NAGE Secures Major Victory as Pentagon Drops Plans to Convert Unionized DoD Employees to NSPS
October 1, 2008
In an apparent about-face by the Department of Defense (DoD), Deputy Secretary Gordon England has nnounced that DoD was dropping its plans to convert its nearly 270,000 white-collar bargaining unit employees to the pay-for-performance system under NSPS.
“I think that NSPS was always a ploy to eliminate federal employees’ unions and to stifle workers’ pay,” said National President David J. Holway. “When the Pentagon realized they were going to have to deal with the employee representatives in developing a fair pay-for-performance system, they just decided it was not worth it. Paying hard-working federal employees better was never really part of their plans.”
Secretary England said in a letter to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO), “Importantly, the Department has not converted any bargaining unit employees to NSPS and has been steadfast in that regard. This represents the Department’s decision not to convert bargaining unit employees to NSPS. This should allay your concerns regarding collective bargaining.”
England’s announcement is the first indication that DoD is giving up on NSPS for bargaining unit Defense workers.
NAGE and its allies in the United Defense Workers Coalition (UDWC) have fought long and hard to address some of the ill-conceived components of NSPS. In January, Congress restored the rights for defense workers to collectively bargain and appeal adverse actions, but the Pentagon continued to move forward with plans to implement a controversial pay for performance system that has not been well-received by non-union Defense workers already under NSPS.
Although DoD has indicated they have no plans to move forward with NSPS for the unionized Defense workforce, that does not mean that NSPS is gone for good. It is conceivable that NSPS could taken off the shelf and implemented in a future administration.
“This development is definitely good news for Defense workers, because NSPS is no longer imminent,” said Erwin. “But this issue won’t be completely finished until Congress repeals NSPS.”