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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.
There has been some confusion recently about whether the Administration can legally implement the president’s FY26 budget request in FY25 ahead of the new fiscal year, or in FY26 regardless of the details of the federal budget or continuing resolution that Congress passes for FY26. The answer is it would be unconstitutional for the Administration to do so and constitute impoundment. The Administration must spend the funds that Congress appropriates and that the President signs into law. As is explained in the two references shared below this is based on the separate duties established for the three separate branches of our government by the US Constitution.
"FAQs on Impoundment: Presidential Actions Are Constrained by Long-Standing Constitutional Restrictions" "Trump Rescission Proposal Builds on Illegal Impoundments, Would Undermine Future Funding Deals" It is true there is a mechanism in the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 through which the Administration can temporarily pause spending for up to 45 days and request a rescission of specific funds from Congress following specific procedures. However, after that 45-day window is up, if Congress does not approve the rescission of those funds, the Administration must release and spend the funds as Congress has legislated. Also, Congress does specifically appropriate NASA funds down the level of specific programs areas, see for example: “NASA Appropriations and Authorizations: At a Glance” And this situation does not change in the case of a continuing resolution, where Congress still will specify what the continuing funding rate levels will be across those programs, see: “Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Practices" For my first article, I looked at our Weingarten rights, and briefly touched on the legislation that recognized workers’ rights in general and civil servants’ rights in particular. This article will talk about agreements between GESTA and Goddard management, and illustrate one example of employee rights under these agreements.
The main agreement with Goddard management is the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). This 99-page document contains 44 Articles, and was signed in 1995 and revised in 2007. It can be found on the GESTA Website’s Agreements page, along with other agreements negotiated with management. Recently, we have heard of some confusion about whether term employees (i.e. temporary employees with terms greater than 1 year) could possibly be terminated before their term end dates without a formal Reduction in Force (RIF) process. Below is a summary of GESTA's current understanding of the law surrounding term employees. However we encourage individuals to consult a federal labor lawyer for any legal advice.
Term employees who are past their probationary/trial periods cannot be terminated for reasons unrelated to their job performance or conduct before their term end date without the agency performing a formal RIF process. However, terms still in their probationary period (within 1 year of hiring for those in the competitive service and within 2 years of hiring for those who are in the excepted service and without veteran’s preference) can be terminated prior to their term end date for performance/conduct but also suitability reasons without a formal RIF process – see our prior post on the new regulations for Probationary Employees. Employees can check in Box 34 of their SF-50 to locate their status as either a competitive or an excepted service employee. In addition, in the case of their termination, both non-probationary and probationary term employees must be given sufficient notice, and the terminations must not violate any civil rights or whistleblower protections. In the case of their termination, both non-probationary and probationary term employees also have appeal rights, though probationary employee’s appeal rights are more limited. If any term employees do find themselves facing termination prior to their term end date and prior to formal RIF procedures being implemented by NASA, we encourage you to reach out right away to GESTA to understand your options. For more details you can also see section 5 of NSREF-3000-0972_NASA Time-Limited Employment Desk Guide (internal) 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.
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.
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. |
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