Furlough notice

[BadgeBunny]

Maybe I've been working for myself for too long.

Pay cut = same work, less pay = sucks.

Lay off = really sucks.


Furlough = a day off to get stuff done. I'm sorry if your time is worth more in tax dollars than in "free market". If you are going to spend the day off watching TV - that's all you deserve. I wish I had a weekday off to work on MY house, or MY car, or further MY education .... This is a free country - nobody makes you work for the government; if you think your time is worth more and you can be more productive - get a job in private sector; Oklahoma has one of the nation's lowest unemployment rates. Furlough sucks only if YOU make it suck.

And, yes, being raised in Soviet Union, I do find government employees complain about the government very amusing.

I've been through furlough talks before. It is NOT a "vacation day" which is what you seem to think it is. I was a single mom with 3 kids and another job besides the .gov job that was talking about furloughing so I was panic-stricken. Your work load is NOT reduced. It is just crammed into 4 days instead of 5. And I've got news for you, the hardest I ever worked was at my .gov job. Do all .gov employees work as hard as I did? Admittedly, no. And that kept me in trouble with my peers, and, believe it or not, sometimes my supervisors. I've met, and am friends with many of the guys here who are Tinker employees. They all, to the very last man (just because they are all fellas and not because I'm being sexist -- seems like I feel the need to put a disclaimer in everything these days) take their jobs very seriously.

Just for ****s and giggles I did the math ... I'm not real sure what GC and I would do if he came home and said "Hey, babe, we gotta take a 20% pay cut starting next month" if we had a family to take care of. Even with just the two of us it sure wouldn't be any fun because what would happen is he would be working a part-time security gig somewhere or I would have to go back to working for those damned lawyers -- which is not something either of us want -- AND which was NOT part of the deal when DPS offered him a FULL-TIME position. I'm sure these guys feel used and abused right now -- and they have every right to feel that way. IMHO, that is.

 

[SMS]

Your work load is NOT reduced. It is just crammed into 4 days instead of 5. And I've got news for you, the hardest I ever worked was at my .gov job.

Troof right there!

As far as having a day off to work on the house, car whatever...that's just putting the best positive spin on it that I can. I can't control the furlough so I can't sit around and ***** about it. I might as well make use of my time.

Ready for the goofy part? I travel for work and work 6 day work weeks. IF the furlough hits me, I will be required to take my mandatory furlough day even if I am on travel status away from home. Which means they will expect me to sit in my hotel room, drawing per diem and not go to the job site. Then on the other 5 days we will have to work longer hours to make up for the lost day OR stay gone longer and cost the .gov more money in per diem and lodging costs. That only makes sense in the .gov world.

 

[n8thegr8]

It wouldn't be so bad if there were a legitimate need and the whole damn thing wasn't a political stunt. It would still suck, but at least I wouldn't feel betrayed. We're getting furloughed, meanwhile they're sending billions in aid to foreign countries, buying MRAPs and M4s for DHS, spending $50 million on uniforms for TSA, congress and executives exempt from furlough, etc. We're pawns being sacrificed in a political game.

And because of this, I AM applying for private sector jobs, but until I get any bites, I'm probably going to have to pick up a weekend job somewhere because my wife works nights

 

[BadgeBunny]

It wouldn't be so bad if there were a legitimate need and the whole damn thing wasn't a political stunt. It would still suck, but at least I wouldn't feel betrayed. We're getting furloughed, meanwhile they're sending billions in aid to foreign countries, buying MRAPs and M4s for DHS, spending $50 million on uniforms for TSA, congress and executives exempt from furlough, etc. We're pawns being sacrificed in a political game.

And because of this, I AM applying for private sector jobs, but until I get any bites, I'm probably going to have to pick up a weekend job somewhere because my wife works nights

THAT right there ...

 

[mugsy]

I have two things to say:

First - the Pentagon just announced that the furlough requirement, as a result of Congress moving money between accounts, has been reduced from 22 to 14 days for FY13.
http://blogs.federaltimes.com/federal-times-blog/2013/03/27/ap-defense-department-reducing-civilian-furlough-days/

Second - Badgebunny while I agree with you that pay cuts do have real impacts on families and individuals, you are wrong in this case about having to cram 100% of work into 80% of time. We have strict instruction to reduce workload - i.e. trim back what we are doing to accommodate reduced hours and, at leats at Ft Sill, that is actually happening - course eliminations, course-load reductions in continuing courses, reduced operating hours of facilities, etc. No overtime (limited exceptions), no comp-time (again very limited exceptions) - our CG and the Chief of Staff have been very clear that this is not a do more with less time - it is a do less with less and document what is falling by the wayside as we go.

The representatives of the people have every right to cut the budget or trim the military (heck outside of war operations the ONLY part of the Federal government that has been trimmed in real terms is the military in the last decade) and we Federal workers do NOT have a right to demand employment - we can walk or we can work at the terms offered. Many of us serving in DoD civilian positions are prior military and we have historically continued to work long hours without claiming comp or overtime because it is what we did as officers and senior NCOs in uniform. However, now that is being disallowed for the weeks that get trimmed to 32 hours - I have been directed to rigorously ensure my personnel are only at the office 32 hours and work from home, logging in remotely, etc. has also been disallowed.

I know it won't be that simple but the intent at least is definitely there should this furlough actually be ordered - which to date has not yet happened though it seems to be coming. I am a lot more worried about FY14 than FY13 to be honest. We are repeatedly being told that "round 2" may be worse than "round 1".

 

[BadgeBunny]

Fair enough, mugsy. I'll freely admit that my comments were based upon what we were told was gonna happen when furlough talks were going on back in the day.

ETA: Sorry ... I should read instead of skim ... It's my ADHD ... LOL

 

[SMS]

Second - Badgebunny while I agree with you that pay cuts do have real impacts on families and individuals, you are wrong in this case about having to cram 100% of work into 80% of time. We have strict instruction to reduce workload - i.e. trim back what we are doing to accommodate reduced hours and, at leats at Ft Sill, that is actually happening - course eliminations, course-load reductions in continuing courses, reduced operating hours of facilities, etc. No overtime (limited exceptions), no comp-time (again very limited exceptions) - our CG and the Chief of Staff have been very clear that this is not a do more with less time - it is a do less with less and document what is falling by the wayside as we go.

She's only wrong when applied to some sectors. My workload is not decreasing, in fact coupled with two vacancies that will now go unfilled and the potential to lay off 3 contractors that have been augmenting our workforce, our workload is actually increasing. So instead of being on the road 6 months this year, I'll probably bump up to 8 or 9.

At least I still have a job, and I'm the first to admit that the .gov needs to make changes. This is just a haphazard and disorganzied way to do it. Some good will come of this, somehow, I gotta believe.

 

[nich018]

I have not received mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yahooooo

 

[SMS]

I have not received mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yahooooo

Yet. (neither have I for that matter)

 

[MoBoost]

Your work load is NOT reduced. It is just crammed into 4 days instead of 5.

If you are willing AND capable to do the same job in LESS time and for LESS money - sounds like capitalism at work. The fact that we are talking about MY tax money - where is the draw back?

We're getting furloughed, meanwhile they're sending billions in aid to foreign countries.

So you are saying working for .gov is form of aid? You are saying we should stop sending the aid overseas and keep it here? So that all the .gov employees can a have a paid day off instead of unpaid?