September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 1 AFGE Meeting NSPS HEAD-ON

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 2 AFGE Through lawsuits and lobbying, we saved: The right to a union voice. Collective bargaining rights. The Government-wide RIF rules. The critical merit principles of fairness and due process instead of fire “at will.”

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 3 AFGE We saved: The principle of national pay raises tied to the General Pay Increase instead of DoD’s budget. Locality pay under FEPCA. A merit-based Civil Service System for America.

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 4 AFGE BUT we could not get rid of NSPS altogether. WGIs and Grades are out – pay bands are in. Congress could not overcome a veto threat by the President. Congress let DoD continue with NSPS, but with bargaining under Chapter 71. Although we got back important rights, NSPS remains a flawed system!

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 5 AFGE DoD double-crosses Congress again!!! Under a loophole in the new law, DoD published proposed regulations, which could severely limit the bargaining Congress intended to help make the process fairer and more honest.

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 6 GS Pay System Very Simple and Transparent People treated fairly. Pay raises by law maintain living standard. Does have performance components: –To move up career ladders –To move to next step –To receive promotions –Recognition and Awards

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 7 NSPS Pay System Very Complicated – Not simple! Done in the dark – Not Transparent!! Not based on Performance!!! Violates Merit Principles!!!! Designed to Suppress Pay and Pensions!!!!!

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 8 NDAA 2008 The new law requires DoD to include a performance management system with the following elements: A.Adherence to merit principles, B.A fair, credible, and transparent employee performance system, C.A link to the agency’s strategic plan, D.Employee involvement in the design and implementation, E.Adequate training and retraining for managers and employees in the performance management system, F.Ongoing performance feedback and dialogue, G.Effective safeguards to ensure the system is fair and equitable, H.Adequate agency resources for the design, implementation and administration of the performance management system, I.A pay-for-performance system to better link individual pay to performance.

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 9 Pay bands and employees do not automatically go up by 100% of GS raise, but only by 60%—and that only because Congress ordered it. Will fall behind GS counterparts in other agencies. Privately purchased labor market studies will be used to slot jobs within pay bands and control performance raises. Illusion of greater pay potential in banding, but really “mini-bands and control points” will limit pay potential below the top of the band—this is lying to the workforce! Unfair allocations to pay pools. Some pools and employees receive more, others less. All aimed at COST-CONTAINMENT! Will result in pay and pension suppression. Key Bad NSPS Elements

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 10 Ratings and payouts may be based on who writes better self assessments and job objectives rather than actual performance. Who determines your final performance rating and payout is an unsolved mystery. Performance ratings will be determined by bureaucratic layers of managers who may not have any direct knowledge of your performance. Forced distribution of performance ratings instead of true evaluations of performance. Key Bad NSPS Elements

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 11 Unfair delay --You don’t know how your performance was rated until 3 months into the next performance cycle, depriving you and your supervisor of valuable information needed to develop a better performance plan for next year’s raise. Arbitrary pay adjustment – could be cash bonuses or salary raise based on a number of factors, most outside of your control and not based on your performance. Competitive Merit Promotion process is gone for most jobs – Non-competitive promotions are standard and are now called reassignments. Managers can select anyone for a new job without posting or competition! Key Bad NSPS Elements

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September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 13 PAY POOL PANEL RATES EMPLOYEES Supervisor recommends your rating to the pay pool panel, but must not tell you, the employee, your rating!!!! Pay pool panel changes and “reconciles” ratings among different supervisors. Your rating is determined by other managers who did not supervise your performance!

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September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 16 PAY FOR PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS FAA Problems - Discrimination Lawsuits: –2,000 Outstanding employees had not received salary increases in 3 years (only cash) –One employee calculated a loss of $300,000 in retirement income over 25 years –Top management said employees should understand the tight budgets of the agency –Budgets are always tight - if you can’t afford pay-for- performance, you shouldn’t do it!

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 17 Securities & Exchange Comm. Pay system like NSPS for 3 years. Pay system was determined to illegally discriminate against employees on the basis of race and age by an Arbitrator in late 2007.

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 18 Government Accountability Office Pay for Performance System for many years. GAO has been a major proponent of pay-for- performance. Many employees found themselves losing money compared to co-workers. Employees organized and for the first time in history, GAO is union!

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 19 NSPS DISCRIMINATES! The first large-scale NSPS payout shows:  White employees received higher ratings and payouts than other employees.  Employees over 40 received higher payouts than younger employees with the same ratings.  Defense Agency employees got higher ratings and payouts than employees of the Services.

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 20 If your salary is 10%-15% lower under NSPS than GS, in 15 years when you retire: Your pension will be about 10% - 15% lower. Imagine 25 years of $3,000 less per year = $75,000 less retirement income. What would that mean for you? REFORMING NSPS MATTERS! Possible impact on Retirement

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 21 CURRENT STATUS OF NSPS DoD has indicated that no current employees represented by AFGE will be placed under NSPS before New regulations are expected to take effect early in DoD is likely to begin to move represented employees into NSPS in 2009.

September 2008AFGE Field Services and Education Department 22 Solution??? WHAT-- We need to press the Congress and the next Administration to end NSPS altogether. WHY—NSPS is very bad and DoD has proven to be untrustworthy once again! HOW—Organize and mobilize employees to join and get active to work for the changes needed to save their future standard of living!!