| Comment Number: | OL-10503190 |
| Received: | 3/4/2005 10:56:32 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:
I have worked for DOD fjor 28 years, and I am angry that these proposals treat the employees who help defend out country as the emeny. Mistreating The employees will hurt the agency's mission and I am very upset that this is what NSPS does. NSSP destroys objectivity in the way workers are paid evaluated, promoted, fired, scheduled and treated by creating a system in which federal managers are influenced by favoritism, rather than serving the civil concerns of the American people. Under the General Schedule, employee pay is funded by Congress and cannot be taken away. However NSPS will take away this certainty. 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. 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 judgement of his or her manager. This system will force workers to complete with one another for pay raises, which will destroy teamwork 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 creat 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 system toassure that averyone is treat fairly. NSPS will allow managers to schedule employees to work withoout 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. Federal employees could be assigned anywhere in the world, even into a war zone, with little of no notice. Public employees are proud to serve out county, but they are responsible for caring for their families and personal obligations. America is at war. We are fikghting for democracy abroad, but these regulations are an attack on workers' basic rghts. Furthmore, NSPS will divert the atention 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 Deptment workers.