Dear Michael

An email sent to Michael Gorrell, executive vice president of technology and Chief Information Officer at EBSCO Publishing:

Dear Mr. Gorrell

As executive vice president of technology and Chief Information Officer at EBSCO Publishing, you may be interested to learn about some of the new technologies used by businesses to conduct meetings with people in other countries without having to travel there in person.

Recently, Irish Labour Party TDs Michael Conaghan, Alex White, and Gerald Nash requested a meeting with EBSCO in order to discuss the company’s refusal to abide by the Irish Labour Court’s recommendation regarding the redundancy payments to former H. W. Wilson workers.  They were told that such a meeting would not be possible because the company does not have a representative in this country and instead had to meet with EBSCO’s solicitor in Ireland.

It strikes me that the field of teleconferencing would offer many new opportunities to EBSCO to allow them to circumvent this problem.  I am no expert in such matters, but I am sure that you, as executive vice president of technology and Chief Information Officer, would have no problem finding someone who could advise you.

If you do manage to set up such a system, the Wilson Pickets would be delighted to talk to EBSCO’s representatives, something that has not been possible to date.

Yours sincerely,

Colette Willis, on behalf of the Wilson Pickets

Dear Beth

An email sent to Beth Howell, vice president of Human Resources at EBSCO Publishing:

Dear Ms Howell

As vice president of Human Resources at EBSCO Publishing, you are, I am sure, adept at resolving conflicts in the workplace.  If the former H. W. Wilson Company employees had been taken on by EBSCO Publishing following the merger, rather than made redundant, you would doubtless have allayed any concerns we would have had about our new positions.

In this spirit, I appeal to you for help.  What steps would you recommend we take in order to resolve our difficulties with EBSCO Publishing?  Communication, I believe, is generally key to resolving conflicts.  We are eager to communicate.  Perhaps you could point out to the other party involved that engagement in the process is a more effective and mature way to deal with issues than merely ignoring them and hoping they will go away.

Thank you for your attention.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Colette Willis, on behalf of the Wilson Pickets

Look Left

An article from the most recent edition of Look Left magazine.

Dear Alison

An email sent to Alison Galati, senior director of customer relations at EBSCO Publishing:

Dear Ms Galati

As the senior director of customer relations at EBSCO Publishing, you may be interested to read what some of EBSCO’s customers are giving as reasons for signing our petition:

“I have always spoke highly of Ebsco, but their behavior is disappointing. Buying Wilson adds a touch of quality to Ebsco, so why not acknowledge the value these employees have provided?”   – Gary Cocozzoli

“As an EBSCO customer, I find the company’s arrogance appalling and embarrassing at times. This is one of those times.”   – Adrian Alexander

“I have had business relationships with EBSCO for over 30 years, and always admired their personal touch. I guess I had assumed that carried over to their employees. Perhaps it once did, but this is shameful. EBSCO should accede to the Labour Court’s recommendations!  Further, as an admirer of the work of the H.W. Wilson Company, and by extension, its employees, I feel it is important for me to stand in solidarity with them.  I am sorry to see that EBSCO seems to have become just another big business with only its bottom line at heart.”    – Jan Samet O’Leary

These are three examples of the sentiments being expressed; please feel free to visit the petition and browse the reasons yourself to see the full range of support.

Perhaps it is time for EBSCO to give customers what they want – a corporation they can respect for doing the right thing?

Sincerely,

Colette Willis, on behalf of the Wilson Pickets.

Dear Sam

An email sent to Sam Brooks, senior vice president of sales and marketing at EBSCO Publishing:

Dear Mr. Brooks

As the senior vice president of sales and marketing at EBSCO Publishing, you were interviewed last July about the upcoming merger with H. W. Wilson.

In the course of that interview, you were asked what would happen to the H. W. Wilson employees.  Your response:  “Given the transaction occurred less than a month ago, we are still in the process of getting to know employees and making decisions regarding the future.”

I’m not sure if this response was disingenuous or merely ill-informed, given that the Dublin employees of H. W. Wilson had all been told by May 2011 that we were to be made redundant.

If you would still like to get to know us, however, we would be delighted to embark on a dialogue, because we have not received any response from EBSCO Publishing personnel to our repeated requests for communication.

Please do get in touch.

Yours sincerely

Colette Willis, on behalf of the Wilson Pickets.