Heavy Handed Merrill Lynch

[10260...@compuserve.com]

Does this look like a threat, folks? Excerpted from
http://www.computerworld.com/news/year_2000/980112y2k_merrill.html
[my incensed tirades bracketed]

Tucked away in a nondescript suburban office park 60 miles from Wall
Street is a platoon of programmers charged with fixing the 170 million
lines of code needed to keep the world's biggest brokerage alive...100
full-time staffers and 150 consultants who make up the year 2000 project
team at Merrill Lynch & Co. Given the global reach of the New York-based
brokerage, the world's markets teeter on the success of this year 2000
project as much as any other.

[Sounds OK so far -- they recognize the need and are proactively working
to get the job done. Milne: spare us your impossibility schpiel, at
least they're trying]

[some snippage about confidence in their efforts, 15K - 45K bonuses if
you stay thru May2000, plus training in any area they want]

[Sidebar Info]
Merrill Lynch

Year 2000 project budget: $200 million
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lines of code: 170 million
[Aside -- this is $1.18 per line. Anybody think this figure will hold??]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
People on project: 250
[/Sidebar Info]

It might prove tougher for the company to hold on to contract
programmers. In October 1996, the brokerage signed three-year contracts
with three consulting shops, locking in the services of programmers for
$500 per day each.

[$500/day for 8hr days is 62.50/hr, but the inference is that this is the
rate to the firm, not to the geek, which is probably closer to $45/hr.
In New York. 60 Miles from Wall Street. What poor clueless wannabees
would work for that in the current market?? LOL squared!]

[Snippage about turnover worries]

"I'm not concerned about losing employees--this is the place they want to
be," said Susan Luechinger, a Merrill Lynch vice president who oversees
its year 2000 program. The main concern is keeping the consultants, she
said.

[Show us the money! ;o<) ]

Luechinger said she meets regularly with consulting vendors on retention
strategies. If challenged, Merrill Lynch will flex its market
muscle...[snip]...Any contract programmer who tries to squeeze Merrill
Lynch for more than the $500 per diem will "never work at Merrill again,"
said Howard Sorgen, the firm's chief information officer.

[With all due respect, sir Sorgen, in this market we don't need you,
*you* need us. So we'll never work at Merrill again, eh? The first
person that gets fired because of this arrogant insolence should lead all
the other consultants to a new and better paying firm. Then we'll see
who needs who.

I say, bring this heathen PHM to his knees. When Shearson-Lehman down
the street is paying $90 - $120 per hour, the $15K bonus is gonna look
mighty small. Sorgen, you better be nice to your geeks. Your entire
company depends on them.

Can't you just see the stockholders setting up the gallows after the
geeks all flee, screaming "Sorgen did WHAT??"]

Vince Smith

-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet

[The Goobers]

10260...@compuserve.com wrote:
>
> Does this look like a threat, folks? Excerpted from
> http://www.computerworld.com/news/year_2000/980112y2k_merrill.html
> [my incensed tirades bracketed]
>
> Tucked away in a nondescript suburban office park 60 miles from Wall
> Street is a platoon of programmers charged with fixing the 170 million
> lines of code needed to keep the world's biggest brokerage alive...100
> full-time staffers and 150 consultants who make up the year 2000 project
> team at Merrill Lynch & Co.

[snip]

60 miles from Wall St... my wager is that this is the Summit, NJ office
where I had an interview... it went sorta like this:

PHM: 'We expect a Professional Day out of you... if you have to put in a
little extra time to get the job done then you do it.'

Me: 'That sounds reasonable... and if I get the job done in less time
the I get to go home early?'

PHM: (odd sound of surprise... kinda like a *snoouurk*) 'No, you see it
Just Doesn't Work That Way, there's *always* something more to do.'

Me: 'I understand... well, sir, given that situation I cannot, in Good
Professional Conscience, work with you on this contract; it is not my
habit to allow my time to be stolen and thereby turn my clients into
thieves.'

PHM: 'Hunh?'

Me: 'Simple... if I were to bill you for hours which I did not work then
I would be a thief; monetary matters aside this is not honorable. If I,
being an hourly employee, fulfill your demands that I work hours for
which I do not bill then I allow you to steal time from me; this turns
*you* into thieves and I refuse to put you in such a position.'

DD

[fed...@halifax.com]

In article <34BD78...@erols.com>,

DD, You can not 'turn into thieves" anyone. Stealing is an act of
immorality. No action of yours ie aceppting their terms, can be said to
have caused them to steal. Of course they propose to let you work unpaid
for overtime, and not leave early when done. Yes this is immoral in
itself and goes to their account, but accepting their terms did not make
them do or cause them to be anything. Of course we all understand your
point, and it is admirable that you faced these idiots down, but I just
wanted you to be on the receiving end of your own insufferable pedantry
for a change.

Paul Milne

P.S. To Mr.Eric Turner, who will e-mail me later with the one word message
"Excellent",...... "You're welcome, Eric".

[docd...@clark.net]

In article <884884813....@dejanews.com>, <fed...@halifax.com> wrote:
>In article <34BD78...@erols.com>,
> docd...@erols.com wrote:
>>
>>
>> Me: 'Simple... if I were to bill you for hours which I did not work then
>> I would be a thief; monetary matters aside this is not honorable. If I,
>> being an hourly employee, fulfill your demands that I work hours for
>> which I do not bill then I allow you to steal time from me; this turns
>> *you* into thieves and I refuse to put you in such a position.'
>>
>> DD
>
>
>DD, You can not 'turn into thieves" anyone.

I did not say that *I* would be turning them into anything, did I? Read
carefully.

>Stealing is an act of
>immorality.

Oh dear, that's right... I must have forgotten that there are not criminal
statutes agains theft, only moral injunctions... well, we know how bad my
memory can be.

>No action of yours ie aceppting their terms, can be said to
>have caused them to steal.

I did not claim that to be the case.

>Of course they propose to let you work unpaid
>for overtime, and not leave early when done. Yes this is immoral in
>itself and goes to their account, but accepting their terms did not make
>them do or cause them to be anything.

It would have made me a party to their immorality, an
aiding-and-abetting... it would be the sole cause of their theft of time
*from me*.

>Of course we all understand your
>point,

Plural majestatus est, last I looked.

>and it is admirable that you faced these idiots down, but I just
>wanted you to be on the receiving end of your own insufferable pedantry
>for a change.

How generous of you... *do* try doing it reasonably well next time,
please?

DD

[RonKenyon]

>Luechinger said she meets regularly with consulting vendors on retention
>strategies. If challenged, Merrill Lynch will flex its market
>muscle...[snip]...Any contract programmer who tries to squeeze Merrill
>Lynch for more than the $500 per diem will "never work at Merrill again,"
>said Howard Sorgen, the firm's chief information officer.

Related this to a friend in the money biz, who shot back "Of course, they want
Merrill Lynch service at Schwab rates ... doesn't everybody?".
-- RonKenyon
"Know the ways of all professions" (Musashi)

[Pete Childress]

10260...@compuserve.com wrote:

>Does this look like a threat, folks? Excerpted from
>http://www.computerworld.com/news/year_2000/980112y2k_merrill.html
>[my incensed tirades bracketed]

>Luechinger said she meets regularly with consulting vendors on retention
>strategies. If challenged, Merrill Lynch will flex its market
>muscle...[snip]...Any contract programmer who tries to squeeze Merrill
>Lynch for more than the $500 per diem will "never work at Merrill again,"
>said Howard Sorgen, the firm's chief information officer.

<Lots of good rant snipped>

In San Francisco:

(1) Friend of mine just left BofA to contract Y2K with another
company at $52 hr., almost twice what he was making as an FTE.
He was recruited by his former manager and friend, who left just
a month before. (Can you spell "Brain Drain"?)

(2) Another friend contracts with Schwab, who is dickering with
him about offering a one-year bonus on top of his $50 hr. pay if
he stays through the year 2000.

(3) Yet another friend got a contract 4 months ago at $100 hr.
He's brilliant, network savvy, and a technical heavy-hitter, but
nonetheless we were paying him only around $45 before he left.

These guys are PC-LAN grunts in the trenches, not project
managers or programmers. I'm betting on contract grunts getting
in the vicinity of $80 hr., programmers $120, and project
managers $150 hr. in SF before the year is old... I won't even
speculate on 1999 rates.

As for me? <*shrug*> "Will work for food or personal
satisfaction"... <erf erf erf!>

-Pete

[David K. Bryant]

chld...@ourweb.com (Pete Childress) writes:

>In San Francisco:

>(1) Friend of mine just left BofA to contract Y2K with another
>company at $52 hr.

>(2) Another friend contracts with Schwab, who is dickering with

>him about offering a one-year bonus on top of his $50 hr.

>(3) Yet another friend got a contract 4 months ago at $100 hr.

>He's brilliant, network savvy, and a technical heavy-hitter, but
>nonetheless we were paying him only around $45 before he left.

These are typical for the city. The $100/ is an exception
because of his track record. The only person I know of
that pulls $100/ is holding together the Charles Schwab
RS/6000 complex.

>I'm betting on contract grunts getting
>in the vicinity of $80 hr., programmers $120, and project
>managers $150 hr. in SF before the year is old...

I won't take that bet. Though it's expensive to live here,
the higher rates are more likely to be found in San Jose.

The City & County has a rate cap of $65/ to agencies.