| Comment Number: | OL-10502513 |
| Received: | 3/2/2005 11:12:56 AM |
| 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:
From all of the information that I can gather on this subject, I believe this is simply another slap in the face of the civilian workforce. Employees that have worked together harmoniously for years will no longer work together for the good of the team. There will be so much competition for the few dollars that the supervisor will have to spare on upgrades, that employee concentration will shift from their work goals towards how to get on the good side of the boss. Employee morale is already at an all time low and will plumment even further. A great deal of the civilian workforce has a lot of time in government service. Jobs that have been safe and secure for 15, 20 - even 30 yrs are subject to transfer in a moment's notice. These are not just FTE's - these are human beings with homes and children, friends and family that live nearby. I don't understand punishing a dedicated employee with the removal of everything that they care about. Not every person is the same. Some people like to move around, others don't. The volunteer system has always worked. Volunteers scramble to be the first ones in line for every disaster.. every time Uncle Sam calls, we respond. Each of us in our own way. When my coworkers volunteer and begin thier TOD, I stay behind and help with the paperwork to get them there. I keep in touch with their families, take care of their travel and pay documents, etc. It takes all of us, with our own ideas and personalities, to make up a team. To force a round peg into a square hole isn't the right thing to do. To force us to compete against each other for the few scraps of payroll dollars so that we can all make our house payments and support our families, isn't the right thing to do. Our budgets have been cut to the bone for the past several years. Things that we once took pride in are now in various stages of disrepair. Employess retire and their jobs are never filled. We take on more and more work and more and more stress - with no complaints. What happens when this budget that is already stretched tight, breaks? What happens when the supervisor doesn't have the budget to pay all of his staff? Supervisors will now have the power to raise/lower salaries as they see fit - will they be forced to lower salaries and/or furlough employees just to make ends meet? I have 15 yrs of government services. I have received awards for my exceptional ideas and work. Yet, I find myself concerned that the government no longer cares for its dedicated, hardworking employees. I find myself wondering if there is a future here for me at all - or if I will be yet another cut that is necessary to fund some other program. I wonder about my home and my family and what this will do to them. And I wonder how anyone with a conscience could impose this kind of policy on their coworkers. I was, at one time, very proud to work for this agency and could hold my head high in a crowd. I have lost a lot of that feeling. When this new policy is implemented, I will lose whatever pride I have left. I honestly don't believe that any comments that we will make with influence this decision - or even be read and considered. We have always followed and supported our leaders in any direction that they might take. It is offensive to force this kind of policy with the explanation that this is better for us. This is simply a way to save money. I believe that you would find more understanding individuals, if the smoke screen was removed and it was explained for what it truly is. A way to scrape up some funding and send it to help rebuild another country.