MOUNT VERNON — Employees of the Mount Vernon Developmental Center continue to be unsettled about cost-containment measures such as the announced abolishment of 32 positions by Oct. 20 and the closing of Rian Hall slated for June 2013. They feel the moves are unfair to residents who have lived at MVDC for most of their lives, and also question the process by which the positions to be abolished were determined.
One supervisory position is on the current chopping block — a food service supervisor will lose his or her job. The other 31 positions due to be eliminated by the end of October include 20 therapeutic program workers [direct care staff], three food service workers, three licensed practical nurses, two vehicle operators, one cook, one electrician and one word processing specialist. The job abolishments mean there will be about 152 direct care staff left to tend to 122 profoundly multiple-handicapped residents.
Several workers at MVDC, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “Perhaps this would be easier to swallow if we knew that these abolishments were equal and fair.” They contend that if the cuts are truly being made for economic reasons, more higher-paid personnel should be let go.
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