| Comment Number: | OL-10512168 |
| Received: | 3/16/2005 10:54:11 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:
Like many employees, I am deeply concerned about what I have read in the Federal Register. Perhaps some unions since the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 may have overreached in some respects and sometimes trivialized the bargaining process, i.e., seeking to negotiate what color to paint a room or which rugs to buy. But management has also participated in this system and unfortunately management cannot bring itself to ever admit that it was wrong. No matter what a manager does it seems no action is ever taken by the higher Leaders. but let an employee do likewise,and the agency doesn’t think twice about taking action. Also, the personnel office and the legal office are strongly aligned with management. The employee has only their Union, and not a knowledgable lawyer. Additionally, the employee’s representative is also a federal employee who works for that agency, and is currently protected in his representational capacity. In this regard, note that NSPS would remove protections afforded to Union representatives by current case law. Clearly some additional “reform” may be warranted. Unions have tried to negotiate with DoD, but the DoD has refused to do so. Over the years management has unfortunately broken its promises with quite a good deal of hypocritical promises. As in so many past experiences union hopes have been blasted and the deep shadow of disappointment is always upon us. Perhaps it is easy for DoD to propose these rules when in fact they won’t personally apply to those who propose them. Employee leaders have had meetings in Washington, D.C. with DoD and OPM management to discuss these new proposals. Initially, there was tentative hope that the leadership of DOD employees would have considerable input into a new personnel system. That feeling was unfortunately destined to be short-lived. Sitting in a room were the Elected reresentatives of 40 DOD Unions and numerous DoD/OPM management officials. They were prepared to work with some of the government’s best. The meeting started out with management requesting a recitation of union concerns. How could unions possibly articulate concerns when they had no information on the changes proposed? This went back and forth for some time, the unions trying to elicit some specific proposals orally or better yet written to which they might respond, and management steadfastly refusing to offer any at all; in fact they repeatedly stated that no specific proposals existed. As you can readily see there was increasing disconnection and mistrust among the “participants.” Imagine if the taxpayers of this country knew what went on, having paid for 30 AFGE personnel, not to mention the other 39 unions and their people to attend these meetings in Washington and having absolutely no sharing of information as DoD had promised, and was required by law to do. Among areas of concern: those sections entitled “Option Development Process” and “Outreach to Employee Representatives.” The meetings that our Representatives had attended were specifically referenced and touted as having “…provided the opportunity to discuss the design elements, options and proposals under consideration for NSPS and solicit union feedback.” All of us who trust our elected Union representatives could not possibly agree with whoever wrote this description of those meetings. The proposals as written can only undermine rather than foster the objectives set forth in the Federal Register. Every employee including local managers would have no option but to agree to any and all demands of their superiors; everyone will be fearful of arbitrary discipline, pay reduction or removal without benefit of a neutral third party review. Such conditions could only demoralize the DoD workforce. What kind of government will result from this proposal? I will tell you. The proposed "Total Control" by eliminating the unions and treating employees like inmates, will NOT achieve alleged “flexibility.”