComb is the retired vice provost for academic affairs at Oregon State University. “I have two more years to serve on my term on this Board, and frankly I am exhausted from being stone-walled on this issue by the agency and their unwillingness to consider this a priority,” she wrote in an Aug. 23 email to Torrey Sims, the diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging manager for the state Department of Administrative Services. “I am hoping that you or the Governor’s office will begin to hold this agency accountable in this regard.” Sims responded, thanking McComb for bringing the concern to his attention and telling her that two state diversity colleagues would “take over from here.” Another employee questioned the Forestry Department’s pattern of directly hiring people without following the typical vetting process, saying “this seems shady and leads to an old and current image by employees at ODF that it is the ‘Good Old Boys Club’ or that it is ‘Who you know not what you know.’” The state released the complaints in response to an Oregonian/OregonLive public records request. The agency redacted some of the names of the employees who filed the complaints. State Forester Cal Mukumoto issued a statement Wednesday, saying agency leadership “takes employee complaints and concerns seriously and, when brought to our attention, we ensure they’re handled in accordance with state laws, rules, policies and HR best practices. This includes protecting employees from retaliation.” Mukumoto said the agency is “fully committed” to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion. “Providing a safe, diverse and inclusive workplace is a shared core value and priority of both the department and the Board of Forestry,” he said. A spokesperson for Gov. Tina Kotek said the governor does not comment on personnel matters. “However, she expects state agencies to operate with the highest standard of transparency and accountability,” Anca Matica said in an email. “She is committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion across state government.” The Department of Forestry is charged with protecting about 16 million acres of public and private forestland and serves as Oregon’s largest fire department. It is overseen by Mukumoto, who answers to the Oregon Board of Forestry, a seven-member citizen board appointed by the governor. Mukumoto, appointed in 2021, manages an agency of nearly 1,400 employees and a biennial budget of about $577 million. His salary is $237,288. Mukumoto’s second-in-command, Mike Shaw, has been on paid administrative leave since Aug. 6, according to the agency. Agency spokesperson Joy Krawczyk declined to comment on the reason for the leave. Shaw’s annual salary is $192,288. Shaw did not respond to a voicemail message Wednesday. The Oregonian/OregonLive also made a request for comment from Shaw through the agency spokesperson. Megan Donecker, the agency’s former diversity, equity and inclusion strategy officer, said about a half-dozen employees who identify as queer told her they didn’t feel “safe or comfortable being out at work” or discussing their lives and partners. Donecker resigned in March after about a year and a half with the agency. “It is bad for women at Forestry,” Donecker said in an interview. “It is even worse if you are queer.” She said many employees “still feel really uncomfortable having conversations around pronouns,” she said. Her redacted complaint is among those released by the state. She filed the complaint specifically against Shaw and another agency manager. Donecker said the managers sidelined her, undermining diversity and inclusion efforts. She was removed from the Forestry leadership team earlier this year without warning, she said. She provided The Oregonian/OregonLive with a Feb. 20 email from Shaw, saying she and two other agency employees were no longer invited to the team’s meetings. The team helps carry out the director’s priorities. Shaw wrote that the team had grown to include employees who are represented by a union, impairing the group’s “ability to hold correct conversations and speak in an open forum.” He added that in general Forestry’s various meetings included large numbers of employees, making the agency inefficient and “less fiscally responsible.” Donecker objected to the decision, telling Shaw, Mukumoto and a human resources manager, Wendy Heckman, that the move relegated her to a guest speaker and sent a message that diversity and inclusion are “optional” business practices. “I cannot emphasize enough how far back this is going to set myself and the work that I am trying to do,” she wrote. She recounted a subsequent conversation in March where Shaw defended his support of diversity efforts, telling Donecker that his wife also works at the agency and that he is a “huge fan of women in the workforce.” She said Shaw told her he looks beyond gender and identity in hiring, seeking only candidates most qualified for the job. He urged a more cautious approach to carrying out diversity and inclusion goals, comparing the pace of change to speeding on “an icy road,” she recalled. “We don’t go 60 (mph) out of the gate or we’re gonna crash the car,” she said Shaw told her during their one-on-one meeting on March 5. Donecker said the department’s overall culture amounted to a “boy’s club,” recalling a meeting last year when Mukumoto told those gathered that one of their colleagues, a woman, “puts in a really good lunch order and then kind of chuckled, and everyone kind of chuckled.” “No one batted an eye,” Donecker recalled. She now works as an equity trainer and education coordinator at the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care. http://www...regon-forestry-department.html
Rugian Member	Mon Oct 14 06:50:06 Even five years ago an article like this would have been considered absurd because no one could envision it actually happening in real life. But no. Now we have officials getting suspended because they only hire people who are qualified for a job, while an entire government department descends into chaos over the proper use of pronouns for trans people. It's actual bizarro world.
murder Member	Mon Oct 14 07:52:20 Life is tough when you can't treat people like shit.
Rugian Member	Mon Oct 14 08:12:04 Okay...so you clearly didn't read the article.
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