| Comment Number: | EM-019863 |
| Received: | 3/14/2005 8:06:00 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 14, 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. Section 9901.106 Subpart B. Classification is not standard. Level 2 of the paybanding is for technical. However, I found that there are two technical series GS-525 accounting technician and the military payroll technicians that are classified in the administrative/support level 1 payband. How is it that the classification is different for a classification that is tittled "technical". I believe this is a gross error on the part of the technicians that applied and hired in the technical field and are now labled administrative and support. Does not everyone in the Department of Defense or our government "support" our troops and our nation? Why isn't everyone then labled "administrative and support". Is not the staff at the White House "support"? 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. Nepotism runs rampid within the government all the way up to the White House. Do you actually believe that NSPS is a change for the better? This will encourage the already corrupt and lopsided pay scales among the government workers. 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. This seems like a "back door" draft policy for civilians. 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. In a time of crisis, our country and our goals need to be strong and clear. This type of helter skelter shifting of the system can only create havoc where stabilization is needed. Why are we acting as our own terrorists? Why is our government trying to destroy our country and our foundation from the inside out? Where is the loyalty to God and our country by eliminating our fundamental values and eliminating the true value of the American Worker? When did it occur that the government can ignore and break their own rules and regulations to suit the political fancy of those in office? We have trusted our elected officials to do right by us only to become frustrated and left to wonder what will happen to us next! We have served our country with dignity and pride and this is how we are getting unpaid. Sincerely,