Return to Article: Bush administration developing governmentwide personnel reform bill
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11077
After two combat tours in RVN I took a gov't job out of survival only; you know the "job security" road however, have been somewhat successful despite incompetent managers efforts to hold me back. All these postings to GovExec contain a resounding theme; top managers rarely managage and never held accountable for anything. I foresee a downsizing and the loss of what once was the best retirement system in the world; soon to be treated like most American companies are treating their long term employees. While GovExec is a good forum; I would suggest we all start our letter writing to the crooks in Congress and spread the word .... THEIR jobs depend on ours.
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10824
I totally agree with "HR Assistant!" If the 'top dogs' took pride in their jobs and actually set an example, there'd be no animosity between the 'little people' and the system would work wonderfully! Come on managers, you're getting the big bucks - do your job and let's show everyone that federal employees are worth the wages and benefits!
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10450
Why is it no one at OPM wants to address the real problem? The General Schedule pay system isn't the problem, lack of competent management is. In this agency (IRS) management awards themselves a bonus each and every year no matter how poorly the agency is doing. They intentionally failed to replace Revenue Agents and Revenue Officers so they could cry poverty at budget hearings but continue to line their pockets with hundreds of millions of dollars for "doing such a outstanding job". Is the "new system" going to replace the incompentent managers? I don't think so!
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10353
The Unions have disagreed at the negotiations yet President Bush, DoD, and DHS have not paid any attention to this opposition. When will the politicians listen to the people who put them in office?
As far as Mr. Dan G. Blair's (acting director of OPM) comment that the GS pay framework is a "failure". There is nothing to prevent him from seeking other employment in the private sector. Some agencies are claiming their agency should not come under the new pay plan, their jobs are unique. Wow! What chaos. People are not happy about the new Pay for Performance system, it is not an improvement! Under the present GS schedule there was consistency, everyone had to put in their time. The Pay for Performance will create a dog-eat-dog, back-stabbing, and greedy state of confusion.
When Congress created DHS, agency officials were allowed to develop their own personnel system. Homeland Security leaders have unveiled an overhaul that would streamline the appeals process, reduce union collective bargaining rights and discard the General Schedule pay system. In place of the GS framework, officials are implementing a pay-for-performance system.
Comment: Did Congress envision in the first year more funding would be spent on salaries at DHS than for the protection of our country by DHS? Did Congress envision DHS salaries are probably higher than the Congressmen even make?
Some agencies are claiming their agency should not come under the new pay plan, their jobs are unique. Comment: It looks like we will have numerous pay scales and mass confusion. Since DHS salaries are so high, put them on the Pay for Performance and leave the GS schedule alone for the rest of the government.
In another article, Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said the House had cut $96 million in funding for the DHS Office of the Undersecretary for Management, potentially endangering the implementation of the department's new personnel system, known as MAX HR. Last week, the House voted to take about $26 million specifically targeted for the personnel system and move it to programs that benefit firefighters. A spokeswoman for Voinovich said DHS management programs, including the new personnel system, were originally slated to receive $146 million. More time and money are being spent on Bush's personnel system. Comment: Someone should be responsible for this waste!
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10312
Poor worker safety, incompetent management, a corrupted workers' compensation program, endless promises not kept and now this. Talk about a house built on sand. Federal workers had better take what ever opportunity they can find to bail out of this mess. If we ever have a major economic failure, the government may well go belly up.
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10293
MAC, perhaps you should be sending your emails to the FORUM to which they belong to and not to GOVEXEC.COM., and stop bashing Federal Employees.
DHS ICEberg Worker Bee and Army Veteran
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10236
Across the board pay raises for everyone are wrong - a 3.5% pay raise every year is something you don't *automatically* get in the private sector. Those who complain about the *low pay* of the government are welcome to try it out in the commercial world. You MAY get paid more, but you will also work 44-48 or more hours a week. If you're a CSRS worker, I guess you're stuck, but if you're in FERS, there is really nothing keeping you from moving to the *greener pastures* of private sector... if money is your main motivation.
Agree that Federal hiring needs to be fixed, but not sure if this is the right forum for it. They need to flesh out what the higher paying jobs will be - the devil is in the details...
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10224
Why not introduce a bill to overhaul the Congress and the Senate first?!?!? The old out-dated General Schedule system has only been in place since the late 1940's. However, the Congress and Senate has been in place A L O T longer!!! We can call it the "Clean Sweep" Act.
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10205
Maybe it's time to impeach this guy (bushwacker) or at the very least set up a lame duck Congress, what bothers me is that he still has 3.5 years to tear up federal workers but more importantly America.
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10200
Maybe it's time to overhaul OPM or better still shut them down and create a new Government Agency. They seem unable to get the story right, they perform surveys that nobody ever sees or is asked to answer. They do not have a clue of how poor the salary levels are. The benefits package is sub par.
DHS ICEberg Worker Bee
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10199
First I read about this piece of legislation in Steve Barr's article in the Washington Post and now in GOVEXEC. I reviewed and commented on it two weeks ago and was told it is not yet ready for public release-- I guess that is not the case any longer given that I just printed out another copy of the Blair letter from the GOVEXEC website and noticed the long draft bill is also on the site.
I'll just ignore that little "For Official Use Only,..." given it is now in the public domain.
The entire labor relations ediface created by compromise under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 has been unilaterally overturned by this new piece of legislation. If this passes through Congress and is signed by the President I would suggest to the Unions that you step back from the entire 1978 agreement-- part of which uses agency employee as stewards on official time to represent the entire BU. Go to the private sector model of closed shops and paid, professional representatives.
Additionally, there are many other compromises that were made in 1978, including the one that cost PATCO so dearly. My suggestion is to end it all and just completely to the private sector model.
If the federal government wishes to treat its employees like Walmart employees there is no reason to give this employer anymore loyalty than is given Walmart. This administration has no clue about the compromises made between management and labor-- Mr. President, be careful what you wish for in HR Reform because you get it and the it might not be what you anticipate.
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10188
Everything the UDWC (and the Six Unions who walked out of Meet and Confer) said about the collaboration DOD/OPM is required by law to have with employee organizations being a sham and a farce, is borne out in the draft letter of Mr. Blair, specifically this damning statement..."In this regard, you will note the HR systems we have designed with those two Departments are virtually mirror images of each other- identicle in almost all major respects, different largely because of distinctions in their enabling statutes. This was no accident"...Wait a minute isn't June the 16th the day the Secretary meets with DOD employee organizations to discuss their concerns over the "proposed" regulations? Why bother?, the final NSPS regulations are already written and have been for sometime...probably shortly after OPM Director Kay Cole James' letter to DOD Secretary Rumsfeld of March 9, 2004, where she suggested bypassing unions and Congress in NSPS.
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10183
Instead of creating a whole new program, let's actually use the one in place. IF managers would do their jobs, the avenues exist to reward excellence and take care of problems. Supervisors have the right to withhold step increases if performance is not acceptable, and they can also grant quality step increases for exceptional performance. However, in my nearly 20 years experience with various agencies, many managers/supervisors will not take the time nor make the effort to use these avenues.
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10181
Neither of the two new personnel systems are in place, yet, but... we're going to take them and run with the results to make a new personnel system for all federal employees. - Now that's logic. The only reason the GS system is a "failure" is because it doesn't match a "business plan" as devised by a presidential appointee that won't even be in office by the time it's implemented. To paraphrase Yakov Smirnoff - "What a Country??"
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10179
Great....So we are going back to the time where the boss' pets will reap more rewards than they already do. Don't stand up for your principles, don't make serving your customer the first priority, start sucking up to the boss.
I don't understand why George Bush hates government workers so much. Between this and A-76, he is destroying civil service.
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10178
If Dan Blair thinks the current personnel system is a failure, why has it been in existence for so many years? Maybe he is the failure inside OPM and should look at retirement. The new NSPS will kill careers and qualified people will look to the private sector for jobs, and some already have. The Bush adminstration's only purpose is own the Government and make a profit for their own pockets.
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10174
I can believe Mr. Blair is the "acting" something but not a leader. He calls the GS system a "failure", well he is the failure. Just another King George flunkie.
When will he stop sticking it to the federal civilians? Probably never.
Shameful people.
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10168
"Last month, OMB said they planned to start lobbying the Senate and House authorizers after the Memorial Day recess" - government lobbying government! Whatever happened to government of the people and by the people? This is government for the sake of government! We must get rid of professional politicians. These people have to work for a living and represent the rest of us on a temporary basis! Obviously there are far too many lawyers. This Civil Service Reform Act should be labled the Civil Service Decimation Act. This will politicize the government pay structure with political appointees at the top of the personnel decisions. Over time the entire government structure will become political and no one will be left to tell them they are wrong or that their proposals suck. It will bew yes sir boss and march to the drum beat that is in office at the time. Government programs will fluctuate more than they do currently and no one will be able to plan anything based on government promises or programs because they will change overnight and with little internal opposition, if any! Representative democracy does not work when the elected run everything and the voters do not turn out to vote on an informed basis.
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10165
Another attack by this administration on federal employees.
In the FAA, we've had three years now without a raise in the pay bands, because the FAA wrongly thinks that those who maintain high-tech computer systems should be compared to civilian cable TV installers.
Next, you can bet that the Administration will begin comparing IRS employees to "repo men"; the EPA with garbagemen (sorry garbagemen); and first-line federal managers with the "manager" at a McDonalds or Walmart.
Handwriting is on the wall.
It says "eject - eject - eject".
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10163
The acting OPM director is a joke. BUSH's system is not a "foundation for a 21st century civil service system, but rather a "colossal failure of government management which will take the whole 21st century to rectify". These people are like squirrels loose in the trees; they don't know which limb to swing from next. They should all find their nests and hibernate forever so the country can find a way to correct what they have already made a mess of - all in the name of 9/11.
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