| Comment Number: | OL-10511241 |
| Received: | 3/16/2005 2:41:57 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:
RE: Opposed to the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) Regulation Act Implementation I am abhorrently opposed to the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) Regulation Act Implementation. The agenda is deceptive, false, and frankly insults the intelligence of the Federal workforce. This should have been an adversarial partnering effort with the Federal Workers as opposed to “take it or leave it.” This is yet another new concept to fix what isn’t broken, with very little time or thought to the consequences given to the exercise, so that it’s accomplished correctly. This is not going to resolve anything. It will make it worse. The Government can’t keep people now; they already have nothing to offer anyone. In short, the Secretary wanted the same "chain of command" authority over civilian personnel as he enjoys over uniformed military personnel. I’m not in the Military. The Government expects loyalty from us. We are expected to do more with less, work for less, and “take it in stride” when there are budget cuts to our awards programs, cuts to our pay increases, reduced colas, no budgets, retroactive awards due to empty banks, all for the “good of the Warfighter.” And when times get tough, we the government employees receive sugar coated false accolades for “a job well done, for serving the Warfighter.” The Government expects loyalty and gives nothing back. The Warfighter voluntarily agreed to their career choice. They knew what to expect and signed on the dotted line. I didn’t sign anything, stating that I was available to go to Iraq or anywhere else. The Military signed up, knew the risks, and they are well paid for their efforts. How stupid do think we are? Do you really think we are buying this? I do not feel that the Civil Servants of this country should be paying for, nor should they be the escape goats for every budgetary disaster or mistake made by our President. I am not in the military, and that was a conscious decision. If I wanted to be in the Military, I would have joined the military. As an Army brat, I’ve seen how the military treats retirees and I’m not impressed, and now I see how it’s coming full circle, right back to us. When you keep treating people like this, it’s only a matter of time before there is total dissention throughout the entire country. The Government is in the process of destroying everything this country is based on by continually chipping away at the very people supporting them. There are a lot of angry people out here. I have been a DOD employee for 27 years. I am a 50 years old. Promises were made to me when I started my career with the Government. The same promises that were made and KEPT for millions of my predecessors, who have already retired and reaped the rewards that THEY were promised by the same government who now refuses to “step up to the plate.” Why should retirees before me have all of their retirement, benefits, pay increases etc., or why should theirs be any better than mine? This is discriminatory to the current civil service population. We deserve the same benefits and all of the promises that were made to us when we started our careers with the Federal Government. It’s a matter of the Government showing some respect for us – the people who have dedicated many years of their lives to the Federal Government. It’s not right – we are the people who were in for the long haul, people who stuck it out, despite being the country’s escape goat for the past 15 years or more. Many of us are old and getting ready to retire. It’s too late for us to start over. We kept our promises and stuck with Civil Service for the long haul. So should the Government. If these changes are going to take place regardless of the voice of the Federal Workers, then I suggest the following recommendation. To do anything less is criminal and an injustice to the Federal Worker in my opinion – and I believe DoD/Government will reap what they sow. I believe that a cut-off should be made, grandfathering-in, those individuals who have 20 years or more with the Federal Government. Anyone who has been with the Federal Government as a career employee should be grandfathered from these changes until they retire. Any new federal workers (if there are any) would start with the newly proposed NSPS system, to include replacement personnel for the employee who just retired. This is the only fair and equitable way to do this. That way, we get what we expected, what we signed up for, and SO DO THEY. No surprises to anyone. I have also been the recipient of a supervisor who, for whatever reason, decided on the day of her arrival that she hated my guts. She made my life a living hell for 3 long years. I cannot begin to imagine the magnitude of horror we are going to have to endure, if our entire career, awards, paycheck, employment status etc., and rests in the hands of the supervisor. Do you really think everyone likes each other, and that everyone gets along? We will have NO recourse. The supervisors will bully and intimidate and play favorites. If you are not part of the “click” you are going to be screwed. This will compound the problems that already exist. We have supervisors now who have no life. They have no family, their job is their family. These types of individuals have unrealistic expectations from people who have families and who have lives. At least now we have some protection. Our careers are not the same as those people working for private industry. The Government is one of the last employers who actually have “career” employees. Private industry only retains employees for 3-5 years. Look it up. For this reason alone, we cannot afford to allow supervisors to make life changing decisions, career damaging decisions. It’s the demise of someone’s entire career, and retirement…it’s not the same as a 3 to 5 year employment fling with an employer, always looking, always moving on. We need to be safeguarded from this. What we really need to be looking at, is the accountability of supervisors and management. If they did their jobs correctly, we wouldn’t have poor performers in Federal Services. We can get rid of them now, if management would take the time to provide supporting documentation. If management was accountable we would be rewarding the right people and promoting only those that deserved it. Not their best friends. Anything to avoid controversy and paperwork seems to be the goal of management. Why doesn’t the Government work on getting them to do their jobs correctly? They get paid enough. Start with them! None of the changes in NSPS are going to improve this situation. It’s going to make it unbearable. Don’t change the entire Civil Service system; identify the cause of the problem first. Ask us what the problems are; we are out here, we know what the problems are. My last comment – I’m a divorced mother of one, half a century old. If I were told that I had to leave my child, and serve in a CCAS capacity in Iraq, or anywhere else, you would be sadly mistaken. That is such a ludicrous demand it really depresses me that someone had the gall to suggest it, let alone try and implement it. This coming from the Government, the same government treating us like we are vermin and the same government completely void of any loyalty to us; how presumptuous to have this expectation from us. We have military for that. It was the Government who made the choice to trim down the military due to and extended period of peace and budgetary issues several years back. They were discarded like trash when they were not needed. No loyalty to them either. The Government keeps taking more and more away from the military troops who serve this country. Instead of screwing around with the Civil Service System, why doesn’t the Government do something more constructive, something more positive? Instead of tearing us down, why doesn’t the Government work on rebuilding their Military forces by giving back what you’ve taken away? Give them some incentive to want to enlist. Pay them more, give them something to make them want to stay for the long haul – to make it a career – oh, that’s right – after the war, you’ll be wanting to get rid of them again. The military personnel are the ones that the Government needs to be concentrating on. Not us. I can’t help the Government fight their war. The government can’t keep dangling carrots and taking them away from people when the purpose has been served. This Government has no honor or integrity anymore. Going to send me to Iraq? Good Luck. The Government is out of their mind. We are nothing more than lambs going to slaughter.