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Madison Square Garden Company Strong-Arms Employees Into Using Vacation Days Post-Sandy

 

Gawker

Madison Square Garden is a name so synonymous with New York City greatness and success that artists and athletes who perform there have a tendency to call it “the main stage of the world” and “a mecca.” So how does Madison Square Garden treat its New York City employees, who have helped sustain its grandness, when they’re down and out? By demanding they get back to work, of course.

Here’s an email I received from an anonymous source that was sent out yesterday to every employee under the MSG Company umbrella, including franchises like the New York Knicks and Rangers, Fuse TV channel and the MSG Network, and venues like the Beacon Theater. The gist of the message: We know your power’s out, your houses are crumbling, transportation is a mess, and that you’re suffering from myriad health issues, but if you don’t come to work you can kiss your vacation and personal days goodbye. (Emphasis mine)

Today, the MTA announced that several commuter railroad and subway services are beginning to operate, and that the City Transit bus service is now running as close to schedule as possible. In an effort to decrease traffic and speed people’s commute, it was also announced this afternoon that POV (personal vehicle) traffic across all East River bridges will be restricted to high occupancy vehicles from 6 a.m. to midnight Thursday and Friday, which means that you must have three or more people in the car.  We have attached more below and, because this information is changing, would encourage you to monitor news reports or visit www.mta.info for the most recent updates.
As you know, there are several exciting things going on across the company, including our Friday night game against Miami, which we currently still expect to take place. In addition to this highly anticipated game, we are also preparing for the kick off of our Christmas Spectacular, upcoming shows at the Beacon and live game coverage by the Networks.
In order to ensure that we continue operating our business and are able to deliver the very best experience for our customers, we are asking employees to come to work. We recognize that many employees are impacted by the transportation issues as well as a lack of power, and that some are even dealing with personal damage and health issues. In the event that you need to make the personal decision that you are unable to come to work, you will need to notify your supervisor and take a personal or vacation day to cover the time off.
As a reminder, the employee meeting, which was moved from Monday to Thursday, is now postponed, and we will let you know as soon as a new date has been set. The Meat Loaf performance scheduled for Thursday night at the Beacon Theatre has also been postponed. In addition, it was announced today that the Thursday night game between the Knicks and the Nets at Barclays Center has been canceled.
Thank you,
MSG Communications
Earlier this year, James Dolan, the porcelain-veneered CEO of Cablevision and also the executive chairman of Madison Square Garden, Inc., expressed “disappointment” when a group of Cablevision technicians in Brooklyn voted to unionize. Blaming himself, he said, “Management’s supposed to do a good job … [W]e’re not supposed to put you in a position where you’d think somebody else can better represent you than yourself.”
One wonders where Dolan’s employees would ever get the idea that their boss doesn’t respect them.
 
If you’ve got any information about other bosses behaving horribly the wake of Hurricane Sandy, email me.
—Cord
[Image via AP]
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