International Federation of
Professional and Technical Engineers

E-ACTIVIST NEWS CENTER
Support the Inslee/Van Hollen Amendment to Defund NSPS

IFPTE, in coordination with the United DoD Workers Coalition (UDWC), continues its fight against the National Security Personnel System (NSPS). An amendment, to be jointly offered by Congressmen Jay Inslee (WA) and Chris Van Hollen (MD) as part of the House's consideration of the Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07) DoD Appropriations measure, will be voted on next week in the full House of Representatives. The Inslee/Van Hollen Amendment is aimed at defunding the illegal portions of the NSPS and we urge all members, especially those within DoD, to contact their respective legislators and urge them to support the Inslee/Van Hollen Amendment.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Support the Inslee/Van Hollen Amendment to Defund NSPS

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

As both your constituent and a federal civil servant employed by the Department of Defense (DoD), I am writing to ask for your support of an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07) DoD Appropriations bill. The amendment, to be offered jointly by Representatives Inslee and Van Hollen, would eliminate funding to those parts of the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) that were ruled illegal by a federal court this past February.

The NSPS is an insult to me and the hundreds of thousands of DoD workers worldwide. While I could normally understand the need for human resources flexibility, I don't agree with the so-called brand of 'flexibility' being trumpeted by the Pentagon.

Unfortunately, it has become crystal clear that the political leaders within the Pentagon don't want flexibility at all, but instead are on a mission to destroy my rights as civilian worker. The problem is that much of what they are doing is against the law.

My union, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), in coordination with the United DoD Workers Coalition (UDWC), has been attempting for nearly three years to work with both the Pentagon and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in order to create a NSPS that is fair to the workers, enhances our nation's national security, is cost effective to the U.S. taxpayer, and falls within the scope of the law. However, the government has simply ignored the good-faith efforts of the UDWC, forcing unions like mine, to sue and win in court.

As a DoD worker, I can attest first hand that the NSPS is going a long way toward eroding the morale of the rank-and-file. Not only is it costing the U.S. taxpayer untold amounts of money, it is also costing the nation when you consider the toll it is having on workers such as myself. When your bosses at the Pentagon and OPM reward good work with the sham that is NSPS, it certainly is disheartening.

I ask that you, as my Representative, put an end to this illegal and costly personnel system by voting to support the Inslee/Van Hollen amendment.

I thank you for your consideration and I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
June 16, 2006


Background Information

The National Security Personnel System (NSPS) has been a travesty from the very time Congress passed the FY04 Defense Authorization Act, granting Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld the flexibility to change the human resources practices at DoD. Unfortunately however the Pentagon and OPM went far beyond the authority they were given by Congress and have essentially wasted the better part of three years, and untold resources, in creating an NSPS that was in large part ruled illegal by a Federal Court.

NSPS was created solely by the political leadership within the Pentagon, with little to no input from the workers accepted during its creation. While IFPTE and its partners within the United DoD Workers Coalition (UDWC) appealed to the Pentagon to heed the calls of Congress and work in tandem to create a personnel system that would enhance national security, preserve the rights of the workforce, and is within the limits called for in the authorizing law, our pleas fell on deaf ears. What resulted was an NSPS that is against the law.

One would normally assume that after a Federal Court ruled against the NSPS that the Pentagon would attempt to fix the problem by doing what they should have done three years ago: Partner with the workers to create a system that will earn employee buy-in and pass legal muster.

However, the Pentagon and OPM are essentially snubbing their collective noses at the Courts and Congress by moving forward with this sham personnel system. By implementing NSPS on those DoD workers not represented by a union, the ideologues fueling this misguided policy are essentially wasting billions of dollars in taxpayer dollars on an unlawful personnel system. It is bad enough that this blatant fleecing of tax dollars is occurring at all, but it is even worse when you consider that we are a nation at war and there are many other war fighting priorities that are going unaddressed due to a lack of resources. Yet, the Pentagon continues to throw good money after bad toward NSPS.

Make no mistake about it--NSPS is a failure on all accounts. It is damaging for national security, a waste of valuable taxpayer dollars, an insult to the dedicated and valuable workforce at DoD, and it is now illegal. The time has come to put an end to NSPS. Urge your representatives to support the Inslee/Van Hollen Amendment to defund NSPS.