I have a quote in an article at WTHR, regarding Sallie Mae (my former employer) and the corporation's claim that President Obama's student loan legislation will threaten Indiana jobs. I beg to differ for many reasons: first among them being that one of the upper level managers at Sallie Mae told me otherwise.
Here's my quote:
Frankly, it does not surprise me that Sallie Mae would act in such an unethical manner -- especially when it comes to how they choose to treat the employees that work so hard for them.One former employee, though, says his impression differs from the message of Wednesday's rally. David Swindle worked as a collector and later a senior collector for Student Assistance Corporation (SAC) at Sallie Mae's Muncie location from December 2007 until July 2009.
Swindle says he was encouraged by a senior level manager to write letters to the Muncie Star Press and to lawmakers opposing the legislation.
"Before I did, I asked them in a private meeting if our jobs were actually in danger. He told me clearly that they were not. He then explained that the worst case scenario was that SAC -- who does default prevention on federal loans -- might start to shrink in five years as no new FFELP loans were disbursed. But even that didn't matter because Sallie Mae was likely to win the servicing contracts on the new direct loans," Swindle said.
"The reality is that the debt is still out there and will need people to service it. Sallie Mae knows all this but won't tell the media or their workers because they want their employees to lobby for them so Sallie Mae can continue to receive free taxpayer money -- corporate welfare -- from the federal government. I'm outraged that Sallie Mae would emotionally manipulate their hardworking employees into fearing that they might lose their jobs," he added.
I might have more to say on this subject soon. And I welcome questions and interview requests - DavidSwindle AT Gmail Dot Com.
