The cost of anonymity

On LANL: The Rest of the Story, there are recent posts about the coming RIFs at LANL. Some of the comments are insightful. Some are the standard impulsive feelings.

Pinky and the Brain, the operators of that blog, are continuing their long standing policy of encouraging anonymous posts only.

From my point of view, anonymous posts is an effective tactic for LANS but not for employees. Through anonymous posting LANS gets a view of what the employees are feeling at the moment. It also ensures that nothing detrimental to LANS starts to happen.

Anonymous groups of employees have not ever won any labor disputes, either in the U.S. or in the world. The reason is simple. Employers can ignore anonymous complaints. Ignoring the complaints has no cost to the employer because the complainers view their anonymity more highly than they view being successful.

Just a thought.