| Comment Number: | OL-10511659 |
| Received: | 3/16/2005 4:35:29 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:
This represents a response to the above referenced matter and the views expressed herein are my personal observations regarding efforts by Secretary of the Defense to undermine the Department of Defense CivilianWorkforce. For the past twenty two (22) years I have been the elected local president of a labor organization. During this time I have been extensively exposed to the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (5 USC). Interestingly enough, in the general provisions of Subchapter 1 of Chapter 71 the Congress found that experience in both private and public employment indicates that the statutory protection of the right of employees to organize, bargain collectively, and participate through labor organizations of their own choosiing in decisions which affect them safeguards the public interest, contributes to the effective conduct of public business and facilitates and encourages the amicable settlements of disputes between employees and their Employer involving conditions of employment. The cCongress futher concluded that labor organizations and collective bargaining in the civil service are in the public interest. Now the Secretary of Defense comes up with a "System" desiigned to "transform" the way we think, the way we train, the way we exerciise, and the way we fight. Apparently "the way" we do this is to dismantle Title 7 of the Civil Service Reform Act (Public Law 95-454) and trade "Collective Bargaining" for "collaboration procedures". This collaboration process used to design and implement NSPS has already proven the lopsided approach taken by DOD. The process thus far has provided working groups to identify options and alternatives for consideration in the design of NSPS, Oddly enough Unions were not included in these "working groups". In the spring of 2004 a series of meetings were held with Union leaderships and provided an opportunity for these Union representatives to "discuss"(not bargain), regarding the designelements,options and proposals under consideration for NSPS. To date Union Officials representing 1'500 seperate bargaining units covering about 445,000 employees have been "briefed" on the proposed NSPS implementation schedule, employee communications, and proposed design options in the area of laabor relations and collective bargaining,etc, but they were not given an opportunity to provide proposals. According to DOD and OPM the current labor system encourages a dispute orientated, adversarial relationship between Management and Labor. If this is a true reflection of our current labor-management relationship something needs to be done to reinstate Executive Order 12871 that extablished partnership agreements with the Union and Management. Until and unless labor organizations are recognized by management as having viable responsible, and meaningful contributions to present there will always be that "dispute-oriented, adversariial relationship". Even now management insists on establishing a new system without giving due diligence to the Unions concern regarding the NSPS. I urge the Department of Defense, Office of Personnel Management and the Congress of the United States to consider the grave consequences these NSPS proposed rules will have on employees morale and the chaotic disruptions to critical Agency missions that are certain to occur.