Status Report

GESTA News – RIF Information

By SpaceRef Editor
October 27, 2005
Filed under ,

GESTA News – RIF Information

News from GESTA
October 2005

From time to time GESTA receives NewsLetters from other Centers that have an IFPTE Local (there are five centers: GSFC, Marshal, Glenn, Ames, and H/Q). Attached is a Newsletter (LESA Bulletin 2005-012) published by LESA, IFPTE Local 28 at Glenn, Ohio. I have long been an admirer of Dr. William Henry Jones’s writing skills and hope his information on “The RIF Briefing” together with the second attachment (OPM’s Handbook on RIFs) will be of interest to you.

To the best of GESTA’s knowledge there are no plans at GSFC for a RIF. However, other Centers are not as fortunate! Currently, Local 28 at Glenn has a grievance filed against their Center Management for running “Mock RIFs” without consultation with the union. Additionally it is reported that JPL have started issuing “Layoff” notices and about 200 employees and 100 contractors could face layoffs.

It is also reported that the rest of the NASA workforce would be protected from layoffs until 2007 under bills approved in the House and Senate. The House would ban layoffs until February and the Senate until June (presumably February and June 2007).

GESTA has received various confusing emails that NASA has a surplus of personnel in some skill areas. If you have read the attached Newsletter for Glenn, you will have noticed the discussion on “retention register”. This is a list of the persons that a Center wants to keep! In the past compiling a retention register typically took 18 months, however with the database management tools now available, the timeline may be much shorter.

We [GESTA] learned from Announcement 06-02, that between Oct 6 and Oct 28, GSFC supervisors will be required to update competency portfolios for all employees and we wonder whether the Competency Managenment System (CMS) will be used to generate a “retention register.” GESTA recommends that our BUEs revisit the CMS and ensure that their portfolio is up-to-date.

Please feel free to call with any questions or to request an application form to join GESTA. Support those who support you!

GESTA, IFPTE, Local 29 05/10/21

Goddard Engineers, Scientists and Technicians Association

GESTA, IFPTE, Local 29
Code 220.9
Building 23, Room W131/W135
Greenbelt, MD 20771
Voice: 301-286-2066, Fax 301-286-0319
WebSite: http://www.nhpa.org/gesta

David R. Jones, President
Igor Eberstein, Executive Vice-President
Stephen Leete, Secretary
Kenneth Dearth, Treasurer
AVPs: Walter Flournoy, Sukhdev Tatwadhia, Ronal Brandan, Jason Hair, Joseph Generie

SpaceRef staff editor.