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	The administrative, editorial and production departments of UNM Press will move from 1312 Basehart Drive to 1717 Roma Ave. on main campus. Some employees in the press’ warehouse department fear they will be laid off as administrators consider outsourcing.

The administrative, editorial and production departments of UNM Press will move from 1312 Basehart Drive to 1717 Roma Ave. on main campus. Some employees in the press’ warehouse department fear they will be laid off as administrators consider outsourcing.

UNM Press employees fear outsourcing

The University of New Mexico Press office will soon change buildings, but that’s not why Joyce Perz is cleaning out her desk.

“We’re about to be laid off,” she said. “That’s why I’m getting my things organized.”

Perz, one of nine employees at the UNM Press’ warehouse department, said UNM Press ordered a “Request for Proposal” in March 2008 to determine the costs and benefits of outsourcing the department. No decisions have been made since the RFP was completed last week.

The UNM Press office publishes literature authored by the UNM community and surrounding area. The proposed change would affect the warehouse department and the customer service department and should be decided in early October.

The office will move from 1312 Basehart Drive to 1717 Roma Ave. on main campus.
Perz said a group of high-level employees began complaining of mismanagement after the RFP was announced in March 2008.

“We started e-mailing, sending out press releases,” she said. “That was the tipping point — people were fired. The majority of editorial and production people quit. Some left with no new jobs.”

Perz said five people quit in protest of the management’s policies.

A source who asked not to be named for fear of being fired said the staff tried to bring attention to the issue but was unable to get through to the UNM administration.

“There was a huge effort to bring reality and facts to the higher administration about what was going on,” the source said. “They ignored us.”

Richard Schuetz, associate director for business operations, said only warehouse and customer service department jobs are at risk. The publishing staff, which will change offices on Sept. 19, will not be affected.

“We had some people that resigned,” he said. “We’re trying to fill some of those positions. The reorganization is complete, as far as I know.”

Schuetz said he and three other people will decide whether to outsource the department.

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“I would prefer that it not be outsourced,” he said. “Obviously cost is a factor. There are a lot of advantages to keeping it in house.”

Stewart Marshall, who works in the warehouse department said he remains optimistic about his prospects.

“I think it has a slight chance to none, but I’m the guy who’s always optimistic,” he said. “The RFP was done just to prove it’s less costly to do it here.”

He said there are several smaller publishers that contract publishing duties with UNM Press, and UNM Press would lose its revenue if it outsourced the warehouse.
Marshall said ordering an RFP caused a lot of people in the department to worry.
“Because they had to do an RFP, that has to be public with the University,” he said. “That’s caused us a lot of havoc and anxiety.”

Last Spring, three UNM Press employees in the publishing department were laid off.
UNM Press Senior Editor Clark Whitehorn said he does not expect any more layoffs in the publishing department, but it is a possibility.

If UNM Press decides to publish less books next year, he said, that could affect the jobs of everyone at the office.

“It depends on what happens with the RFP,” he said. “If they outsource and move to a smaller list (of books), it could mean we would lose more jobs.”

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