| Comment Number: | EM-017673 |
| Received: | 3/13/2005 7:53:57 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:
March 13, 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. Here?s an example of how double standards work in DoD. An (NCO) instructor with only one class under his belt claims that one of his students told him that a civilian instructor mumbled profanity in the classroom one day. The NCO did not ask the civilian about what was reported, nor did the Supervisor. No one up chain of command bothered to checked the facts. Fact 1: The civilian accused doesn?t care for profanity. Never in mixed company, around the family, or around students. He never allows students to use it. Although the NCO?s hearsay allegation could not be supported, it did not stop supervision from attempting disciplinary action. Fact 2: By definition, mumbling means to speak so low that what is said is indiscernible. At the time the civilian instructor was supposed to have mumbled the profanity, he was sitting at a desk facing away from the students. The students were behind him. They were on break and talking loudly amongst themselves. One of them, the class leader, used the 'F' word repeatedly. He did so throughout the course. The NCO instructor once asked him not to, but with little result. No action was taken on the student for his continued use of profanity. Fact 3: An NCO instructor once got mad at an civilian instructor for doing their job and used profanity. The NCO asked civilian to do something for him, but the civilian was working on a higher priority task and told him to find another person. The NCO did find another person, but not until after he re-entered the room several minutes later and yelled out angrily: "(name) your a f***ing pig!" The civilian asked for an apology but never got it. Instead his supervisor repeatedly tried to talk him into forgetting the whole thing. The 1Lt flight commander that didn?t want to hear about it. The LtCol squadron commander ridiculed him for demanding that the NCO apologize to the civilian in front of the two people that witnessed the incident. Why so much grief? All he asked for was an apology. I suppose the civilian could have gone to the Security Police and filed a complaint, possibly forcing the military to discipline the NCO under the UCMJ. But all the civilian wanted was an apology. At performance appraisal time, he was rated low because he was ?unable to get along with other workers.? To summarize, the military individuals that used profanity went unpunished. The civilian that did no wrong was disciplined. Where is the justice? This kind of thinking, under NSPS, can easily lead to good people being fired! No one would dare complain about verbal abuse. Let?s take the scenario a bit further. The civilian files grievances. To protect their troops, commanders back their NCOs and officers and denies any remedy. The case goes to the MSPB. They find in favor of the civilian. The military committed errors by their actions and judgement. They essentially dismiss their core values. Next DoD review the case and reverses the decision of the MSPB. Sorry Charlie? Remove the civilian from service? Is that what the Congress intended? 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. Sincerely,