| Comment Number: | EM-001236 |
| Received: | 2/22/2005 2:51:10 PM |
| Subject: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| Title: | National Security Personnel System |
| CFR Citation: | 5 CFR Chapter XCIX and Part 9901 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
February 22, 2005 DoD NSPS Comments , DoD NSPS Comments: I write to express my concerns about changes to work rules in the Department of Defense (DoD). The proposed regulations, known as the National Security Personnel System (NSPS), were printed in the Federal Register on February 14, 2005. This message will be sent to both DoD and my representatives in Congress. I have worked for DoD for over 33 years. I am angry and upset that these proposals seem to treat the employees who are helping to defend our country from terrorist as part of the enemy. Last October, I got back after spending 164 days at Camp Victory, Iraq. Most of my fellow DoD employees work very hard and are committed to protecting the US from terrorist. Even though I will be retired before NSPS is implemented in my Agency, I believe that mistreating the employees will only hurt my agency?s mission. I am very upset by NSPS. This system will change the way workers are paid, evaluated, promoted, fired, scheduled, and treated. These rules would create a system in which federal managers are influenced by favoritism rather than serving the civil concerns of the American people. I currently see it in my ever day life on the job that favoritism is here. It will only my favoritism the game to play. But currently I have rights as a government employee which are protected by Federal Law which the current Administration wants to take away. Annual Pay Raises: Under the General Schedule and FWS, employee pay was clear. It was funded by Congress and could not be taken away. However, NSPS will take away this certainty. Salaries and bonuses are funded by DoD. In the past ? as recently as just last year ? DoD did not fund its awards program. Given the agency?s miserable record on this issue, how can we, the employees, feel confident that our salaries and bonuses will be funded in the future? We will end up being tool to be played with whentimes are bad. And the way the debt is being increase by the current President, the cards have been already being played as to what is going to happen to us. ?Friend of the Supervisor? Pay System: With the new patronage pay system, which DoD calls ?pay for performance,? the amount of a worker's salary will depend almost completely on the personal judgment of his or her manager. This system will force workers to compete with one another for pay raises, which will destroy teamwork, increase conflict among employees, and reward short-term outcomes. There is no guarantee in NSPS that the best workers will receive a pay raise or that the pay offered will be fair or competitive. This system will create a situation in which workers are in conflict with one another and afraid to speak out about harassment, violations of the law, and workplace safety problems. Furthermore, there will be no impartial appeal system to assure that everyone is treated fairly. Where is the protection of the employee's rights for full protection under Federal Law? NSPS take that all away. For that reason, I will never ever tell anybody that they should not go to work for the federal government since they do not trust us, why should we trust them. Schedules and Overtime: NSPS will allow managers to schedule employees to work without sufficient advance notice of schedule changes. This will make it extremely difficult for working parents to care for their children and family. It will also mean that abusive managers could harass employees with bad schedules or short notice. Overtime rotations can be canceled, which means that employees may not be able to plan adequately for childcare and other important responsibilities. Civilian Deployment: Federal employees could be assigned anywhere in the world, even into a war zone, with little or no notice. I am proud to serve my country (which I have done through the AF Reserves and 6 month deployment to Iraw), but I am also responsible for caring for my family and my personal obligations at home. We signed up for a civilian job. We did not enlist in the military. I know that some jobs might require deployment to hazardous area such as the Middle East. Today?s volunteer system works well. America is at war. We are fighting for democracy abroad. But we are not fight a war against the government employees. We have been support the war against terrorism. But now the Administration has launch a war against the civilian employees by attacking our basic rights. Furthermore, NSPS will divert the attention of defense workers from the soldiers? welfare to protecting themselves from abuse on the job. I urge you to force DoD to rethink this proposal. We need work rules that preserve fairness, serve the American people, and respect the rights of Defense Department workers. Sincerely,