GovernmentExecutive.com

A panel of three new judges was picked Wednesday to decide what could be the final chapter in the legal battle between the government and federal employee unions over new labor relations rules in the Defense Department.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia randomly assigned Judges Brett Kavanaugh, David Tatel and Stephen Williams to hear arguments on Dec. 11 in the Pentagon's case. The panel's ruling could affect the Homeland Security Department's similar effort to overhaul labor relations.

Kavanaugh served in the White House as legal counsel and then staff secretary for President Bush from 2001 until Bush appointed him to his current position in May 2006. Williams is a Reagan appointee who became a senior judge in 2001. Tatel -- installed by Clinton in 1994 -- will be the lone Democratic appointee on the panel.

The three-judge panel that ruled harshly against the Homeland Security Department's similar labor system also was made up of one Democratic and two GOP appointees. It was anchored by senior judge and Carter appointee Harry Edwards, an expert in the field of public sector labor relations.

Meanwhile, Defense officials continue to move forward in implementing the National Security Personnel System for nonbargaining unit employees. On Thursday, the Pentagon released survey results from the first 11,000 employees who entered the NSPS in April.

The survey, completed a month after the first group entered NSPS, showed that employees in the system were more satisfied with opportunities for promotion, quality of co-workers and supervisors, leadership and compensation than their non-NSPS civilian counterparts. Respondents also were found to be almost twice as likely to think that communication between supervisors and employees and the hiring process will improve under NSPS.

The Pentagon would not provide any further details of the survey methodology -- including response rates -- or the findings.

Union representatives expressed doubts about the study. Matt Biggs, spokesman for the coalition of Defense unions that banded together to fight NSPS, said because the compensation is the same for these employees in the first year, there is no reason they should be dissatisfied.

Ron Ault, president of the Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO, called the survey "propaganda." He said most of those in the first group are human resources and management employees who already were working under demonstration projects similar to NSPS.

The online survey, called the Status of Forces Survey-Civilian, will be conducted every six months by the Defense Manpower Data Center. The next survey is scheduled for November, after the first performance reviews are completed under NSPS.

COMMENTS

• This "new" NSPS isn't all that new where I work. The Marine Corps Systems Command has been under a demonstration project for the last several years. It is essentially the NSPS model. Let me tell you right now, it breeds nothing but corruption. I really wish somebody would take a closer look at this. The new systems have done nothing but enable making our command a jobs program for those fair-haired individuals retiring from active duty, only to come back for those cherry positions ($100,000 or more jobs). Meanwhile, the civil servants who have been doing the job for 20 years plus are casually overlooked. This is incredibly ironic given the Marine Corps has only established an MOS for acquisition in the last year or so. So, tell me how anybody coming off active duty in the USMC can come in and lead people or organizations in acquisition. I know this is not the central theme of this NSPS system, but I only wanted to illuminate the corruption that it brings. GovExec.com reader Posted January 20, 2007 9:34 AM
• I told you so. Dave Posted December 15, 2006 12:43 PM
• Implemented in April mind you means upper management came to us and said, "Hey, you're in NSPS now!" This is ludicrous! One month after implementation and all these wonderful things from the employees? What's more likely is the employees who were surveyed (again, I'm Spiral 1.1 and know of no one who took such a survey) were going off what they were told NSPS would do for them, not what is truly happening. A GS-13 to GS-14 is no longer a promotion and is now capped at a maximum 5 percent increase! Who in their right mind would think this is best! And communication is better? I received my performance plan two days before the end of the rating period. Now how am I to perform since April to a plan that wasn't provided until Oct. 30? And, if that wasn't enough, just as with the old system, the quota system of who gets what is strong and still in place; does anyone really believe it doesn't exist? I'm a manager -- it exists! Always has! And lastly, how about those required "interim reviews?" Weren't we supposed to have at least one during the rating period? The Pentagon would not provide any further details of the survey methodology -- including response rates -- or the findings. Really? I can't imagine why. Union representatives expressed doubts about the study. Matt Biggs, spokesman for the coalition of Defense unions that banded together to fight NSPS, said because the compensation is the same for these employees in the first year, there is no reason they should be dissatisfied. Exactly. Give a real survey to the real employees in a couple weeks and we'll see how grand this NSPS is working out. The online survey, called the Status of Forces Survey-Civilian, will be conducted every six months by the Defense Manpower Data Center. The next survey is scheduled for November, after the first performance reviews are completed under NSPS. November is over. Anybody get the new survey? I didn't think so. GovExec.com reader Posted December 8, 2006 2:11 PM