Severe Reservations about ReServe, Inc.

It has been a while since I have blogged. But this incident regarding ReServe deserves mention.

Months ago I attended an AARP seminar on finding a job for 50+ folks in Harlem on a very stormy day. Despite the terrible weather there were many attendees. Lots of silver-haired folks clearly wanted to get back into the marketplace.

It was there that I first met John Pham of ReServe, a placement organization for volunteers which differentiates itself by offering a $10/hour stipend for ReServists. After having a brief conversation with John I went home and registered for their orientation. Since I had just missed the January orientation I signed up for the February 28 orientation at their headquarters on Broadway at 40th Street.

During that orientation I learned of a Success Mentor program sponsored by the Mayor's Task Force on Truancy, Chronic Absenteeism and School Engagement. I was told that John Pham was the contact person for that program and so I asked to speak with him about it, mainly because I was concerned that my banishment from the NYC DOE that was the result of my trashing by the Bronx High School of Science "principal without principles," Valerie Reidy, which I clearly explained to John, would affect my placement. Mr. Pham indicated that I would be employed by the ReServe payroll company, NextSource, and not by the DOE, so my DOE no-hire situation would not apply. So I expressed interest in being a Success Mentor.

So I was pleased when John called to say they had a Success Mentor position at MS 301 in the Bronx as the result of a ReServist having to bow out. Once again I trekked to 1440 Broadway to interview with John for the specific position. Once again I mentioned my situation with the DOE and was assured it would be no problem.

Last Monday, March 21st, I got a call from John saying I had been selected and that I needed to be fingerprinted at DOE HQ at 65 Court Street but first had to fill out paperwork with Diane Perez-Cruz at 1440 Broadway, so I made an appointment to do so at 10:30 on Wednesday, March 23rd. I mentioned to John that I had already been fingerprinted, but he called back to say there was no record of them, so I would have to be fingerprinted again.

I was not feeling well on the morning of the 23rd and had gotten on the road late, without having breakfast. Ms. Perez-Cruz was, to me, a bit condescending, so I snipped a bit when asked for a canceled check to verify direct deposit routing codes and she refused to accept instead a deposit slip which I had brought with me that bore the same magnetic code. All of a sudden I was interviewed by two others who questioned both my gruffness and my status as a recipient of unemployment payments. When I indicated that I had told John Pham about my unemployment status I was told that they were unaware, and John does not make final decisions anyway.

I was next interviewed by Don Tinagero, Director of Human Resources and Administration, one of a very few silver-haired staffers. He indicated that his retirement had not sat well with his wife and that he had started as a ReServist and was hired on later as Director. I described my situation at Bronx Science and of my educational background and of my interest in the Success Mentor position because I felt I belonged in a school if not in a classroom.

I gave Don my business card which has a periodic table of the elements on the back. I asked if he knew of Tom Lehrer's Elements Song. He did not, but he surprised me by saying he used to sing the Sodium Chloride song recorded by Loudon Wainwright III to his son as a kid. I mentioned that the song was composed by Loudon's ex-wife Kate McGarrigle, and that got us started talking about an upcoming tribute concert for Kate at Town Hall in May, as well as Rufus Wainwright, the son of Kate and Loudon and Teddy Thompson, a friend of Rufus whose concert I had attended the previous Friday night. Teddy had called Rufus up to the stage to sing a duet of King of the Road which they had both contributed to the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack.

Don then said that "You talk too much," and "I have to get back to work." He gave me his card saying I should call him if I had any problem with the Success Mentor job at MS 301, and we added to the back of the card John Pham's phone number and that of Courtney Wong, a young associate who had just been to a Rufus Wainwright concert. With the exception of the session with Ms. Perez-Cruz, all discussions that day were very collegial.

I sat there completing the DOE fingerprint paperwork and called John Pham back to warn him that I would have to answer "yes" to questions about having been discharged by Bronx Science and about having my city teaching certificate revoked. John once again stated it would not be a problem. With their blessing I headed off to 65 Court Street. I figured I would get lunch afterwards.

I presented my letter of introduction on DOE stationery that stated I was a Success Mentor candidate from ReServe to the receptionist. I was told that my fingerprints already existed, as I suspected, but that there was a hold on them, and was told to report to the DOE HR Investigations office, room 200. I sent a quick email by iPhone to John Pham saying that my fingerprints did exist and that I was sitting in the investigations office.

Shortly afterwards I was escorted into the office of GoPass program investigator John Kelleher. I had not heard of the GoPass Program at ReServe, but was assured by John that bearers of the ReServe letter of introduction had to apply for the GoPass program, and that it was a simple process that entailed an on-line application and a photograph. Mr. Kelleher then discussed the hold on my fingerprints. I mentioned my total S (satisfactory) ratings from 2002 to 2004 and my U (unsatisfactory) rating for 2005, thanks to Bronx Science principal Reidy. He told me I had to gather evidence of both before and after 2005 satisfactory service and the U rating document stating the reasons for my rating. He indicated that I might be allowed to serve as a volunteer if there were no student-oriented reasons—my term, not his—for the U. He would then interview me at noon on March 28th and, if all went well, I should be on track to start work at MS 301 on Wednesday, March 30th, as planned.

I was just completing the GoPass application on line when Don Tinagero called to tell me that the "team" at ReServe had decided that I was no longer suitable for the MS 301 job, with no explanation given. I had not yet eaten, and suddenly I was sick to my stomach.

By then Mr. Kelleher had sent word that he had moved up our interview meeting to Friday, March 25th. So I went back upstairs to his office to inform him that ReServe had, without explanation, pulled the plug. He then told me that he could not interview me if I did not have the support of ReServe. He then called Don Tinagero and left a message asking for an explanation. He tried to reach John Pham but he was not in his office. He then called Courtney Wong who agreed to track down John Pham. Eventually John talked with John and learned that I should not have been directed to the GoPass Program in the first place, but confirmed that ReServe had ceased to support me. John Pham told John Kelleher that he would call me about the situation. I got home and finally got something to eat for the first time that day about 5 PM, having spent three subway fares that day, on top of the six previous fares dealing with ReServe.

Today is March 28th and I have still not heard from John Pham or anyone else at ReServe.*

Let me tell you a bit about the ReServe paperwork and that of their payroll company NextSource:

It is made very clear that you serve as a volunteer "at will," meaning they can fire you on the spot with no notice and with no reason—as they had just done with me before I even got started.

The nominal $10 per hour payment (subject to standard tax deductions) comes with many strings. The employer has the right to work you for five hours straight on a given day without a break. (My workload would have been 8 - 1 Monday, Wednesday and Friday.) If the employee takes an unauthorized break it may be charged against him based on the fraction of an hour break time taken, reducing the $10/hr payment. Payment is biweekly. Electronic time sheets had to be completed by 5 PM Friday by the employee and approved by his supervisor by 5 PM Monday or payment would be denied until the following pay period. I was warned by Ms. Perez-Cruz that supervisors can get "busy" and forget to approve timesheets. Lovely.

The ReServist Code of Conduct states that "every person in the ReServe family (partners, payroll vendors, fellow ReServists)" shall be treated "with respect and dignity."

I leave it to you, dear reader, to decide whether the ReServe staff treated me with respect and dignity.

*ADDENDUM, 3/28, 4:30 PM: My blog prompted a subsequent conference call from John Pham and Don Tinagero meant as an apology and explanation for the mess described above. It seems that a supervisor (unnamed), whom I had never met, decided that I was wrong for the MS 301 job after I had left the ReServe office on my way to 65 Court Street. Don has apologized for the tone I perceived in his phone call notifying me that ReServe had withdrawn support, and stated that he did not know I was at 65 Court Street when he called to pull the plug. Both he and John Pham apologized for the GoPass fiasco at 65 Court Street. In this conversation Don suggested that I was "loquacious" and that what was needed in the Success Mentor position was a capacity to listen, not talk. My experience tells me that students will not talk unless they trust the listener. You build trust with conversation.

I am convinced that someone at 65 Court Street, if not John Kelleher, the GoPass guy, would have had to investigate the hold on my fingerprints. But it will never happen for reasons stated. I was told that they would work with their contacts at 65 Court Street to resolve the confusion I experienced. While that is certainly good news it does not really help me. My reservations about ReServe persist.