Words of Encouragement

NASA supporters attend the "NASA Needs Help!" protest June 30th at NASA HQ.

It seems that every time we gather for a town hall there's more bad news. Every branch meeting is a lot more "we don't know" than answers to our questions. My inbox had at least one "I took retirement/DRP" email in it every day last week. There's a lot to be stressed about, a lot to feel justifiably sad and angry about these days. I want to emphasize, though, that the union is in it with you for the long haul. Beyond the horizon of policies we can only guess at, GESTA and their parent union, IFPTE, will continue to lawyer up, show up, and do what they can in the situation at hand. Sometimes that can be invisible to the general workforce, so I wanted to emphasize some wins recently. 

Some of those wins were the provisions to the reconciliation bill that were DELETED, because of union efforts to bring awareness to them in the House and Senate committees. These include a provision that was taken out that would have increased new employees’ retirement contribution rates simply in exchange for keeping standard civil service protections. A provision for forcing unions to pay fees for dues and meeting space was deleted. A provision for the president to gain the power to unilaterally cut agency funding was removed. These changes would have had a huge effect on workers' livelihood, and they were prevented before most employees even knew the danger. Well done! 

"Senate Parliamentarian Rules Against Including Attacks on Official Time, Civil Service, and Congressional Authority in Reconciliation Bill"

In a recent show of unity, approximately 100 protesters showed up in front of NASA HQ in DC on June 30th to advocate for American space science. And protesters advocating for NASA showed up again on July 20th at Eisenhower Memorial Park in DC. They carried signs calling for officials to wait on cuts until Congress passes the new NASA science budget, emphasizing the importance of this science to the general public, American businesses, and our international standing as a leader in space science and technology. Thank you to all who participated in this demonstration of solidarity!

GESTA members make the case for NASA at the "NASA Needs Help!" protest June 30th at NASA HQ.

Have you seen more red on Thursdays? Our "Wear Red for Feds" campaign is catching on. Every Thursday when I go to the cafeteria or walk down the halls, I see coworkers who know the true value of our NASA community, even when I begin to doubt that leadership can see it anymore. Those of us who elect to stay will need each others' support more than ever, and I believe we will have it. In the spirit of this, why not ask a coworker to join you for lunch this week? Bring in some snacks for the office. I know my coworkers have been increasingly generous with the food in the branch suite, and it helps us get through the week. Stop by someone's office to see how things are going. Put up some more permanent decorations, even when it feels frivolous. Perhaps especially if it feels frivolous. Compliment someone. Don't forget to thank people for their work, their time, their efforts. The little things help, even if it seems like a small act in the face of such big upheavals. 

And this part goes out to you. I'm glad you're here. Keep on making NASA the best we can make it when faced with the greatest adversity many of us have seen in our time here. We're going to get through it.