 One action that came out of our brainstorming session with members of the Goddard community is a petition to “Save the NASA Goddard Visitor Center” that GESTA volunteers have just launched on Action Network:
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/save-the-nasa-goddard-visitor-center-2 Please sign and consider sharing this petition with your network in the local community who may want to see this valued connection to NASA Goddard remain open! GESTA received a response on August 11th to a request for information (RFI) we submitted on July 30th about the nature and details of any ongoing insourcing activities at NASA Goddard in which civil servant’s job duties are being reassigned to replace those of contractors being let go. Center HR responded to us that “The RFI was submitted to ETD [Engineering and Technology Directorate], and subsequently that organization notified us that they are no longer pursuing the insourcing activities referenced in the RFI…“. This response and status is contradicted by information GESTA has continued to receive from its members via branch level management about ongoing insourcing actions or plans. Please let us know if your branch is continuing to plan or has already implemented any insourcing actions. If you have received any documentation or have written notes from your branch meetings those are also helpful.
GESTA received official notification from management that they plan to close the Greenbelt campus cafeterias, vending services, motor pool services, recreation center, and the Goddard visitor center on October 1st; the health unit sometime in October; and the gym on November 30th. GESTA has informed management of our intent to bargain on these closures. A huge thank you to everyone who came out to our Bargaining Brainstorm event on August 14th! During the event we were able to collect attendee’s concerns and suggestions for management and GESTA regarding the proposed closure of each facility.
Widespread office moves have continued across the Goddard Greenbelt campus, with multiple Bargaining Unit Employees from buildings 19, 20, 6, and 12, among others, slated for moves to other buildings and/or offices. Last month GESTA began checking in with the affected employees, asking if they had any questions or concerns about their moves. Several of those concerns have led to GESTA bargaining efforts on the impacted employees’ behalf.
GESTA recently received notification of Agency Management’s intent to modify NASA’s policies and procedures governing Reductions in Force (RIFs), or layoffs in the Federal Government, with its release of a revised RIF NASA Interim Directive (NID). To be clear, this is not yet notification that a RIF is underway. IFPTE has National Consultation Rights (NCR) with NASA which requires GESTA/IFPTE Local 29 to be informed of any substantive change in conditions of employment proposed by the Agency and be permitted time to present input, views, and recommendations regarding those changes, prior to policy updates being adopted by the Agency. Before a RIF may be implemented, the Agency should have a RIF policy in place that aligns to the federal regulations for RIFs, specifically 5 CFR Part 351. It is important for GESTA to review the revisions to the NID to ensure the rights of employees are still protected accordingly, should a RIF be implemented.
GESTA has released a statement on the intended closure of the Goddard Visitor Center on October 1st:
GESTA Calls for Immediate Intervention to Halt Closure of the NASA Goddard Visitor Center Although we sincerely hope a Reduction in Force (RIF) does not occur at Goddard, we want to share some information on your rights and what you should do if a RIF does occur and you receive a RIF notice. The information below is taken in part from “A Civil Servant's Guide To Reductions In Force” by the Civil Service Strong organization, GESTA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, Sect 18., information from the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) RIF Website and OPM’s Employee Guide to Career Transition. We encourage you to read the information at those links as well.
At the end of my last article, I promised to write about both the bargaining and grievance Articles in our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). That turns out to be an awful lot for one article, so I’m dividing it into two; this article focuses on grievances that can be filed by individual bargaining unit members, the next one will address bargaining and arbitration, unless events change our priorities. Both bargaining and arbitration are addressed by GESTA as an organization representing employees, not by individuals.
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