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An ongoing bipartisan congressionally-mandated National Academies (NASEM) Study is collecting information and will report out their findings and recommendations for strengthening Goddard’s technical and scientific capabilities. In July, the study committee contacted GESTA with a request that our union participate directly in the study by providing a public response to their questions. You can read GESTA’s public written response to the committee here. GESTA President Trysh Moton, Secretary Alyssa Barlis and Area Vice President Margaret Samuels also spoke in person at the National Academies in Washington, DC on August 4th, and you can view the recording of the committee meeting via the NASEM committee website. A note that the other open sessions of the NASEM committee meetings, including those with testimony by Center management are also publicly viewable from the study webpage. In responding to the committee’s questions, GESTA pulled from the broad perspectives and experiences we have heard from our members and Goddard’s workforce over the last year and half. We want to give a big thank you to the Goddard community and members who have courageously provided this feedback which allowed us to provide the committee with a clearer view of the recent impacts to Goddard’s workforce and facilities, and of our community's recommendations for rebuilding Goddard’s future.
On April 3rd, the Administration released the 2027 President’s “skinny” budget, and several days later NASA released the full NASA FY27 Presidential budget request (PBR). You can download and read the budget request from NASA’s website. The FY27 budget request provides an eerie feeling of déjà vu. Like the FY26 PBR it again proposes existential cuts to NASA and to NASA’s Science budget specifically.
Term Employee Right Preserved Thanks to the efforts of AVP Matt Joplin and the Term, Pathways, and Probationary Employees Committee led by Margaret Samuels, a Goddard term employee whose term was expiring pushed back on HR and will be getting their severance pay. Although in most cases term employees do not receive severance pay, this employee came directly from a prior permanent federal service position which entitled them to severance. If any term employees find themselves in a similar situation please reach out to GESTA for advice or representation. This type of representative action does not rely on management upholding our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Engineering Directorate Management Thwarted in Preventing Outside Employment GESTA was recently able to assist members in getting outside employment approvals. As one member told us, “The union is a massive help when the issue is just one holdout in management. I'd been stonewalled getting my outside employment form signed for months because someone in ETD management didn't want to sign. Within a week of the union applying pressure, everyone who was requesting outside employment had our forms signed, and the manager… was taken out of the process. Even without a CBA, I think we could help each other in a similar situation.” GESTA Members Speak with Congress Six GESTA members spoke with Congressional staffers about the impacts of the DRP at Goddard and the importance of continued funding. We’re very proud of our members for volunteering their time and sharing their perspectives at this event. GESTA members will also attend a NASA-wide legislative advocacy week Sept 15-19th, where union delegates from NASA centers across the nation will visit with staffers in Washington, DC. Both of these events were organized by our parent union IFPTE. More details available here. These Congressional advocacy actions and rights are also entirely independent of our CBA. 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) 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”.
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