Comment Number: EM-001449
Received: 2/23/2005 12:31:13 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 23, 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 years. I am angry that these proposals seem to treat the employees who help defend our country as the enemy. Most DoD employees work hard and are committed. I believe that mistreating the employees will hurt the 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. 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 employees feel confident that our salaries and bonuses will be funded in the future? ?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 that even 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. 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 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. Today?s volunteer system works well. America is at war. We are fighting for democracy abroad. But the regulations are an attack on workers? 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. I don't think it is fair that the superviser can cut your pay, what if he doesn't like you. You can get downgraded just because your supervisor hates you. There will be more asskissing,than ever before. When it comes to Reduction in Force (RIF) you mean you are not going to put vets first, and it's not going to matter how long you have worked here.I would like to know who is going to make these decisions. There is just too much nepotism going on here, everyone is related to someone. If we do it this way it will be just one big family work place. Management will have just too much say in our worklife. WHat if you piss one of them off, by looking at them wrong or they want you to do something unsafe(which they do) then you can be fired even if you are a great employee. There are alot of supervisors that don't like women in the workforce, I know this sounds like an excuse. I wish it was, but it's not. Us women will be out of a job. We can do just as good if not better!!! But we are females so we will go. Supervisors like this just ride you and ride you until you claim unfair, and next thing you know you will be gone. Pay will be based on "LOCAL ECONOMY" NOT regional areas. This unfair to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is said that non tangible elements such as behavior, demeanor, and attitude will be a major consideration in establishing your performance. I would like to know who considers all these elements for establishing your supervisors performance. The only one who would know is the employees. Do we get a say in their performance rating? This seems awfully one sided. So whatever the supervisor establishes for a performance rating goes, we can't even protest it. Management has the absolute right to determine what is a grievable matter. Most of the grieves are again about management. SO this will mean that it will be thrown out even before they are heard. (UNFAIR, UNFAIR, UNFAIR) I was going to be RIF'd from 2 different bases, and got jobs at other bases, both bases I was put at a forklift job, (I am a Machinist by trade) 13 Years have gone by, and now they want to pull me off my forklift job and put me back in the machine shop. Well they can't expect for me to remember everything as fast as they want me to. If I don't remember it fast enough this will mean my boss can fire me. I didn't ask to be out of the trade for so long. The gov't didn't do their job and put me back in the machine shop right away, and now I'm going to be punished....... (UNFAIR, UNFAIR,, UNFAIR) I was only out of the apprenticeship for 2 years, then I was put on a forklift job, this means that I really didn't get enough on hand training to know as much as I should.... I THINK MANAGEMENT IS GOING TO HAVE TO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT OUR JOBS. Sincerely,