The employee handbook for DEG says that they "don't believe in unions" because of their "open door policy." Any company that comes right out and says that (Walmart, etc.) is openly admitting they screw the employees.
I've never understood why DEG employees don't try to unionize. And I'm speaking for reasons besides just the layoffs. Employees at DEG are increasingly treated like crap, especially the student support advisors that serve the online students.
The CCN employees in particular just put up with a lot of crap:
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Work until 8 o'clock at night and then be expected to be back at work at 7, 8, or 9 the next day (don't be a minute late).
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Call center software was installed late last year, so every minute of the day is now micromanaged. Don't take too many bathroom breaks, or your adherence will be off. Also don't take too much time to follow up on a student issue or put notes in the computer.
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The QA team is always looking for something wrong with the calls, and they're always adding something to their mile long list of items that have to be covered in a call, most of which have nothing to do with making sure the student's issue got handled. In fact, the philosophy of the company in general seems to be to look for ways to punish rather than praise anything.
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Computer systems s--- and are down several times a week. And if you call the help desk, that's been outsourced to a foreign country. Those people don't even understand the systems.
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Employees are yelled at like children for things like checking your cell phone. God forbid you have a sick child at home. And if you step away from your desk, that's going to affect your phone adherence.
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Everything is based on politics rather than ability. Want to apply for another position? Unlike most companies, your manager has to approve it. So if your manager is pissed off at you for some reason, you probably won't get to change departments or do something you like better.
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Long term employees are being fired for minor infractions now, which might be their excuse for getting rid of people instead of doing layoffs.
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At the Naperville location, they got rid of the inexpensive cafeteria and installed a very expensive vending system which costs twice what it would cost if you bought anything in a store (and also twice what it used to cost with the old vending machines).
I know unions aren't perfect, but DEG is at the point where it needs a massive employee revolt.
Younger people just tend to look for another job, but those of us with kids tend to not relish the idea of always looking for something else, especially once we have vacation saved and have been there long enough to qualify for FMLA.