| Comment Number: | EM-023237 |
| Received: | 3/16/2005 2:04:01 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 16, 2005 DoD NSPS Comments , DoD NSPS Comments: I have worked for DoD for years just like others, we have made this our career. We have worked hard to get were we are and trying very hard to advance. Now you are telling me that it was all for nothing!. You want someone to take over my life, Some-one who will tell me when I get a raise or don't , etc. Someone whom them selves can not do thier own job. We are today being mistreated by these same people who will have control over us. Managers/ supervisors have called names "sucker, paper pushers, etc. When you go to them with a problem you get responses like "ain't a DAM thing I can do for her or I cann't do anything about it. Managers/supervisors take you behind closed doors/bathroom to yell at you (so there will not be any witnesses). You have these same managers/supervisors who have put their hands on people in a violent way. There is to much favoritism going on. How can you get ahead if you are not your manager/supervisors favorite. I am not a favorite because i questioned something. So I could never get an increase, or move into a higher position, or may even lose my job, etc. I am not a trouble maker and i work hard so that I can move up.But managers will label you as a trouble maker or whatever and you do not have a chance for advancement, etc. If NSPS steps in, how are you suppose to have peace in the work place, there will probably be more violence. People will start back stabbing, etc., to get ahead, Nothing will be fair in the work place. Especially if you have the wrong people controlling other lives. These managers/supervisors now will be the main cause for violence, all because they are not fair as it is. Employees have to deal with the every day of a manager/ supervisory attitude. One day they laugh and talk with you, the next day you cann't say anything to them. Managers/ supervisors even fight amongst themselves. They don't even get along and one will talk about the other and on and on it goes. You also have the "good o' boys' who have done favors for each one and will see to it that the other is taken care of. So these "good o' boys", what will happen to them (the higher paid people) will they be effected by all this? I doubt it. They will make sure they stay their grade, continue to get raises, and get bonus left to right and no telling what else they will continue to get .I know changes comes about, but NSPS is not a good change. We the employees, need our unions. We need to be assured that we have somewhere to go it there is a problem and if NSPS steps in, there will be many, many problems. I don't think NSPS really looked at the whole picture. NSPS does not realize how they will be affecting peoples lives and all the wrong it will bring about. 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. Sincerely,