bruce@graffiti.UUCP (Bruce Jilek) (02/13/86)
Thanks to all of the kind souls who responded to my question! I would like to keep you all abreast of the situation, and clear the air of any confusion that may have come out of my posting. 1) The company is EDS (Electronic Data Systems). 2) No. Neither my friend nor I were exagerating (sp?). As a matter of fact, my story was diluted somewhat. Others have more gruesome tales to tell. (Example: Wife can't leave a particular state on legal grounds regarding child custody from a previous marriage. Husband takes job after asking about his special situation and being reassured that he will not be moved. They assign him to another state. When he reminds employer about their 'agreement', employer reminds him of the contract he signed and the $9000 he can pay to quit his job.) 3) Almost every person who responded knew exactly who I was talking about. But there appear to be some other companies with similar reputations. Based on those responses, I would beware of ADP and Honeywell also. 4) My friend feels that the fact that a contract was signed with the details in fine print outweighs the other apparently illegal means that were used to get the signature. So my friend is staying with the company until the $9000 obligation expires. It would be difficult to convince the entire class to go to court even though they *were* all lied to regarding the duration of the obligation. I just have to say it again. ***I CAN'T BELIVE THAT A MAJOR US CORPORATION IS ACTUALLY DOING THIS*** In the past, I have had great respect for EDS. My native city is Dallas. I knew the reputation of Ross Perot, and what a great American he is supposed to be (see footnote). My mother used to tell me all through school that I should apply for work there, for Christ's sake! What's worse is that I almost did! I used to play on the golf course that is now EDS's corporate headquarters. My school bus used to pass in front of the Perot house every day for years. My father knew him when he was a fresh ex-IBM'er. These pratices remind me of some sleazy sweatshop that preys on the helpless. This doesn't speak well for corporate America, General Motors, or the entire Information industry. If you want cheap employees, don't break the law to get them! If you want employees to stick around after you train them, offer incentives to stay, don't force them to do so through a system of strong penalties. Especially if you are lying in the first place to get them to hire on! Most important of all, if you have computer work that needs to be done, don't pay EDS to do it for you. You will only be supporting the notion that computers can be run the way ancient ships were...with people chained to them, suffering all the way (plotting to get even if the chance arises). I'll get off my soapbox now.... Thanks for listening. Bruce Footnote: Ross Perot is a major figure in US society. He has championed the cause of Vietnam Veterans and the need for education in the US. He helped organize efforts to welcome home soldiers from the war. He is currently involved with Texas' government to promote a better high school system. You may not recognize his name if you aren't from this part of the world, but his name gets into international news occasionally. When some of his employees were trapped in Iran during the revolution, he organized a rescue mission that succeeded where the United States government failed. He financed his son in the first helicopter circumnavigation of the world. He became one of the wealthiest men in the nation when General Motors bought EDS to handle the automation and robotics for GM's factories. You get the idea. This guy has a reputation. Now why would a guy like that run such a shady employment operation? This could be any apple pie, baseball, and hot dog American corporation. I can only hope that he's so far up in the organization to know what's going on below. But that's not really an excuse is it?
earlw@pesnta.UUCP (Earl Wallace) (02/14/86)
The real World sucks, doesn't it? That's why I like computers....
j@utah-cs.UUCP (J Lepreau) (02/26/86)
This is ridiculous!!! What EDS is doing certainly sounds illegal. For one thing, there are all sorts of reasons that signed contracts can be held invalid, such as that they have provisions which violate state or federal law, that they were made by parties too "unequal," or that fraud was involved. All of these seem like possibilities here. So why are you and your friend and his classmates wasting time asking the net, getting just about zero information, then deciding to sit it out and suffer two years of misery? GO TALK TO A LAWYER OR THE LOCAL ACLU CHAPTER (if Utah has one even Texas must), don't just sit around and complain-- that's the way they get away with it! Good grief. (You mentioned that a concern was that not all the members of the class would go to court. So what? In any case, no one has to, unless EDS takes him there when he leaves and doesn't pay the $9000. And EDS won't if the employee is on solid legal grounds. And no matter who sues whom, sounds like there's a possibility of another kind of "class"-- a class-action suit.) Jay Lepreau seismo!utah-cs!lepreau