Federal Daily - June 27, 2008

TSA Should Upgrade Efforts to Address Worker Issues

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) needs to upgrade the processes it uses to address employee concerns, concluded a new report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG). The OIG looked at the chief mechanisms TSA uses to tackle worker complaints—including TSA’s Office of the Ombudsman, Integrated Conflict Management System and National Advisory Council. While all are fraught with problems, TSA workers interviewed by the IG were particularly dissatisfied with the Ombudsman, which they generally viewed with distrust. For example, two-thirds of the employees interviewed who had contacted the Ombudsman for assistance reported that they were dissatisfied with the quality of service and outcomes, the IG said. And, more than half of those respondents said that, based on their experiences, they would not refer fellow TSA employees to the Ombudsman for help. The National Advisory Council—which includes employee representatives, and which advises senior TSA leadership on current workplace issues—is also anemic, lacking sufficient guidance and the resources to fulfill its mission, the IG said. Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), said the failing internal processes detailed in the report contribute to the 17 percent annual TSA voluntary attrition rate and historically low employee morale. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1299.

:: Back to Top ::

FAA Offers Up to $100,000 in Bonuses for Relocation

Searching for ways to replace departing veteran air traffic controllers in key locations, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is offering controllers thousands of dollars to relocate—as much as $100,000, for example, to lure seasoned controllers to the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON). In the case of the New York TRACON, takers could be eligible for a $27,000 fixed relocation payment—plus a relocation incentive of 25 percent of the controller’s annual basic pay (including locality pay) multiplied by four—the number of years in the service contract period. According to an FAA job posting, the controller base pay at the New York TRACON salary ranges from $98,814 to $137,732. The incentive for takers of that position is limited to $25,000 a year, or $75,000 for the four-year period, according to the job announcement. Commenting on the incentives, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) said veteran controllers are leaving the FAA at a record pace—and pointed to a recent Department of Transportation Inspector General report that showed there is no longer a career ladder that encourages movement by experienced controllers into busier facilities, such as the New York TRACON. “It’s a sign of desperation that staffing is so bad at these facilities that the FAA has to offer such an outrageously high sum of money” to relocation candidates, NATCA President Patrick Forrey said in a June 25 statement. To see more, go to: www.natca.org/mediacenter/press-release-detail.aspx?id=518. 

:: Back to Top ::

DoD, Education Dept. Sign MOU to Aid Dependent Students

The DoD and the Department of Education on June 25 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that formalizes an ongoing partnership to help ease the challenges of transitions for military dependent students. The memorandum calls for the two departments to work together to strengthen and expand school-based efforts to ease student transitions, to aid military students in developing academic skills, and to help them acquire coping skills to weather deployment periods. The MOU targets five focus areas: quality education, student transition and support when a parent is deployed, data sharing, communication and outreach, and resources. In addition to enduring the stresses of parental deployment, DoD said, thousands of military dependent students will be relocated as part of base realignment and closure, global re-basing and other force-structure changes in the next few years. “We are committed to working together to create, expand, and improve quality education opportunities and to share best practices,” said Deputy Secretary of Education Raymond Simon. To see more, go to: www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12014.

:: Back to Top ::

Bush Names Williams to Head GSA

The White House announced June 25 that it would nominate James A. Williams to serve as administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA). Williams currently is commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at GSA, and formerly served as director of the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program at the Department of Homeland Security. If confirmed by the Senate, he will replace GSA Acting Administrator David Bibb, who has announced he will retire Sept. 1. Bibb, who previously served as GSA’s deputy administrator, has been acting administrator since the April resignation of Lurita Doan. To see more, go to: www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080625-6.html.

:: Back to Top ::

House Committee Approves 3.9 Percent Civilian Pay Raise

The House Appropriations Committee June 25 approved a 3.9 percent pay raise for federal civilian employees in its markup of the fiscal 2009 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill. The increase matches the 2009 military raise now working its way through Congress. The White House earlier had proposed lower 2009 raises—3.4 percent for the military, and 2.9 percent for the civilian workforce. The National Treasury Employees Union called the move “a wise investment.” To see more, go to: www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1298.

:: Back to Top ::