Welcome Training Division

Blogmaster welcomes back those members of the training division back onto the floor, including their supervisor who is, after all, an SPCO and a former dispatcher (quite a good one too), albeit only for a day. It was quite refreshing to see fellow pcos working the floor on the busiest watch side by side with the operations staff. Blogmaster only wishes it were more often--like perhaps when actual classes are not in session (mostly all the time) for a variety of reasons, including adding a few extra bodies to the watch (any watch) which is always welcome. But even more important is the simple fact that the trainers need to keep up their skill sets for dispatching, handling calls, and cad use in real time under real operations in order for them to be knowledgeable and credible and give the newbies the very best training. This is even more important given that the city and the oemc have a very poor track record of supporting the training division and its mission--they don't even have adequate office space which Blogmaster views as another sign of complete disrespect for operations.

Blogmaster only wishes this newest development weren't so suspect. It is hard to believe that this initiative comes solely from the training division itself. The last time detailed folk were forced to come back the the watches it was at the behest of the acting deputy director (recall that whole 80%-20% fiasco) and was deemed a failure almost from the start (nevermind that it was SET UP to fail). Could it be that the suits are FINALLY looking into better utilizing the existing resources at hand and concluding that perhaps--just perhaps--the training division could spare some of its pcos some of the time to actually do the job they are being paid to do? After all, with no classes in session, no prep for future classes imminent, and not much else to do what is the point in keeping 5 or 6 pcoIIs detailed there permanently?

Despite managements blather, Blogmaster does not buy the ridiculous line that the training division is busy doing "other things". There is minimal budget, resources, equipment, facilities, or political will within oemc for "other things" aside from the occasional pdt class or cpd training session. If there were, we would all be seeing new training notices, directives, and sops ad nauseum. There would be a REAL comprehensive and widespread public education and information campaign about 911. There would be consistent and persistent training of current employees in new techniques, best practices, and efficiencies in processing 911 calls. There would be alot of accessible comparison data among and between chicago and its suburbs and other large cities so that benchmark standard could be developed and implemented. There would be techniques being developed for dealing with stresses of the job, development of new methods of teaching newbies, and ongoing professional development for the trainers themselves. But Blogmaster digresses and realizes that what is being described would NEVER happen here, not as long as the top suits at oemc are political hacks and that the details are merely another way to reward cronies, curry favor, or payback political favors. Because, really, we all know its not about filling such spots with the most qualified and the best people.

Medical Time

Here we go again. Blogmaster hears that management is once again examining use of medical time with an eye on reducing the daily medical roll, which perhaps is a laudable goal in ordinary workplaces. The type of workplaces that do not operate with severe and critical staffing shortages. Workplaces that are not run 24/7 with a 6 day workweek all the time. Workplaces that are flexible and accommodating with their employees. Workplaces where employees are not consistently overworked and stressed out. Workplaces that don't see their employees being removed by ambulance with alarming regularity. And reducing medical roll may also make a lot of sense in a workplace that does not contractually provide a municipal benefit of 12 sick days annually.

The preferred method of management, it seems (and really, we have been down this road before), is to scare, punish, force, and suspend people for showing up for work no matter what. In so doing, all the old tricks are being pulled from the oh-so-old hat including charging pcos with taking medical day(s) in conjunction with one's day off, on the weekends, going sick no pay. It seems the city personnel rules are sufficiently vague as to allow management to come up with some of the more ridiculous charges, like being sick no pay for as little as an hour and going home sick--with or without sick time--after making a good faith effort to show up for work. In one particular incident, a pco was suspended for being sick no pay after being removed to a hospital by cfd ambulance.

Memo to management: it hasn't worked before and it isn't going to work now. All these tactics do is lower morale and tie up resources better utilized elsewhere, especially when high ranking suits are suddenly showing up at the homes of civilian pcos escorted by cpd--a practice Blogmaster thought was confined to sworn personnel. Watch managers, spcos, and watch secretaries are not the personnel department, they are not human resources people, and they are not always discreet. Making them responsible for monitoring, tracking, and ultimately punishing/disciplining people for how they use medical time is a bad, bad, bad idea. That is a job for human resources which, ideally, would be working to not only track use of medical time, but to identify sources of potential problems and make recommendations to employees and management for corrective actions, make suggestions, or spot troubled employees and try to get them some help. Punishment should always be the last resort.

Blogmaster wants to remind the city and the suits that medical time is a city issued benefit, contractually protected and bargained for. Pcos who have sick time should not be punished or harrassed for using it. If the city and suits really want to decrease the medical rolls they ought to be putting their considerable talents (ahem) into forcing the staffing issue with downtown and grant time due when it requested so that pcos dont use medical time for special occasions (this mostly requires a hireback on overtime, so dont ever count on it). And finally, those in the know realize that the medical rolls rarely have any big impact on overtime (don't believe otherwise, despite the crap management spews). Recall christmas eve when no one, NOT A SINGLE PCO, was on the medical for 3rd watch/pmp and still over 15people were mandated....that could not be blamed on the medical, but is a direct result of staffing shortage and lack of the voluntary overtime which runs the oemc.

Is It or Isn't It? To "b" or Not to "b"?

It didn't take long. Less than 1 week after the initial post in the co book--and only 3 days of actually adhering to it--apparently the B clause is out. History. Gone. No more. The OEMC has apparently and officially gone back to hiring for voluntary overtime by seniority as it has been done for several years. A new memo, dated 25 January 08 in the co book attests to this fact.

Blogmaster, relying upon a bevy of always reliable sources, is able to definitively say that this appears to be a case of management screw up (and really, there is no surpise there)and NOT union malaise (this time). It appears that the union, having been taken off guard, flexed its considerable muscle and called the city on the carpet for violating its previous agreement of non enforcement that was signed off on by its own suits. In short, the city tried to circumvent the labor/management agreement it agreed to only a scant few months ago, used a long holiday weekend to insert the notice of intent in the co book, and also apparently tried to blame the union for this whole fiasco. No surprise there. The suits at OEMC are notorious for being shifty, disrespectful, untrustworthy, and wholly incompetent (mostly).

So love it or hate it, the B clause is gone--for now at least. Love it or hate it, it appears to be a major victory for the union who forced the city to honor its previous agreement--said agreeement brokered with/by one of the very top level suits in the building.

To Blogmaster, the lesson here is twofold: the union, when pressed and under certain circumstances, does appear to be effective. One can only imagine what might actually be accomplished under some real (different) union leadership at the top levels. Second, this episode exposes how the OEMC does business and it is not a model in best practices or efficiencies. If the suits at the top can't even communicate with one another and learn SOMETHING about their underlings and the operations in which they manage, there is scant hope for improvement or betterment. And finally, to any pcos who still harbor benevolent feelings toward the suits, Blogmaster urges one to really consider what happened here and the track record of this particular regime. Enough said on that one.

Some Folks Just Don't Get It

Blogmaster is once again saddened, but not truly surprised, about the level of vitriol aimed at a fellow pcoII and union steward all over the B clause referred to in the previous post. Please people, stop and consider the facts of this case and if one cares to re read said post, it becomes clear that alot--many many pcos--are missing the point here: management, and no one else, is to blame for the majority of the strife and discord surrounding the implementation of the b clause.

It is management, not the union, who decided to move forward with enforcement of an existing provision in the contract despite assurances to the contrary. It is management who failed to inform the union of their intent, despite repeated assurances that this provision was on hold pending further discussion. It is management, under cover of a holiday weekend when all the suits are conveniently out of the building, that decided to simply post said notice of enforcment in the co book with no explanation. It was management who did not give watch managers, spcos, or pcos any advance warning of how this provision would actually operate. And it is management who must bear the brunt of the failure of these action if and when they prove to be complicated, unweildy, and unduly cumbersome.

Blogmaster is no shill for the union and in fact has big problems with alot of the unions tactical and practical stragegies (or lack thereof)--see previous posts. But it hardly seems fair to give the stewards the blame on this one, considering that more than one pco stands to benefit from this provision and Blogmaster has heard personally from several employees who actually support this provision--yes they are out there. But let us please, please focus on the real issues and those are managements continued intent to divide and conquer pcos via actions exactly like these so that we turn on one another. Be smarter and dont fall for this crap.

Sneak Attack

It is back. The dreaded "B" clause, currently contained in the contract, which stipulates that voluntary overtime must be rotated among all employees in a particular job classification. This is the same clause which stipulates that mandatory overtime be rotated as well.

Blogmaster is well aware of just how controverial both of these provision are, with compelling arguments on both sides that give even reasonable people pause as to what is "right" or what is "fair" to everyone, or even most people. Thankfully, it has not been an issue because the mandatory overtime has not been invoked lately and, according to our esteemed area rep/chief union steward there existed a "gentlemen's agreement" of mutually agreed non enforcement of the voluntary overtime provision--a tacit acknowledgement that the current method of hiring for voluntary overtime works reasonably well, with a few exceptions.

Until now. Until this past weekend when a memo was stealthly inserted into the co book saturday night/sunday morning outlining managements intention to begin adhering to the B clause beginning 23 January 08 for hiring of voluntary overtime. Blogmaster, like everyone else--apparently including every single union steward, the area rep, and the business agent himself--was taken by surprise and caught off guard. With little fanfare and little notice, the entire method by which voluntary overtime is to be administered will be changed drastically within 3 days. In fact, Blogmaster can now confirm, at least 2 of the 4 watch managers (assigned to operations) were completely unaware this change was imminent or that the memo has been issued until it was in the co book.

While Blogmaster does not dispute management's right--obigation--to uphold the current contract, this entire incident smells bad, looks bad, and is bad. It falls under the "its not what they did, but the way they did it" heading when something of this import can be snuck into the co book by a managerial minion on a long holiday weekend when no one is in the building to answer questions, advise employees as to HOW such changes are going to work, and what it means for them--one can say those folks actually AFFECTED by such changes. Such a tactic is reminiscint of the former, non dearly but oh so grateful she is departed, previous acting deputy director. Blogmaster EXPECTED such tactics from her, which is why this was so shocking and disappointing--we never expected it from our current deputy director. But there you have it with his name on the memo, behaving exactly the same fashion and being MIA when it comes time to answer the hard questions about why the sudden about face, why the secrecy, and why not even the union appeared to be aware this change was coming? But most important, WHAT does it mean and HOW will it be done?

Blogmaster understands how little management thinks of us. Pcos are minor annoyances to be dealt with only when they interfere with the overall machinations of the suits and how they can enrich themselves and their fiefdoms of patronage workers. It is not like pcos, spcos, and operations watch managers do anything important after all. They just run the operations and secure the building that provides the largesse that the suits are so good at mismanaging.

City Hiring

The Sun Times report, dated 19 January 2008, that a us district judge "bucked his own monitor...and agreed to let Mayor Daley's administration create a new "office of compliance" to guard against patronage instead of letting the city inspector general handle it" should serve as notice to everyone intersted that business as usual is back. Indeed, if it ever left. Everyone in the know knows that in the "city that works" it matters more--much more--who one's sponsor or patronage is than one's qualifications, dedication, or work history/ethic. It is how a bunch of incompetent and unqualified hacks are able to ascend to the very top eschelons of the city power structures. And the OEMC is no exception.

Blogmaster continues to wait patiently for the final report to be issued by the federal monitor, due sometime this spring, which will deal with claims of political discrimination and hiring practices all over the city, oemc included. The real question is whether the federal monitor--and the inspector general, the unions, and the feds--will have any real impact upon business as usual. In a city that is wholly controlled by Daley and the democratic party--right down to the judges slated on the ballots--is there a chance for real reform?

Overtime Payments

Blogmaster is back. After a short hiatus to attend to some pressing matters, Blogmaster can now say the posts will regularly resume. Thank you to everyone who missed us: we appreciate it and appreciate the patience.

Blogmaster is truly sorry to all of those pcos who were recently affected by the city snafu which resulted in non payment of overtime for one week in December. For those who diligently pay attention to pip dates, count the hours up, and plan for use of funds, this was no small matter. Allegedly it was a city wide problem affecting all city departments, but that is little consolation to those who were COUNTING on that money. Adding insult to injury is the fact that no one appeared able to a)adequately explain WHAT happened and WHY it happened (so that steps may be taken to prevent future occurrences) b) adequately advise when restitution would be made--a memo in the co book dated 16 january, by DD Simmons, indicated that payments would be made on check of 01Feb while a union steward forwarded information directly from the 4th floor which indicated separate checks would be cut well in advance of that date and c) no one appears to be accountable for this.

This is no small screw up. It's true that no one died, no life or property damaged, and very likely the money will be there by the next check. But given that pcos--and almost every other lower rung schmuck working for the city--are held to high standards with regard to job performance (ask some of the pcos who have been given days for any number of alleged transgressions often without appropriate due process nor within context of contract and work history) its truly amazing that the city and the 4th floor are silent on this. It is the silence that is so offensive and so deafening. But then, the suits may just be biding their time waiting to see which hack they can use as a fall guy.

City politics

Blogmaster welcomes the pcoII recently returned to the 1st watch from a detailed position. One more body on the operations floor is always a help. We do sympathize, however, because Blogmaster understands that coming back to the floor was a complete surprise to said pcoII, having been told only the day prior to being expected on the 1st watch. Now that hardly seems fair, considerate, or decent--even if one were to be "dumped" which everyone agrees is an inherent risk in accepting a detail. A few weeks, or failing that, a few DAYS is more like it especially if one must make plans for child care, spouse, etc.

But then Blogmaster is reminded that the OEMC, and the city, are not benevelent organizations. They are not flexible, family oriented, women (read single parent) friendly, and they certainly are not bastion of progression when it comes to doing right by employees. It is shameful that the city does not even offer maternity/paternity leave in the year 2008, despite the mayors public assertions that Chicago is a bastion of progressive policies--it ain't evident from our perspective. And given the mayors tight grip on politics here, and his absolute iron control over his minions (read aldermen and department heads), its a real shame. Municipal governments all over the country have finally begun to behave like private entities and adopted best practices and efficiencies which make their employees happier, healthier, and more productive. But as usual, chicago is light years behind the curve.

These realities are often sugarcoated by the steady paycheck and the occasionally generous benefits. But in reality most city employees work hard for that money, subordinating creativity, innovation, and intelligence for the sake of the job and doing so is bad enough as a pco at OEMC. Blogmaster has some advice to any pco considering a detailed positions: don't. Unless one likes being at the mercy of a political hack or a mayoral minion, it isn't worth it. The bait used to entice pcos--s/s rdo and no operations floor--sounds good till one sees the other side of it and marvels at how well OEMC operations runs not because of the suits, but in spite of them. And when pcos are inevitably returned to the ops floor, they are often left wondering what happened or whether they screwed up. Good luck finding out.

Congratulations OEMC Supervisors

It's official. Officially official that is. The SPCOs are now Teamsters. Congratulations to them and to those spcos who really pushed hard to acheive that--Blogmaster knows that some of you worked harder, risked more, and put yourselves out there more for this than others, even though ALL of the SPCOs will reap the benefits and the pay and you deserve the credit for that.

Shame on the city and on upper management at OEMC. Shame on them for treating the spcos so badly to begin with that they felt compelled to unionize (with less than 20 spcos, it was relatively easy to LISTEN to their concerns, to HEAR their issues, and make the right calls without alot of outside interference)and shame on the city for fighting this so hard, using up taxpayer money and resources on a fight they could not win, especially AFTER the labor board ruled against them. But then, Blogmaster understands that with other peoples money to suck up, the city has no incentive to do the right thing.

Now the hard work begins. Crafting a contract from scratch and forcing the city to abide by it. Welcome to our world and it ain't pretty. Blogmaster wishes the negotiating teams luck: they will need it.

New Superintendant

Blogmaster welcomes Jody Weiss, the new CPD superintendant. As the titular head of OEMC/Homeland Security, Blogmaster has more than a passing interest in the new sups intentions and actions. Just what the new guy has in store is anyone's guess, but based on his appearance before the city council, the OEMC might not expect many changes, at least initially. He stated that his "underlings" would continue to run homeland security and Blogmaster presumes that is where the OEMC still figures in the scheme of things. For now, Blogmaster presumes, that means no change in day to day operations under current ED Ruiz.

That is unfortunate. Blogmaster was rather looking forward to an outsider's inside perspective on OEMC operations. A former g man with pristine credentials and a high security clearance related to his former role in various aspects of law enforcment, Weiss might be able to lend some REAL credence to the OEMC and its fledgling "homeland security" operations. The fact that Weiss is beholden to no one--not even the mayor, once he is confirmed by city council--means that he would be able to really shake things up. The current leaders appear to be too anemic to do more than opine occasionally that more 911 operations staff might be useful.

A new leader might actually be able to articulate a vision for OEMC that encompasses both 911 operations and homeland security as integrated operations. A new leader might develop a mission statetment for the OEMC that provides a foundation and a philosophy for all employees to embrace. A new leader might go before the public and explain that cpd, and the city, cannot meet all their demands all the time. A new leader would be able to initiate a real comprehensive public education campaign with the ultimate goal of decreasing non essential calls to 911 and preparing citizens for inevitable calamities, either manmade or natural. Blogmaster longs for the day when some of the homeland security money which flows through OEMC trickles down to operations for training, equipment, and technology. But most of all, Blogmaster wants a real leader who will acknowledge that alot of us at OEMC are burned out and that we are understaffed, underutilized, and improperly managed. We want a real leader who we can RESPECT.

Solidarity

A new year is here. Blogmaster is hopeful that with the new year a new attitude may emerge among many of the pcos. Too often, as Blogmaster has noted many times in the past, it is always about "me, me, me". Now this is a useful concept in many instances--and often a necessary one. However, the sense of entitlement and the do not care about anyone but oneself attitudes among certain pcos truly saddens Blogmaster.

Dictionary definition of solidarity: "a unity of interests, purposes, or sympathies within a group". Solidarity means that everyone comes together, often subordinating ones self interst, to advance the interests of the whole group in order to acheive the most benefits for everyone in that group. Solidarity is present in groups with high morale, good leadership, and those that struggle for a common cause. Given the nature of oemc police operations, with its less than 400 pcos, solidarity seems a given. However, it seems to Blogmaster that we have never been more divided.

Part of the problem, Blogmaster thinks, is the lack of real leadership at all levels of the OEMC. No real union leadership, no supervisory leadership, no leadership from the executive director, and certainly not from the mayor/city hall. If anything, there is a big target on the ops floor the minute anything is amiss. No CPD, slow CPD service or inadequate police responses are all initially blamed on OEMC whether or not such claims are justified. Of course moving up the chain of command means bigger paychecks and less job security, so Blogmaster believes the natural tendency for those people higher up is to protect their turf by placing blame elsewhere. At OEMC this has become an artform. As a result, pcos have lost all sense that anyone is looking out for them or protecting their actions during the course of their duties. And that is why there is no solidarity, no struggle for a common cause, and an inclination to protect oneself at all costs.

Incoming and Outgoing Phone Calls

Phones, phones, phones. Yes, we work in a call center. Yes, Blogmaster expects to be on the phone a significant amount of the time. But that is generally expected when one is a calltaker, or acting in a calltaking capacity answering 911 calls and manning the ad desk. However, Blogmaster has been constantly struck--unpleasantly so--by the volume and the nature of phone calls coming in and going out on dispatch consoles and it is not the public.

No, Blogmaster is referring to the pax lines, the direct calls to the zones and citywides, and the frequent requests for callbacks when field units are unable to make contact with 911 callers. On certain occasions, it is so prevalent that the secondary dispatcher is spending a majority of the time on the phone, away from the radio, and unable to assist the primary dispatcher in handling operations and incoming assignments. Like the messages, the phone calls have gotten out of control.

Calls to the zones are from districts desks: they want rds, mission or doc numbers, or information they really should be able to retrieve for themselves using station computers. Calls from field units IN the station already wanting transports, times, or other information they could obtain for themselves using station computers or their radios to go over the zone. Or field units who want to take lunch, have time due, or need doc/mission numbers but dont want to go over the radio. Calls from the area, from steets and san, from the fusion center, from the sgts or lts needing this or that. Phone calls to the zones that don't--in most cases--really need to be made and really should not be made. Every time a dispatcher--or a citywide person where the call bounces if the zone does not pick up--answers these calls, they are being distracted from their primary duties.

And this is just the INCOMING calls. Does anyone recognize the extreme increase in requests for callbacks from field units? Blogmaster has noticed that more than half of the field units responding to their assignments routinely request a callback from the dispatcher and not just for the priority jobs either. Parkers, crashes, disturbances, and ordinance violations have all brought the phrase, "squad you got a callback?" On certain zones--think north side, ahem--Blogmaster has heard on more than one occasion field units ask the dispatcher to call back the caller BEFORE they even arrive onscene. Again, making these callbacks takes the dispatchers away from the radio and away from their partner which is not so significant in January but has huge implications in warmer months, especially on busier zones.

Blogmaster has long believed that dispatch phones should be used very sparingly and only when needed. A field unit at a hospital, for example, who cannot transmit and needs to make a notification. Or the times when the dispatcher REQUESTS a unit to call to the zone for information to make a notification. Callbacks--which are NOT required by any SOP, directive, or general order--should be solely at the discretion of the dispatcher and Blogmaster firmly believes that dispatchers should use that discretion a bit more by telling the field units, "handle accordingly" in most cases.

Jerry, Jerry, Jerry

Memo to Jerry Rankins: Business Agent for IBEW Local 21
From Blogmaster

Happy New Year Jerry. We sincerely hope you have enjoyed your year and that you are filled with cheer and good tidings for 2008. In order to help you better serve us we have composed a list of our biggest wishes for the new year. Here, in no particular order, are some of our primary concerns:

-a new contract Blogmaster prefers a contract that actually has some teeth. Enforcement provisions to PUNISH the city for failure to abide by its side. SANCTIONS so that when the city does not perform as required--and agreed to--there are consequences and accountability.
-OJT reform Either contractual or not, Blogmaster does not care. It hasnt been an issue lately, because there are no trainees, but it has not gone away. The city can keep its measly buck an hour most of us DO NOT want to train the newbies. It is not personal, it is about our own sanity and protection. Please provide us with a right of refusal. Unwilling trainers are bad for the newbies, citizens and field units, bad for coworkers, and bad for ones self.
-elected stewards How bout giving the membership a say in those who represent them to the union, management, and the city? Blogmaster has supported union elections and if the current reps stay, so be it. But how how bout letting us have a chance to vote for them? More than a few of us think that SOME of the reps may have their own agenda. It would also more accountability and better communications between the union and its membership. And that goes for the business rep and the area steward
-better information dissemination. Most of the time no one knows what the union has or hasnt done or what is going on. We thank those reps who try to inform us, but really Jerry this is a widespread systemic problem.
-accelerated grievance resolution 3 and 4 YEARS? there is nothing--not anything--Blogmaster can possibly think of to justify this backlog. Please Jerry, use your considerable charm to move on these. It is absolutely disgraceful and really really embarrassing for the union and really inconvenient for the affected employees. And inconvenient is about the mildest word we use here.
-more onsite meetings No reason, Jerry, for you to stay away from us. Blogmaster takes it personally when you fail to provide solid leadership and face time to the members. The union faithfully takes their money from our paychecks each month so please give us something tangible to show for that and provide a forum for discussions and communciations.
-a real and genuine attempt at exploring the possibility of splitting Unit 2 in half and separating IBEW from SEIU. Is this possible? If not, why? and if so what would it take? Blogmaster would be willing to support the union wholeheartedly in an effort to figure out if this could be done. We are TIRED of a contract not specifically tailored to us, given how important we are to the city, and we are SICK of subordinating our real interests to accommodate city employees that we have nothing in common with. It is a drain on our resources and takes away time and effort at constructing a practical contract geared with OEMC, and only OEMC, in mind.

So Jerry, what do you say? Blogmaster knows its a long list and it won't be easy. But it is a new year, new people to work with at OEMC, and anything can happen. Right?

Happy New Year

It is officially a new year. 2008 is here and with it are Blogmaster's wishes for the OEMC this year. In no particular order, here is our wish list:

-a new contract with enforcement provisions so that when the city is caught flagrantly disregarding the contract (often), there are REAL consequences and accountability.
-accountability from suits for standing by their decisions and acknowledgement if and when those decisions prove to be wrong or lead to poor or unforseen unintended consequences. In other words, stop letting all the dung roll downhill all the time
-new and improved equipment and consoles, including chairs that are not all broken, armrests that move, working lights, and readable maps. Psaps that can forward calls up front to the office (many of them cannot).
--increased staffing levels so that comp time does not have to be denied 90% of the time and mandataory overtime reaches zero. And please let those new hires be competent and of high quality.
-more visibility from the executive director to the operations floor personnel. Come down to the floor occasionally, to the roll calls, or into the breakrooms. Show us that attention is paid to the day to day stuff. Let us see interactions with our co workers, supervisors, and ourselves. Let us form a personal opinions NOT based on a press conference.
-promotions, details, and personnel moves that are fair and equitable, not based on clout, phone calls, or who owes who what.

It is not an exhaustive list, by any means. But it is a start.