Members of of the U.S. Postal Service’s largest union will take a break Tuesday from their national convention in Detroit to rally in support of continued six-day-a week mail service. In a news release, the American Postal Workers Union said that more than 3,000 members will gather at a downtown park where President William Burrus and others will deliver “a spirited denunciation” of USPS plans to end most Saturday delivery. The Rev. Jesse Jackson will also speak, according to a union spokesman. That plan, which is supposed to take effect Oct. 1 if Congress doesn’t block it, is what the…
Monthly Archives: August, 2010
“These citations and the sizable fines proposed here reflect the Postal Service’s ongoing knowledge of and failure to address conditions that exposed its workers to the severe and potentially deadly hazards of electric shock, arc fires and arc blasts,” Occupational Safety and Health Administration chief David Michaels said in a Friday news release.
“These citations and the sizable fines proposed here reflect the Postal Service’s ongoing knowledge of and failure to address conditions that exposed its workers to the severe and potentially deadly hazards of electric shock, arc fires and arc blasts,” Occupational Safety and Health Administration chief David Michaels said in a Friday news release.
For at least 45 years, NASA’s mission control has awakened voyaging astronauts each morning by playing them songs — some funny, some poignant, some live, and some hilariously inappropriate. (Who thought it would be a good idea to play David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” — which ends with a doomed astronaut’s malfunctioning spacecraft drifting through space — not once, but twice?) Now, time is running out on NASA’s space shuttle program, and along with it, that fun tradition. But before it ends, NASA has decided to let the public get in on the act. NASA on Friday launched its “Space Rock”…
Federal Times is proud to announce that we won four “Azbee” awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors this afternoon. Gold award in the government coverage category (national) for Stephen Losey’s stories “Faked investigations mount as deadlines tighten” and “Race still a factor in DoD pay raises” and Gregg Carlstrom’s story “Why long-term care premiums are rising.” Silver award in the government coverage category (national) for “Getting to ‘net-zero’ energy use” by Tim Kauffman, “Agencies still miss small business goals” by Elise Castelli, and “Paid to do nothing” by Gregg Carlstrom. Gold award in the special section category…
I’ve had the nagging feeling lately that this never-ending debate over federal salaries is, deep down, really just a Rorschach test for how someone feels about the government. And the Cato Institute’s latest blog on the subject has some interesting comments that lend credence to my theory. Cato budget analyst Tad DeHaven on Tuesday fired back at OPM Director John Berry’s recent assertions that Cato and other federal critics are playing fast and loose with the facts to support their political viewpoints. DeHaven goes over some familiar points — federal perks and benefits are much more generous than in the…
One of the most frustrating parts of living in the Washington area is trying to drive into the nation’s capital during rush hour. And if the Defense Department follows through with its current relocation plans, commuting might get worse. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., said in an Aug. 6 letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that the department’s “ill-advised” plans to move 6,409 employees to the Mark Center complex in Alexandria, Va., will cause catastrophic traffic jams on roads — including Interstate -395, the main corridor Virginians take to commute into Washington. The Pentagon’s Base Realignment and Closure committee originally recommended…
Check it out! Federal Times is offering a live streaming broadcast from FedScoop’s annual federal IT conference going on now at the Newseum. This day-long event brings together 250 federal CIOs, CTOs and other senior executives as well as high-tech industry leaders to exchange best practices and identify ways to collaborate together to achieve these common goals. To view the live broadcast, click here and enjoy. Among the featured speakers at the event are: Andrew McLaughlin United States Deputy Chief Technology Officer Executive office of the President / OSTP Craig Newmark Founder Craigslist.org Dave L. McClure Associate Administrator, Citizen Services…
The Pentagon has posted updated statistics on the drawdown of the National Security Personnel System. As of Aug. 1, 110,313 NSPS employees have been returned to the General Schedule system. Of those, almost 80,000 have been bumped up to the next highest step and received pay raises averaging $1,450. But more than 22,000 employees — 20 percent of those transferred — have been placed on retained pay status because they earn more than their GS grade’s step 10 allows. They will receive half of the normal GS pay raise each year until their grade catches up with their salaries. The…
Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry released a statement last night disagreeing with recent stories that find federal employees are paid vastly more than employees in the private sector. Berry’s arguments largely track with points made by other OPM officials Friday afternoon. Here’s Berry’s full statement: Recent press stories regarding pay for Federal employees compared to private sector workers are unfair and untrue. Simply put, these stories have compared apples to oranges. Federal workers are not paid double the private sector. The Cato Institute and USA Today stories quoting Cato staff (and similar statements from the Heritage Foundation) look…
Last week, I untangled Sen. Orrin Hatch’s error-filled claims that the government has grown “at breakneck speed” under Obama. Today, let’s look a little further at what the Reduce and Cap the Federal Workforce Act seeks to accomplish — and whether it will actually have a noticeable effect on limiting the government’s size. The bill would require agencies (excluding the CIA, FBI, Secret Service and Executive Office of the President) to tell Congress how many employees they currently have, and how many they had as of Feb. 16, 2009. If any agencies except for the Defense and Homeland Security departments…