SECU Board - Employee Intmidation, Revised Code of Ethics - Shame on you #1

To SECU Board of Directors

 

Dear Chairman Ayers.

Really hate to be a bother by being too responsive to the many changes you and the SECU Board are adopting. But, you are jumbling about so frequently that it's been hard to keep up!  Will be brief, because I realize y'all need time to race off in all directions.

The comment today is about the changes in the SECU Code of Ethics which you and the SECU Board approved at your last board meeting in January, 2023. Let's take a look:

Summary of Revisions (dated 2/14/2023)

"As a reminder, acceptance of and adherence to SECU policies is a condition of employment."

"Code of Ethics"

• "Additional language has been added to further clarify that employees are prohibited from accessing confidential, restricted, or privileged information without a legitimate business purpose. Additionally employees must protect the privacy of individuals' personal information and SECU's proprietary information such as internal communications, system information, training, and procedures."

"As a reminder, acceptance of and adherence to SECU policies is a condition of employment."

The timing of your update is interesting. Not sure what caused it. No problem with the individual privacy and confidentiality "updates", since they both are already explicitly stated in the SECU Bylaws ( see Art. XIX,Sec.2: Confidences) and in N.C. General Statutes! The intriguing part is the new bit about "SECU proprietary information". Where did that come from? Why are you adding that now ?

Are employees now at risk of being fired for sharing a training manual? Sharing information on "procedures" with members?

Just in case - by some rare chance - these "commentaries" have been causing you some discomfort and have led you to adopt these draconian - employee threatening - new policies; I want you to be assured of two things:

1. SECU has always been a "leaky" organization!  It used to be viewed as a positive thing, since everybody knew what was going on and as a great "internal control" because nobody could get away with anything bad - because everybody knew what was going on!!!
   
2. SECU still "leaks"!  But what you really need to know is, SECU is "leaking' at the member level, the employee level, the supervisory level, the senior management level , and at the Board level. Would advise caution with your new policy in an era when everyone has a phone and most everything is either on video or recorded! Sometimes folks don't tell you that, until it's too late.
   

Simply meant as a word to the wise. With your pursuit of transparency, you probably don't even need to worry about it!

Mentioned the growing concern with the new "Corporate Selfie" image of SECU! Should have pointed out that the first thing you do when you take a "Corporate Selfie" is you turn your back on the members - and in this case, you turn your back on the staff.