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I am following in GESTA Area Vice President, Dave William’s footsteps and using popular culture as a starting point for an important discussion. In his case, he wrote about a coach leveling with his team that he was going to leave for a new job, and suggesting that Goddard management would do well to emulate his example. In my case, I will use the Clash song “Know Your Rights” as a motivation for sharing information about your rights as a GESTA bargaining unit employee. The song is “a public service announcement, with guitars”, commenting on life in Thatcher’s UK, but it resonates with me here and now. Knowing your rights under Federal law and GESTA’s agreements with Goddard is important to all of us right now. This is the first in a series of articles covering these rights.
GESTA has filed a grievance alleging that the use of situational telework (ST) in Code 500 is not being decided by supervisors on a case-by-case basis, as required by NASA’s Office of Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) (see guidance below), but instead a mandate has been issued by the head of Code 500 disallowing the use of situational telework for almost all circumstances. This is based on feedback provided by many bargaining unit employees (BUEs), some supervisors, and comments by the head of Code 500, Segrid Harris. To this end, GESTA also filed a Request For Information (RFI) requesting data on the ST hours granted within Code 500 and Code 600. The chart below is the result, which covers the first three full pay periods immediately following the return-to-office mandate. Note, GESTA has added in the last column and the percentages as a fraction of employees with ST agreements.  A House budget reconciliation package has recently gone to the Senate for review. There were some wins for federal retirement benefits in the changes made from the initial House bill, but more changes are needed. Furthermore, the Senate's Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee made changes that worsened the impact to federal employees and unions. The current bill triples FERS contributions for new employees unless they become at-will employees, gives the president authority to unilaterally close agencies, taxes union dues, and enacts a $350 fee to exercise due process rights through the Merit Systems Protection Board. Our union IFPTE President Matthew Biggs released a statement, saying: “We call on all lawmakers in Congress to oppose these budget reconciliation provisions that attack the federal government and the federal workforce that serves the American public. This is not just about standing up for our members and our union, but for all Americans.” Just this week, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that these sections targeting federal employees must be removed from the current reconciliation bill since they constitute significant “non-budgetary policy changes”. This ruling is a big win for our rights, but it remains important to keep up pressure on Congress so these policies are not put forward in a different form.
IFPTE has set up a webpage on Action Network which provides an easy way for you to send a letter to your Senators asking them to reject these potential changes to federal employees benefits and rights, with a letter template you can edit: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-your-senators-stop-the-attack-on-federal-unions-civil-service-protections-and-government-services-and-agencies-in-budget-reconciliation-bill You can share this link with friends and family in other states, and ask them to contact their Senators too. As usual, these actions should be performed on personal time, using a personal device, and not at work. We received information from NASA Goddard HR clarifying how the new Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), Voluntary Seperation Incentive Payment (VSIP) programs and potential Reduction in Force (RIF) may impact Pathways Interns. We are sharing those questions and answers below.
GESTA has confirmed via communications with Goddard’s Labor Relations Officer and via the information shared with the center workforce in the recent town hall that the Agency has given each NASA center the authority to convert Pathways interns to term positions and to extend Term employees' terms for up to two years. This current authority is despite the current government “hiring freeze”.
Like all of you, we are trying to learn the details of these new Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), Voluntary Seperation Incentive Program (VSIP) and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) program and evaluate them in the context of a potential future Reduction in Force (RIF). We are committed to sharing any information we find in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the following Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) Sharepoint information sites are available:
NASA Deferred Resignation Program Sharepoint NASA VERA and VSIP Sharepoint And you can sign-up for Workforce Workshops about these programs. The application window for these programs is open and will close on July 25th. GESTA does want to reiterate one of our primary concerns about the DRP program, which is that, as in the prior program version, the NASA DRP contract template includes language waiving certain rights, including “Employee waives any and all claims relating to Employee’s employment with NASA, including all rights to file any other complaints with, or appeals to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Merit Systems Protection Board or other administrative fora, and civil litigation arising out of matters or events prior to the execution of this Agreement…” As before, GESTA recommends employees considering this offer consult a federal labor lawyer. If you missed the Center town hall on Monday June 16th, further information on these programs was shared by Center management at that time. A few areas captured from the town hall are below. The oath of office (5 U.S. Code 3331) we all took when we became federal civil service employees reads:
“I, ___, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” There has been some misinformation shared about this oath and its meaning lately, and we simply want to note that the word "president" does not appear anywhere. We agreed to defend the Constitution of the United States, the president is simply the head of one of the three equal branches of government whose duties and powers are outlined therein. There are many rules and regulations defining civil servants’ relationships with the head of the executive branch and defining how we "discharge the duties of the office", but we have not sworn any oath to the president of the United States.  GESTA is encouraging people to wear red on Thursdays as a sign of solidarity and support. This action is inspired by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), who used red shirt days starting in 2012 to build unity in their fight for a better contract. “Red For Feds” has now gained new traction in 2025. It may seem like a little thing, but as Labor Notes reported, “the genius of the ‘wear red’ tactic was its simplicity. It was something concrete and low-risk that a committee member could ask anyone to do, even someone who had no extra time. The visibility helped alleviate fears: co-workers could see for themselves the growing level of union support. At first, many people would just wear a red scarf or a red-patterned blouse on Fridays. But as excitement and confidence grew, more and more ordered red CTU T-shirts. Administrators noticed. Students noticed. Members loved it. Many sent in group photos of themselves at their schools, all in red, for the union website. …’This small, simple tactic built unity very quickly,’ said labor educator Steven Ashby. It’s also a great opportunity to start – or continue – talking to your coworkers about joining union actions. Encourage them to wear “Red for Feds” on Thursdays, ask them to spread the word on, and see how much support you can build from one week to the next! Anyone can participate, not just union members.
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