| Comment Number: | OL-10503535 |
| Received: | 3/6/2005 7:26:56 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:
"The Department’s proposed NSPS regulations violate the specific Congressional directive in 5 U.S.C. 9902(b) to preserve collective bargaining by expanding management rights so dramatically as to deny bargaining in almost any circumstance. In the proposed NSPS regulation 9901.910(a)(2), the Department declares that management will now have the power “to take whatever other actions may be necessary to carry out the Department’s mission,” a clause that literally has no definition or limitation in the regulation. This proposed management “right” effectively ends collective bargaining in the Department, in direct violation of Congress’ specific order to the contrary, as management can literally apply it to any situation in the Department to deny bargaining." As a teacher for the Department of Defense Schools, I cannot tell you how it has made me feel to hear that my collective bargaining rights will taken away through NSPS and Homeland Security as if what I do as a teacher within the scopes of a labor contract in any way threatens my country or it's effectiveness in protecting citizens. We have worked for years under a contract that first considers the mission of the children, and second the needs of members of management and the needs of bargaining unit members to work collaboratively to do the best job we can to serve children in the military community. Under our present contract we rely on arbitration to resolve our differences, and throughout the process our mission continues. Please do not take away one of our rights as American Citizens, especially in this time when we have soldiers and civilians working in other parts of the world so that others may have the benefits of democracy, including organizing as a labor force. We have Americans dying so that others may live in a democracy, but in our own nation some of our own democratic rights are in danger of being taken away. Thank you for listening.