May 16, 2013
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- Oklahoma’s scariest white rapper has released another music video…May 7, 2013
- Mission Chinese could be coming to Oklahoma City…May 6, 2013
- 12 amusing and funny pics from OKC’s Westboro Baptist Church counter-protests…May 2, 2013
- 18 Possible Nicknames for David Payne’s New Storm Chasin’ Truck…May 1, 2013
About that crazy staff meeting at Tate Publishing…
Jun 4
2012
If you followed us on Facebook or Twitter over the weekend, you may have noticed a few references to some guy named Ryan Tate. He’s the CEO of Tate Publishing, the company that gives shitty writers and bible school dropouts the opportunity to tell people at a party that they’ve published a book.
Anyway, Ryan has been the centerpiece of a weird story involving corporate espionage, Christian justice and moronic employees, only not nearly that interesting (link). Here’s a recap in case you missed it:
• Last week, an anonymous person sent a company-wide email alleging that Tate Publishing planned on outsourcing Oklahoma jobs to the Philippines.
• The email caused Tate Publishing CEO Ryan Tate to call a special staff meeting to address the rumors.
• In the meeting, Ryan Tate insulted, threatened and prayed with his employees. He told them the email was “the straw that broke the camel’s back” and that 25 employees were to be fired as retribution or “justice.”
Since the story broke, we’ve received a couple of dozen emails from current or former Tate Publishing employees. These Ogle Moles seem to confirm what the audio from the staff meeting implies: Tate Publishing is a fishy company, a screwed up place to work, and Ryan Tate is one hell of an asshole.
Here’s the email that started the whole mess. It was apparently sent to Ryan Tate and BCC’ed to the rest of the company’s staff:
Ryan Tate,
In 2009, Tate Publishing LLC was named one of the best places to work in the state of Oklahoma. In a post published on your blog in April 2, 2009, you say ”most publishers outsource and farm out their work because it is cheaper” and went on to say “we handle every element of production in house” and also “if you want to lead an industry and succeed you need to make the extra investment in the staff”. Three short years later, you have opened an office in the Philippines to do just that – outsource and farm out the work that has been done by loyal, hard-working Oklahoma employees. What has changed in that time that has caused you to come to the conclusion that “a staff that never quits” as you referred to them, are no longer worth the investment?
If you need reminding, here is a link to the post I am referencing.
He fired 25 people for that? Even King Joffrey thinks that’s a bit rash and immature. In fact, it’s so rash and immature that I think it may be contrived. I’d almost be willing to bet that…
A) Tate Publishing probably is — or at least was — looking to outsource a majority of their work to the Philippines
B) They have been planning for a while to downsize some of their Oklahoma operations
C) They thought this email would be a perfect excuse to fire people
To support that theory, just listen to Fucktard Tate talk towards the end of the video. He does everything possible to discourage any employee from coming forward and taking the blame. He then goes on and on and on about how unfortunate the whole thing is, but that there’s no going back and that the decision to fire everyone is final.
What sane CEO would take an action like that? Just wipe out a production division because somebody sent a gossipy email claiming the company was downsizing. It doesn’t make any sense. If business was great and jobs weren’t going away, who’s going to do the work? Will production slow down? Will supply meet demand? Who’s going to train the new employees?
Of course, none of that matters if you planned on outsourcing those jobs to the Philippines in the first place. The email controversy would then actually be convenient. It would give you a cowardly reason to fire 25 people and a valid excuse to not pay any severance. Hell, maybe it was Ryan Tate who wrote the damn email. He seems like the type of punk who address himself as “Ryan Tate” in an email.
Even if my whole conspiracy theory is wrong, Ryan Tate should at least consider firing himself and/or outsourcing his job to the Philippines. He’s an idiot. If a similar scenario was put in front of a competent CEO or manager or shift leader at Wendy’s, they would have held a meeting, assured their employees that everything was fine, answered some questions and moved on.
They wouldn’t have threatened lawsuits and wage garnishment and property liens. They wouldn’t have called people “morans” and “cowards.” They wouldn’t have told people they “Are gonna get ya.” And they wouldn’t have done all that because they are competent people who had to earn their management position. They are not spoiled, spineless, incompetent products of nepotism.
Anyway, we’ll have more on this story as the day and week progresses. As I mentioned, we’ve received a lot of emails about Tate Publishing and their crazed CEO. Check back later this week for more.
Tate-r-tot.
apparently ole Mr. Tate needs a lesson on the new digital age too
Did he say Myspace? Maybe he should fire those employees who use it.
Is this guy Rit Mathis’ voice over for the commercials?
Dave Ramsey makes it very clear that if one of his employees is caught gossiping they’ll be fired on the spot.
Sorry Wild Bill, but this situation has nothing to do with Dave Ramsey and firing an employee for gossip. This is about Ryan Tate firing 25 employees in retaliation for the actions of one employee. Also if there is gossip going on in a company, a reasonable CEO/boss/manager would have addressed this gossip in a more professional manner and not a rambling rant about grace, mercy and justice, with some tears thrown in, because “they” made him fire innocent employees…..
Hey, Sam, *whoosh!*
That was the sound of Wild Bill’s comment going over your head.
http://www.gopinoy.com/display_job/115280/Graphic_Designer.html
We have a winner..
WOW great find. here’s all the jobs they posted.
http://www.gopinoy.com/search_results_jobs/?action=search&usernameequal=53818
Wonder what “competitive” salary is in the Philippines?
Well, well …
It appears that Tate Publishing has not hired or has already fired its proofreaders. The evidence is in one of the job ads at GoPinoy: “Skills needed: Advanced knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and inDesign. Must be able to take an idea and portray it in a visually compelling manor for book covers. Superior typography skills.”
Yep, I hope they spell in a better “manor” than that when they edit their clients’ manuscripts.
Looks like someone who thinks people are “morans” wrote that they are looking for things written in a “compelling manor”.
Love how they spelled “competative” wrong in the job description. Keeping things on par with the type of editing your manuscript will receive.
Total P.O.S.
Wild Bill, I’m a fan of Dave Ramsey as well. I agree with what he says. Keep in mind that you don’t really have any idea what went on before that meeting. No one was gossiping. We were told multiple contradictory things and we wanted Ryan to simply tell us the truth. Scratching our heads and wanting an explanation is neither gossip nor malicious in any way.
That guy needs an ass kicking.
Ryan Tate isn’t as holy as he presents himself. Unless Jesus racked up speeding tickets like they were dollar bills and had a DUI:
http://bit.ly/KCGuTB
What is this? A publishing company for ants?
Maybe….one of the top 5 posts on here – alltime.
He doesn’t need an ass-kicking. He needs to be taxed to the hilt. Especially for threatening employees with “in an economy like this.” But he won’t. Tate is probably tax-free and a job-creationist. He gets everything he wants and still whines and threatens. He must loath himself.
“Job creationist?”
Great pun!
http://tatepublishingacquisitions.blogspot.com/2008/10/do-you-get-tired-of-complainers-and.html
TOTALLY SHOCKED TO SEE ALL CAPS THERE. Looks like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Daddy raised a little d-bag to do his dirty work.
“We even got a call from the Mustang Times asking if we were firing everyone!” “What?!” Well no actually, we’re only firing 25 people.
That recording of Tate sounded just like Jim Jones right before he started handing out the Kool Aid.
“They are coming for us. They are coming. Mother. Mother, mother, mother, please. Please, please, please. Take the life of your child and GET OUT! YOU’RE FIRED!
…go with christ, brah.”
But please, Oklahomans, do go on about how labor unions have no place in modern business.
After listening to this if I were one of the 25 people, it would be the best thing to have ever happened to me to not have to work under this very poor leadership. He is very bitter, fearful and insecure. It comes out in every thought he says.
You know, the Journal Record has a really good article about this. It’s true that they’re an at-will employer and that under state law, they can fire someone because they sneezed or because they picked someone in alphabetical order. But what Tate *can’t* do is say that they fired 25 people for breach of a confidentiality agreement (which Tate did in the JR article) when it’s clear from this tape that they fired 25 people because Ryan Tate didn’t have someone go forward and it’s clear from context that they fired 25 people because the operations are moving to the Philippines.
If he would have just fired them, then he’s a jerk but there’s no real recourse. Since he fired them AND told a newspaper they were fired for breach of contract, an issue which could keep them from getting rehired, it’s defamation. If I were his lawyer, which I am not, and he told me he wanted to fire 25 people, I would have said, “Okay, do it. But don’t give any reasons other than downsizing and be really nice to the people whose lives you’re wrecking.”
+1
I call it irony that the fired employees will actually be the folks with judgement liens on Tate Publishing assetts. Tate is clearly the moron.
I’ll be interested to see how this works out. I think it would be hard to claim to be an “at will” employer AND have employment contracts.
Nah. Happens all the time. You’re at-will unless your employment contracts have a term, which, you know, none do. In basically the whole state.
I don’t always fire 25 people at a time…
http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/21308172.jpg
“I’m REALLY good at finding things out. I’m going to get you. I have a really long track record of finding people out”
If he’s really good at finding people out, why does he have threaten and then actually fire 20+ innocent people to draw out the guilty?
Who else out there has had run-ins with his Tate Music Group?? If his publishing company is anything like his music group … Sheeeeeeeeeeesh.
Sadly, one of my relatives, Ashley Windham-Wittrock “signed” a record contract with Tate. So far, she’s seen nothing from it, not even studio time.
This is ridiculous! I own my own business, but don’t have any employees depending on me thankfully. But I CANNOT even imagine treating and talking to my employees like this. Especially being a Christian myself… treat others the way you want to be treated. “Be smart, especially in this digital age, my goodness”. Looks like you need to take your own advice Mr. Tate. I would honestly be happy to be released from my job, working under a man like this. What a situation he’s gotten himself into now…
In this digital age, Mr.’s Ryan and Richard Tate, every word you say and every letter you type may very well be recorded…and by those you least expect…how arrogant to think you are the only one’s good at finding things out. Be sure your sins will find you out……
The morale of that place must be below zero. Half the people are probably fearing of losing their jobs and the other half are looking for other work even if it’s something like Burger King just to get out of there. The only way that company will survive is if the Tate family sells it. Regardless, Ryan Tate just passed Mike Gundy in crazed rants in the Great State of Oklahoma! Ryan Tate has no credibility in this state and I doubt he ever will again. Oklahomans remember!
In this digital age…Ryan Tate and Tate Publishing will always be remembered for this event. It’s the beginning of an unraveling. In mid-May an article was shared naming Tate as in the “top ten list of the worst of the worst publishers in the industry.”
Read more: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/conservative-jesus-liberal-satan-and-middle/#ixzz1wr7Z2Nle
Stevens, you’re fired!
http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsW/tve18266-19710408-40.jpg