On Thu, 15 Dec 1994, rich jones wrote:
 
> The museum community is loaded with professionals who are very good at
> researching subjects.  Lets turn them on to the topic of manditory drug testin
g.
> Who knows, maybe we'll end-up with a great traveling exhibition on the right
> to privacy.
>
 
Combine this with the question someone asked about whether there was going
to be any active resistance to the drug tests, whether people were going
to refuse to be tested and dare Colonial Williamsburg to find them, and a
thought occurs to me.
 
Now, I realize it's pretty damn cheeky to urge someone to make a bold and
courageous stand on principle when its *their* job at risk, not yours.
But maybe there's a way to reduce the risk.
 
Assuming CW has the legal power to fire those who refuse, and they seem to
be confident that they do, if two or three people out of a workforce of
3000 refuse the test, they can easily be fired and replaced.  If all 3000
refuse, the management would have to capitulate.  That or close down, and
they might never be able to recover.  Even if applicants to fill the
positions lined up right away, who would train them?  What would happen to
the continuity of care over the collections?  How much would the buildings
and grounds be harmed by neglect in the middle of winter?  How would they
cover the loss of revenue from lost ticket sales?
 
Of course, not all 3000 would ever so refuse.  Some people might agree
with the testing policy, and others might be unwilling or unable to take
the gamble that management would capitulate.  But somewhere between two or
three and 3000 is a number beyond which the management cannot afford to
go.  There is a point at which the difficulty and expense of replacing
that many resisters far outweighs any dubious benefits management might
get from a testing policy.
 
As was said, museum folk are bright people, adept at research and figuring
things out, and a lot of us have had to get more skilled at finances and
budgeting than we might like.  Can't this number be found?  Aren't there
people who work in personnel who dislike this policy who know how much
staff replacement costs and can help work up an estimate?
 
Then *if* enough Williamsburg employees disliked this policy to sign up
and threaten to refuse, the magic number or higher, employees might be in
a position to confront management with the figures and show them how much
worse off they'll be if they go thr ough with this than if they scrap the
idea.
 
Steve Teeter
Asst. Curator of Jazz
Louisiana State Museum
[log in to unmask]