Project Angel Fouls Part 7

 As a student of both psychology and philosophy, I pay a lot of attention to the whys. Working at Project Angel Food, a well-known Los Angeles nonprofit, has made me realize they operate from a “the end justifies the means” point of view. You may have heard this phrase before, but what does it mean? In my Philosophy classes, I learned this is a logical fallacy (invalid, flawed, error-filled) found in political Consequentialism. Linguistically, Affirmating the Consequences assumes the ending or result of something while also ignoring interferences. In syllagim form it looks like this: if A then B, it’s B therefore A.

For example: recently PAF is having a conflict with my Cesar Chavez Holiday benefit. Our Employee committee voted to have an extra Floating Holiday (8 hrs of basically vacation) on top of our already given one for the year. Thus, every employee would have 16 Floating Holiday hours. However, despite working on the Federal Holiday (my regularly scheduled day) I was informed that I only have 8 hrs of Floating hours because last year there was a glitch that didn’t put a cap on my Floating Holidays resulting in a -8 hrs this year. Despite this being their error and the fact that on my end it shows no request for this third Floating Holiday, they replied “At least you got paid” and “Legally businesses don’t have to give you Holiday benefits.” If (A) you got paid, then (B) you got your holiday benefit. It's (B) therefore (A). 

They are ignoring the fact that the pay app constantly has errors and that a holiday benefit is yearly. This can lead to a circular argument.

If (A) you used three Floating Holidays last year and you're only allowed two a yr, then (B) you only get 8 hours this year. It’s (B) therefore (A).

Again they're ignoring Federal Holiday "rules" to pay me less.

Another example: In our last Dispatch meeting our Supervisor addressed the ever-present problem of staff conflicts. She called it pride since we weren’t working as a team and to “just help.” She said we shouldn’t ask if it’s within our parameters/scope/department/wants; “we’re here to work so work.” If (A) the staff are not getting along, then (B) it’s their primary fault. It’s (B) therefore (A).

This assumes the problem is one-sided and easy to fix.

 If (A) staff just work as a team then (B) there will be less complaints. It's (B), therefore (A)!

This assumes that if staff just do this one thing, everything will get better. As well as ignoring that our complaints aren't about team members. Work culture is created top down.

It makes sense that a business would operate in such a way that they are not to blame. It makes sense that a business would justify their ways if it meant making (or keeping) their status (money and power). However, as stated above (and in previous posts), this is a nonprofit. We are for the people, made by the people. PAF time and time again seems to battle this ethical question: who’s important- the clientele, the volunteers, or the staff? When the answer is everyone; however, if the net is weak how will it be a good support? Yes, we serve a very ill clientele. Yes, we need to stay open because hunger never ends. But this does not diminish, rather demands the rights of workers. We need to be constantly reminded of our value just as much as being reminded of our mission.

The logical argument against our flawed one is dennying the consequence: A, then B. It's not B, therefore not A (Modus Tollens) Simply put, it is a logical argument based on deduction and noting the conditionals in either one or both premises. It uses the rule of Inferences. Remember correlation does not mean causation! 

If we run this through our two examples without first filter of benefiting profit over people we would change the argument possibly like this:

1. If (A)all Federal holidays are honored by PAF, there (B) is a benefit for Caser Chavez of +8 Floating holiday hrs by PAF. If there's no (B) benefit given for Cesar Chavez; therefore, not (A).
   

I am the only I have found having this problem so far. But others has expressed lost vacation and sick hours which runs in the same system.

2. If (A) the staff are properly equipped and supported with their conflicts, there would be less meetings about not working as a team. If there's no (B) decline in meetings about working as a team; therefore, not (A).

Just telling someone to do something doesn't imply they know how to do it. Although we would want to hire healthy employees, we can't be sure of people's coping mechanisms until the moment arrives. As leaders, will we model the teamwork we expect?

I have studied Principles in Nonprofits, Multicultural Issues in Human Services, Research Methods for Human Services, History of Modern Philosophy, Community Change in Human Services, Multicultural Psychology, and Philosophy of Social Work. I know some things I fear they should have known. We all need to continue to learn and grow. I’ve learned that I can’t trust management at my job. I’ve learned that for PAF, “as long it takes” translates to “by whatever means it takes.” This might seem great, but it’s full of brokenness like the internal fallacies they’ve given sway to. So long story short, I’ve decided to go back to school in hopes of one day taking over my HR’s job…Do you think they’ll cover some of my cost? (It’s in the handbook.)

*For information on this logical fallacy here are some resources to better explain

Affirming the Consequences Video

Critical Thinker

Logical Thinking

Validity and Soundness

Project Angel Fouls Part 6

 Happy A(ngel) Fools!

As a tribute to this joke-filled day known as April Fools, I thought we could bring to light all the times Project Angel Food has brought tears to our eyes.

Let’s start with the relatively recent investigation conducted by attorney Drew L. Alexis. Mr. Alexis was hired by PAF’s Board of Directors after I wrote an email about concerns with Human Resources and the CEO. The concerns addressed but not limited to were-

• HR not assisting employees in understanding insurances/benefits

• HR implementing new policies or changes without properly informing all staff

• Using photos (for years) without people’s written consent

• Using employee’s first and last name (for years) on their website without employee knowledge

• HR delaying for half a year in giving two employees proper compensation for doing management duties i.e. Inventory, merchant purchasing, conducting discipline (one of which is still not getting paid)

• HR allowing severance pay to a fired employee who had sexual interactions with a minor volunteer-this same employee also threatened a staff member through texting which was never taken seriously (none of this was taken to the police)

• HR delaying the termination of a manager who was having inappropriate relations with two employees, verbally abused someone, and sexually harassed another by offering a dollar if they “danced for him.” 

• HR lacking the tools to de-escalate situations which lead to police being called several times to escort employees

• HR not informing department managers about the termination of their own employees

• HR showing favoritism by firing one person but suspending another for similar issues 

• A CEO who bluntly disrespects their workers 

• And a CEO who makes more financially than what is reasonable

It should come to no one’s surprise that only some of these were found to be “substantiated,” but all of “those facts did not give rise to a policy or legal violation.” I may not know all the laws, but I’m pretty sure the consent thing is a big one. Interviews were only done with some employees and of course Mr. Alexis never interviewed the two people who had physical proof of wrongdoing. It was all dubiously carried out in my opinion. The interviews were sometimes conducted while staff were under management’s eye. I had a coworker directly tell me that they were afraid of what to say since they knew their boss could hear. 

Let’s continue being humored, shall we:

• PAF continues to have errors in their computer systems causing there to be lost benefit hours and pay. Perhaps their auditor since 2017, Windes, could give them a helping hand…or even the new tech-savvy manager they hired in dispatch who seems to be adding more duties to their job description than originally stated (the other joke is that their job didn't come with a written out duty list)

• PAF continues to use vans whose doors have been so busted that sensors beep unceasingly while you drive or just fling open if you don't close them "right;" thus, causing fruit and meals to spill out.

• Our Dispatch Supervisor had assumed that all we needed was Clorox wipes for our vans, but after months of working there she finally entered a van to see the grotesque interior. She immediately hired a professional cleaning crew. 

• It was announced at our recent meeting that PAF offers tremendous discounts through a program giving us deals in electronics, movies, gyms, therapy, etc. This has been around much longer than anyone knew, but this was the first time HR was forced…I mean asked… to send us the information

• A recent coworker got into a very bad accident while on duty on a Friday and was told to come back to work from HR that following Monday. HR even argued with the employee’s doctor note that said they needed at the very least three days off. HR told the employee that those days included their weekend.

• That same coworker had major surgery last year and was relentlessly asked to work sooner than later. When the employee confronted HR about being more relaxed with a previous employee’s injury recovery time, HR stated, ‘That was then. This is now.’  

• A whole day was recently dedicated to reorganize, label, and count items in the freezer. Our Supervisor’s idea of attaching wood pegs to each cart to hold colored flags signaling FIFO (first in, first out) was immediately met with struggles that could have been avoided if better prepared. First, the peg attachment was too high for most of the staff to stick the flags in. Second, the peg holes were too small/tight for the stick flags. Third, none of this labeling system was discussed in detail with the kitchen staff leaving them very confused.

• Our driver phones that have clientele information accessible when logged into our app still do not have a lock on them despite this being a HIPAA violation and one of the cell phones already being stolen

• I had to tell this organization (that's a huge LGBTQIA supporter) that it was inconsiderate to write on birthday bags a person's gender, especially noting if the person was trans.

• It was such a big deal that PAF transitioned from using Styrofoam bins to blue insulated bags to transport meals in, but more and more drivers find it a lot more convenient to just put everything in boxes so that they don’t slide while in the van

• Numerous times I have heard coworkers know more about the operations of things than my direct managers. 

• I seem to be missing the punchline for why we’re required to wear hairnets and gloves while packing fruit when they’re already dirty from the previous people and packaging. It would make more sense if we cleaned the fruit for the client; thus, making the gloves necessary. But we don't.  

• I recently had to take two sick days, but with the amount of sick time I had it wasn’t enough to cover two full days. When I met with my manager about it, my accumulated hours were less than when I last checked. He called HR so he could understand how it was correct. HR then tried to explain all of this to me but stopped in the middle of it and said, “Ohh, wait..no, you are right. Something is off here.” After we agreed I would have both days fully covered I saw my check received only two hours for one of them. Again I reached out to HR who now undermined our last conversation and said there was a misunderstanding. Funny right? Simply hilarious that someone who lives paycheck to paycheck should only get two hours for a sick day when there was vacation time HR could have applied…

• And the best for last, even new hires are being told "There's this blog about us..."

I hope to have more gut-busting foolery as the year continues.

Until then, I'm hoping Attorney General Rob Bonta catches wind.

Share your stories today!

File a Complaint  

Project Angel Fouls Part 4

 An organization is organization. It’s supposed to make sense. 

Organizing a nonprofit (NP) and for-profit (FP) can be very similar. They both have a Board as their governance. They create mission statements (although this began in the nonprofit sector) and draft visions. Each one has an Executive Director/CEO, a financial advisor, and lawyers. The list can go on.

The difference between them is that the Board in a NP volunteer their time and resources. Nonprofits are not a pyramid. They do not make money to serve the head-although they can serve themselves just as much as a corporation. A NP mainly receives (sometimes internally makes) money to serve the needs of the community (uschamber). 

It is important to note though that a NP can have Board members who are also employees, although this is not highly favored due to the possible conflict of interest(s). Similar to it not being the best idea to post religious symbols in a public space at your business (which PAF hasn’t shied away from). If a NP does have employees on the Board, they are legally not allowed to vote on specific decisions-especially financial ones that impact themselves. This should be laid out clearly in the NP’s bylaws (governing procedures) that were constructed along with their specific tax filing.

Simple enough right? 

According to Project Angel Food’s website, it has twenty-one Board of Directors with three CEOs, nine executive staff (counting Richard Ayoub again), fifteen Board of Trustees, nine Ambassador Councils and according to Human Resources (HR), around ninety employees. Mr. Ayoub sits on the Board and is a CEO. Our supposedly “sister companies” (according to PAF’s  Dispatch Supervisor), Project Open Hand, Open Hand Atlanta , and Mama's Kitchen do not even do this. However, PAF’s Bylaws (available upon PAF request) allow this to happen with the stipulation one can not vote for being paid as a Board Member and that the pay is “just and reasonable.” Unfortunately, hearings from voters are not made public to see how this technically pays out, I mean plays out, for Ayoub.

A NP is made by the people, for the people; thus, should be the faces of those people. PAF does well in photographing its events and ambiance, but perhaps too well or... too Hollywood-the same accusation workers had with their first CEO. Ayoub and celebrities become our “new face” with the occasional picture of staff posted on social media. (Note: It wasn’t until a couple of months ago did we sign a release of our photos/names due to me addressing the issue.) We understand the image that “has to be presented” to make it in such a city, but when “saving face” becomes more important than those working their butts off the NP has lost its vision. Ayoub is not someone who takes criticism well, will hide what's going on, does not know his employees, and lacks general respectful people skills. PAF, according to one Dispatch manager, “is not what it used to be.” It may seem like it’s for the people but the money speaks differently.  

“Currently those with gross receipts exceeding $1,028,500 for any year” (Guide For Charities, pg. 39) are considered a big NP by the Attorney General Rob Bonita of California. Which is four million less than what it seemed to be in 2005 according to the Center of Nonprofit Management’s Southern California Nonprofit Sector Report (pg. 20) Some of the largest revenues seen in ‘2020 by nonprofits were Feeding America ($4.21 B), Salvation Army (5.79 B), and Goodwill (7.41 B)’ (Forbes). In CA. specifically, the top dollar NPs are Kaiser, Schwab, and Dignity Health; with the biggest hubs of nonprofit revenue coming in from Los Angeles & San Francisco (CauseIQ). 

PAF sits right in the epicenter. In 2020, PAF brought in $11M. In 2021, $13M. And in 2022, $12M. (PAF Financials). According to Nonprofit Explorer, in 2020 Ayoub made $205,000 with an “other” of $12,570. In 2021, $225,606 with an “other” of $13,117. And in 2022, $234,859 with an “other” of $39,001. Executive compensation has only been around 4% of the cost while other salaries and wages have been near 40%. Interesting how a NP leader can still get a significant raise even if revenues have declined, but those “below” get less of a raise because there was “no inflation” this year. (Truth is there was just less inflation (consumer price)). PAF proudly displays that “our driver starting wage went up from $17.50 in 2021 to $23 in Oct. 23…a 32% increase in two years, with the new starting wage being $21.25.” It is true that this is higher than LA’s minimum wage and for a single-person household, this is considered “livable” (LivingWageCalculator). 

What they don’t reveal are the workers working outside of their scope or “wearing too many hats” and not being compensated for it. It’s nice to just say everyone gets paid decently and easier to make people do more when it's for a great cause, but this is what causes burnout, tensions, and high turnovers. I know one coworker who was doing management duties for months alongside their original position and not being compensated. Countless times they told HR and Ayoub, “This is it, either I get a higher wage or find somebody else.” The leadership delegated over and over again; they even brought in a new manager to help fix things. This manager still allowed this coworker to do management duties without being compensated and depended on them to come in earlier than themselves. Then, surprisingly during the time we were under investigation (future blog post), this coworker finally got their raise. However, there is still another coworker I know who has gotten two titles due to new responsibilities and still hasn’t been compensated.

When an organization gets messy and in my opinion Project Angel Food has, it's time to re-evaluate and re-adjust. A nonprofit needs to make sense to the community because it operates differently internally (or at least it should). A nonprofit can not evaluate itself, it takes the community. How would you judge Project Angel Food? What has been your experience?  

Project Angel Fouls Part 1

I have worked with Project Angel Food for the last couple of years. In the beginning, I had no idea what I was getting into; I had never heard of them! This is ironic for someone who has a non-profit background and the fact that this is a very well-publicized organization. Right from the start I was thrown off by how unorganized and unprofessional they were. Hired in September of '21, the height of the pandemic and PAF's exponential growth of employers, I was told a start date that fell on either a holiday or weekend which meant the offices were closed. Then I was told a different date, which fell on a Sunday. I arrived expecting to get behind the wheel along with the other recent new hires. The manager asks if I've done any paperwork, for example filling out their insurance forms. "No, this is my first day." Only dispatch is open on Sundays, so I had to come back the next day. This didn't bother me but immediately communicated a poor lack of attention to detail. This manager told me to arrive in the morning but not right away since the other manager I needed to speak to might come in a little later. Again I arrived, but this time met with hostility: 'Weren't we supposed to meet at such and such time?' 

Within the first month, I and other employees discovered that one employee was very immature...unprofessional... inappropriate....and intolerable. I personally heard this employee comment on the underwear of another's and what was worse it was a homophobic joke-something they did not shy away from! This employee still works for PAF today. 

I've driven and still drive vans that are falling apart (just like Amazon's). One employee finally quit after being miles away from base with a van whose sliding door wouldn't stay shut. I had to go rescue this person. This same vehicle I later had to drive and was not informed how to "properly close it " due to its damage. I ended up hurting my wrist from slamming it all day.

Today after being told since January about raises and having them pushed back twice we received them. $1. Of course, everyone is going to jump on it because we live in Southern California and need every cent, but $1? After taxes that's not even going to buy a McDonald's cheeseburger! This "raise" was a major slap in to face to employees who for months been "helping managers" with their duties and not being compensated for it. I was told however that last year's raise was more due to inflation...how every year it's going to fluctuate because we're a nonprofit and won't always bring in the income. Yet, just a couple weekends ago we held a very well-to-do ceremony where we award generous donors...

I love how when it comes to a matter of pay those in charge are quick to remind you we are a nonprofit, but when it comes to enforcing their new policies it's always, "Nonprofits are run just like businesses."

Who's going to fight for us? The CEO, Richard Ayoub, who makes $230,000+? The same person I've heard say to my manager, "Look at me when I am talking to you!" (Right...right...and this coming from a white man to a black man is even more distasteful). The same person who shoos people out of his office and brings in a majorly expensive Union Buster. The same person who's allowed to park (with their 'new' tesla) in our small parking lot but not the rest of the 90+ employees.

Or

The Human Resources Supervisor, Francisco Perez, who told me personally that he "can't be responsible for answering every email" after I had emailed him a total of four times concerning applying my Short Term Disability benefits. The same person who months ago was trying to implement a points system to control time theft and said that "even if public transit were the cause of you being late you would still get a point." The same person who entered his same contest for a holiday celebration we had which involved financial prizes.      

I am not the only person who has experienced hurt and seen violations at PAF. In the coming weeks with these individuals' permission and respecting confidentiality, I will be sharing their stories. Why? In hopes that someone hears us and can bring justice, reconstruction, and create a different work culture. Project Angel Food may be all glitz and glamour on news stations, but behind the scenes, we have managers who slept with coworkers, police called on angry employees, sexual assault cases, and served chicken with feathers.  

May it be known that I am a whistleblower and I love my job. I love its mission. 

We deserve to be heard because we deserve better.