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Return to Article: Pentagon plans shift of blue-collar workers to new pay system

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  There was a past administration that was against federal employees. But they weren't as creative as this one. This is a way to take away job security and stability and nothing else. They want to do what has been done to all the other jobs in America. Make it easier to fire the people who have advanced to better pay brackets to replace them with lower paid workers. It's not about helping anyone but themselves.

  GovExec.com reader Posted August 24, 2006 10:58 AM
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  It is simply amazing that the Department of Defense is pushing so hard to force through a pay for performance system. DoD is command and control intensive with an inability to build a broad-based consensus among its employees. How do they think they can communicate performance expectations and then be able to fairly, and with transparacy, rate employees to give them their base pay?

  There is a really important reason that the General Schedule based on seniority has lasted this long-- it works, it is transparent, it is very understandable, and while unfair to some- it is fair to most federal employees.

  Done well, pay for performance can really raise an organization to new levels of performance, but it takes openness, transparacy, and trust-- none of which DoD possesses in any great amount. Done poorly, NSPS will devastate this critical Department. So can anyone planning and implementing these reforms explain to me what the need is to do this right now in the middle of BRAC and during a war?????

  Same for MaxHR-- DHS has incredible sysnthesis problems in bringing all these various cultures together into a single Department. Do they really need to waste precious time and resources on MaxHR. What's the rush????

  It takes years to build good solid HR reform-- and patience and trust.

  Good luck DoD and DHS-- even if you win these reforms you will lose because you don't have the culture and employee consensus to make it succeed. And yanking the organizations out of Title 5 when a new administration will probably put it back into Title 5 in a few years is not only wasteful, but seriously damaging to the organization.

  If this is organizationally the right move than there is no rush to do it and it can be completed over many years. If there is a rush to do it than it is obviously for political reasons and not organizationally the correct move.

  HR Specialist

  GovExec.com reader Posted August 24, 2006 7:55 AM
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  NSPS was found to not be legal, yet this adminstration is still pushing it. Amazing how court rulings don't effect these people. And now they want to lower the pay raise for '07 down to 2.2% even though the cost of living has gone up about 20%. I really hope they work their magic with their friends overseas and bring the price of oil down to help people afford to travel to work.

  GovExec.com reader Posted August 24, 2006 3:07 AM
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  Comptroller General David Walker needs to be concerned about the lack of input from union voices also. There was no collaboration with the unions, period. They totally ignored anything the unions said.

  Ray Bielicke Posted August 21, 2006 6:15 PM
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  My understanding of Judge Sullivan's ruling was that it did not prevent blue collar workers from going under NSPS -- just not under the NSPS that the Defense Department wanted.

  The Pentagon's NSPS and pay for performance scheme was not designed for continued worker protections through collective bargaining. But Judge Sullivan saw through that and stopped them.

  Consulting and collaborating with managers about what employees get paid is the Wal-Mart attitude that seems to be the Defense Department's new guiding light.

  Buy some new batteries.

  Mark Gibson Posted August 18, 2006 9:22 AM
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  Congress better get cracking on cutting the funding for NSPS switchover fast or Rummy, Ms. Lacey and company will destroy the whole Defense Department workforce! The WG (blue collar) boys better get their union reps fired up fast or they will get the same illegal treatment the white collar folks are getting.

  GovExec.com reader Posted August 18, 2006 6:00 AM