Ever wonder why IBM located in Dubuque?
Is it really all about the freebees? Is IBM really worth a 100 MILLION dollar taxpayer hand out?
Are you better off now with IBM in Dubuque than you were before the great experiment?
Is everything coming up roses or is there turmoil beneath the surface?
Is it true that the turnover rate at IBM is over 50%?
Is the promised $45,000 annual salary fact or fiction?
What is it like to work at IBM? Some compare the experience as working in a “pressure cooker.” Is it fact or fiction that many employees are being treated for stress?
Did GDDC and in turn IBM tell prospective employees that the cost of living in Dubuque was considerably less than most areas of the Country? Why are employees advised not to purchase homes?
Why is Clarke College exempt from the requirement to do background checks on renters? Is there a connection between a council member who is also an employee of Clarke College?
Well another bits the dust. Lasted 14 weeks. 26-Hour day, no weekend off for six weeks, too much pressure, tension, frustration, under-staffing, and so it goes,
Another has resigned after less than a year in utopia. I guess all that glitters is not gold.
Now I’m beginning to see how we could get “1800 new jobs” you just keep counting over and over as they walk through the revolving door.
Has something to do with Liars figure but figures don’t lie.
Who gets to pick up the pieces? (
Stay tuned.
The answers to these and other questions are a long time in coming. Exposing what is really going on in this city will probably shock most citizens.
As a former IBMer, these are completely legitimate questions. I can certainly vouch for the “pressure cooker” atmosphere and high turnover. What social benefit is it to have migrants to your town that are stressed out?
You can split the Dubuque IBMers in 4 categories:
1. Older IBMers that worked for the company before in other IBM locations that were told to be laid off or move to Dubuque. Most of these older employees do not actually live in Dubuque, but commute most weekends back to their hometowns. The lucky(?) ones are vested in the pension program and is probably one of their sole motivations to stay at IBM. IBM no longer has a pension program, it was destroyed by the executives years ago.
2. Contractors – Not treated very well. Frequent furloughs, no overtime available to them, and only get minimal benefits that Artech provides for them. Low pay and high turnover.
3. College hires – Paid well below that “45000 average”, frequent turnover.
4. Professionals – Lured in by IBM’s name, but realize the job is stressful and not worth the low pay. How low? 20-40% of standard MIDWEST rates for a similar position. Frequent turnover.
So you have a population of IT people that do not trust IBM to provide a long-term career and do not want to live in Dubuque. Only thing that is missing to make IBM Dubuque a more miserable experience is round after round of layoffs that go on at their Poughkeepsie, Boulder, Raliegh, and Atlanta sites. The people of Dubuque deserve better.