Thank you, Roy Exum, for your recent Erlanger article (Stanley 'A Star' At Erlanger) which is 19 paragraphs of pro-Erlanger mumbo-jumbo. The most telling quote cited was from Jennifer Stanley, the 'Star' in question, where she says, "We owe management the incentives we promised over a year ago. Not to pay would be an egregious moral and ethical violation, in addition to destroying trust between the board and management.”
What a great quote. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to know that Ms. Stanley is on the job to help make sure all of those nice bonuses are given out properly. I especially love that part about 'an egregious moral and ethical violation' should that bonus money not be distributed.
What I find incredibly ironic is that Erlanger retirees were also promised certain benefits when they were initially employed by Erlanger. They fully expected healthcare after retirement to be there for them once they put in the necessary years of service. Obviously, cutting those benefits with no warning whatsoever was not considered any type of 'egregious moral and ethical violation' by Kevin Spiegel, Erlanger CEO.
Bottom line is, we must give out bonuses promised to upper level management because to do otherwise would be a moral and ethical violation, but in the same breath we can take away retiree benefits with the stroke of a pen and that's perfectly fine, fair, and honest. Yeah, Roy, thanks for clearing this up nearly every week.
Herb Montgomery
Chattanooga