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NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is the largest group of scientists, technicians and engineers in the US who develop Earth and space science flight missions. Below is GESTA's understanding of the situation at Goddard as of November 1, 2025. GESTA members and Goddard employees deserve better treatment from their employer.
On October 15th, a judge in the US District Court ruled in a lawsuit brought by federal labor unions, that recent layoffs by the Trump administration during the shutdown were illegal, and placed at least a temporary halt on those actions and any future Reduction and Force (RIF) actions across the federal government impacting employees under those unions during a shutdown. In response to this ruling, NASA Chief Human Capital Officer, Kelly Elliot made a declaration in court on October 17th that NASA would abide by this ruling. On October 21st the lawsuit was amended to add additional unions and plaintiffs, including IFPTE, the international union under which GESTA is a local. And on October 22nd, the judge in the case ordered that the temporary restraining order be expanded to include those additional agencies and unions. The restraining order was extended by the judge “indefinitely” on October 28th. The bottom line is that under this amended lawsuit and restraining order, NASA is now prevented from carrying out RIF actions impacting GESTA or other NASA IFPTE employees during this shutdown. Note the direction by the judge in this case is that this ruling applies even though NASA and other agencies may no longer be recognizing union bargaining rights. If interested, you can follow this case on Court Listener.
On October 8, 2025, our parent union, IFPTE, filed a lawsuit in District Court against the Trump Administration’s August 28th executive order which targeted NASA and other federal agencies, revoking union bargaining rights for GESTA and other NASA unions by claiming that NASA’s primary purpose was national security. This IFPTE lawsuit argues that not only is NASA’s purpose clearly not primarily national security, but that NASA unions were illegally targeted in retaliation for pushing back against the administration's actions. The lawsuit names as plaintiffs, President Trump and Acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy and asks the implementation of the Executive Order be halted and for NASA union rights to be restored. You can read the full complaint here and IFPTE’s press release on the lawsuit here. The lawsuit has also been covered in the press. We will keep our members posted on this ongoing litigation which directly impacts their rights. Members can also track the status of this case on Court Listener, where many of the case documents, including any future rulings will be posted.
As the federal government shutdown carries on and we miss our paychecks, we understand this creates financial strain and anxiety for many. We encourage our members and other impacted federal employees and contractors to explore the following resources compiled below. Many of these provide avenues to receive financial support (personal loans, delays on utility payments, unemployment insurance, food support) until back pay is provided at the end of this shutdown:
We want to pass on information on how to submit a request for Reasonable Accommodations. This information may be especially relevant given the widespread office moves occurring across NASA Goddard and the unsubstantiated changes to the implementation of the Agency’s telework policies. This is information from the Goddard Disability Program Office as shared with a GESTA member:
We have not received any indication of an imminent Reduction in Force (RIF) including involuntary separations by the NASA agency and as noted above any potential RIFs during a shutdown are paused by court. However, we want to provide updated guidance on your rights during a RIF, specifically regarding your appeal options for any RIF actions (see our prior blog post). Prior to the August executive order abrogating NASA’s unions rights, the only option for appealing an improper RIF notice (unless discrimination is involved) was to file a negotiated grievance through our bargaining agreement grievance procedure. Now that the agency is no longer recognizing our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the primary channel instead is to file an appeal through the Merit System Protection Board. Keep in mind that Merit System Protection board appeals must be filed 30 calendar days from the date of the effective action or termination date. Representation during the appeal process is also allowed (and encouraged by GESTA). Note free and reduced cost legal advice for federal employees is available through the Rise Network. GESTA is also available to help connect you with a lawyer if you need help. Note if there is any injunction or ruling in IFPTE's pending lawsuit and the agency recognizes our bargaining rights once again, the proper appeal method would switch back to negotiated grievance procedures, which have a deadline of 15 work days from the date of the effective action. Although we hope they will not occur, in the event RIFs do occur at NASA Goddard, GESTA will be in touch to provide more guidance and host training opportunities for our members on the details of RIF appeals.
GESTA members attended a whistleblower training on October 9th, sponsored by the Federal Union Network (FUN). We heard from a federal employee whistleblower who, in coordination with other employees, alerted Congress, the public, and legal agencies, of various activities, including those violating civil rights laws going on at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) (1, 2). The whistleblower emphasized the importance of an organized approach to whistleblowing, especially in the current environment where whistleblowers have a higher risk of illegal retaliatory firing if they come forward publicly. Our presenter from HUD was in fact fired for his public whistleblower activity (using his name attached to the claims to legitimize them ). We are grateful for his commitment to public service and the rule of law.
Below are some experiences and potential tactics shared from the presentation: We have heard reports of Goddard-campus civil servants being directed to come onsite during the shutdown to complete building move activities, including moves of both offices and laboratories. We have significant concerns that such activities during a government shutdown may be illegal under the Antideficiency Act, which defines what activities may continue during a lapse in appropriations (see also the NASA shutdown Continuity of Operations Plan). Violating the Antideficiency Act carries potential penalties of suspension without pay, removal from office, fines of up to $5000, or up to two years in prison.
Any work that happens during a shutdown also has to be approved, first at the Center management level and then at the NASA HQ-level by a Shutdown Executive Committee (SEC) led by the Agency Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Stephen Shinn. If you receive instructions that you believe may violate the Antideficiency Act, we recommend that you do the following (note that you can do these in any order, or at the same time). |
GESTA IFPTE
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