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The Merit Systems Protection Board released a report the other day that said one in eight federal employees witnessed workplace violence over a two-year period. And that 54 percent of those incidents were committed by current or former federal employees — compared with 34 percent committed by agency customers and 12 percent committed by employee relatives or others. But what the report didn’t do is attempt to quantify the number or types of incidents, which makes it hard to gauge what might be occurring at offices across the country. That’s where we need your help. Please share in the comments…
For clerks, drivers and anyone else out there represented by the American Postal Workers Union, if you’re considering (or have already made a decision on) taking the $15,000 buyout offer announced this week, we at Fed Times are interested in speaking with you for a story about the reaction this offer is getting from the USPS career workforce. Just send me an email at sreilly@federaltimes.com and let me know how to reach you and what’s the best time. Thanks!, Sean Reilly Federal Times Ph: 703-750-8684
Feds, the time is quickly approaching when you’ll have to choose a health insurance plan for next year. Fed Times would like to talk to you about what is most important to you in choosing a plan. Do you look for a plan with a low premium or a low deductible? Does coverage for a particular medical condition or physician or prescription influence your choice? If you are willing to discuss your decision with us, please contact Markie Harwood. Thanks.
The Navy has awarded a $1.9 billion order for more aerial reconnaissance and sub-hunting aircraft to Boeing, the agency announced Friday. The low-rate initial production award for 11 P-8A Poseidon aircraft is a modification to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm contract and follows two orders last year for 13 aircraft. The fleet will ” bolster the service’s anti-submarine, anti-surface warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities,” Boeing said in a news release today. Boeing has delivered three of the P-8As, which are based on the company’s 737-800 commercial airplane, the company said. The Navy plans to purchase 117 to replace its P-3 fleet. Most of…
Have you ever read one of our many stories on the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service and thought to yourself “I could do that!” Well, now’s your chance. GSA is officially looking for a new FAS chief after Steve Kempf took a 60-day leave of absence in July for medical reasons. GSA said Kempf will be moving to a new position within the agency. The job pays about $119,000 to $179,000 a year, according to a GSA posting on USAjobs. Some of the duties listed include: Holding to the highest level of ethical behavior and decision making as a…
The U.S. Postal Service’s forthcoming cutbacks at thousands of post offices have gotten a qualified thumbs up from an independent overseer. In an advisory opinion released today, the five-member Postal Regulatory Commission said that the Post Office Structure Plan, or POStPlan, makes sense from a public policy perspective, but added a few recommendations, such as giving local customers a clear choice between keeping an individual post office open with reduced hours or closing it altogether and providing replacement delivery service. Under the plan, announced in May, the Postal Service intends to reduce customer service “window” hours to as little as two hours a day…
In the wake of a $823,000 2010 conference in Las Vegas that toppled agency leadership, GSA has been engaged in a top-to-bottom internal review. Part of that review was focused on identifying other wasteful programs and policies and eliminating them. GSA implemented “The Great Ideas Hunt” to solicit ideas from its own employees and gather feedback on the value of everything from surveys to magazine subscriptions. GSA said the program has received 623 ideas, most of which the agency is still reviewing. “When we began our Top-to-Bottom review of the entire agency, we wanted to look for ways to engage…
SAN DIEGO | Politicians of all stripes pay homage to the Greatest Generation, as newsman Tom Brokaw dubbed the men and women who endured the Great Depression, helped win World War II, and went on create the most prosperous society the world had ever known. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., offered a less reverential footnote today, attributing the origins of today’s fiscal crisis to entitlement programs fostered by some of those same people. “The Greatest Generation created many of what the private sector would call Ponzi schemes,” Issa said at an Association of Government Accountants conference here. “They created Social Security, they created Medicare on…
Agencies are looking to beef up their security at many of their facilities especially data centers. But how do you feel about the security outside your building? Are you comfortable walking to your car or to mass transit? Is the lighting sufficient? And above all, do you feel safe? Please let us know how you feel by commenting on the blog or by emailing amedici@federaltimes.com.