| Comment Number: | EM-023211 |
| Received: | 3/15/2005 1:40:12 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 15, 2005 DoD NSPS Comments , DoD NSPS Comments: Saddam Hussein's Department of Defense didn't do well, in either Gulf war. The reason is that promotion, and pay, was done under the crony system. Changes to work rules in the Department of Defense (DoD) known as the National Security Personnel System (NSPS), were printed in the Federal Register on February 14, 2005. They make DoD personnel rules Saddam-compliant. This message will be sent to both DoD and my representatives in Congress. These proposals seem to have been written by Saddam Hussein's people. They treat the employees who help defend our country as the enemy. Most DoD employees work hard and are committed. Mistreating employees hurts the agency?s mission- and it sure hurt Saddam's Civil Service. NSPS changes the way workers are paid, evaluated, promoted, fired, scheduled, and treated, bringing the system into compliance with Saddam's way of doing things. These rules would create a crony system just like Saddam's. 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, and let high level officials play games, just like Saddam's people did. 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 already, how can employees feel confident that salaries and bonuses will be funded in the future? Answer: they won't, just like with Saddam's people. ?Friend of the Supervisor? Pay System With the new Saddam-compliant patronage pay system, which DoD laughingly calls ?pay for performance,? but really is "pay for being too stupid to pose even the remotest threat to the supervisor by knowing one's job", the amount of a worker's salary will depend almost completely on the personal judgment of his or her manager. This system worked great for Saddam, why not adopt it here? This system will force workers to compete with one another for pay raises- just like in Iraq- which will destroy teamwork, increase conflict among employees, and reward short-term outcomes. It served Saddam so well they want to do it here, I guess. There is no guarantee that even the best workers will receive a pay raise or that the pay offered will be fair or competitive- just like in Saddam's Iraq. 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- just like in Iraq. Furthermore, there will be no impartial appeal system to assure that everyone is treated fairly- just like in Iraq. 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. Well, Saddam never cared about his workers, why should we? It will also mean that abusive managers will harass employees with bad schedules or short notice. Overtime rotations can be canceled, which means that employees will not be able to plan adequately for childcare and other important responsibilities. Of course, in Iraq, they have bigger families, and grandparents are around, so it's not as much of a stress as in America. Federal employees could be assigned anywhere in the world, even into a war zone, with little or no notice. The best and brightest employees will figure that out very quickly, and they will leave, or not apply in teh first place. Public employees are proud to serve our country, but they are also responsible for caring for their families and personal obligations. America is at war. We are fighting for democracy abroad- even in Iraq. Why is it that DoD workers don't deserve the basic rights of people in Iraq? These regulations are an attack on workers? basic rights- and on National Security. NSPS will divert the attention of defense workers from the soldiers? welfare to protecting themselves from abuse on the job- just like Iraqi civil servants had to. It will mean that workers will spend more time protecting themselves than working- just like in Iraq. I urge you to force DoD to rethink this Iraqi Civil Service proposal. We need work rules that preserve America's National Security, as well as fairness, serve the American people, and respect the rights of the American Citizens who are Defense Department workers, at least as much as Iraqis. Sincerely, not today