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As many are aware, union members and colleagues at the Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) were forced out of their current office space on May 31st, with no alternative office space yet identified. GESTA has been talking to employees at GISS in New York and meeting with management officials at Goddard to attempt to alleviate the impacts of the forced move out of the GISS building. GESTA filed a Request For Information (RFI) on the building lease with Columbia University and also for a study that was done in November/December 2024. The bottom line is an independent study team carefully examined ten different options for the GISS facility, including moving either within or outside of New York City, or even forming a virtual institute, and recommended that NASA "Keep GISS as is ...". Any cost savings for any reasonable solution would be minimal and would severely damage the ability of GISS to conduct its research. Apparently a representative from DOGE decided to ignore the study and force GISS employees out of the building as soon as possible, without any plan as to what to do with them. The sudden requirement that they move out has been costly, stressful, and a logistical nightmare over the last few weeks. They will be teleworking until a plan is made. The lease itself expires in 2031, so as of June 1 the government will be paying rent for an empty building.
On May 15th IFTPE released a statement and a letter to Congressional Leaders, urging that this GISS move out be halted. IFTPE argues that not only does the action threaten employees' ability to carry out essential work for the public in Planetary Science and Earth Climate research, but it is extremely wasteful of US taxpayer dollars. We encourage you to read IFPTE’s statement and their letter to Congressional Leaders. A reminder again, if you would also like to make your own voice heard in support of GISS on your personal time using a personal device, you can find resources on how to do so here. Comments are closed.
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GESTA IFPTE
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