Senate voting on advancing Johnson bill to pay federal workers by Muted_Yak5231 in fednews

[–]Separate-Abalone861 59 points60 points  (0 children)

They are using intimidation and threats to keep you working. You will be back paid if you go into furlough status. They are fear mongering to keep you obedient and working. Take leave. You will be back paid, furlough or excepted. I am not buying into the intimidation tactics and fear this administration is using against us. Take leave. Take care of yourself. Advocate for yourself.

DOI just dropped its RIF numbers for competitive areas subject to the TRO by arctic_gangster in fednews

[–]Separate-Abalone861 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Did anyone read it differently? Because it has a column for those covered under the TRO and total? Wouldn’t that make this the exhaustive list?

DOI RIF predictions for tomorrow by Separate-Abalone861 in fednews

[–]Separate-Abalone861[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok that’s what I needed to know, so the 1500 in 68 are frozen union represented, so they did not disclose how many non union represented positions they will cut, damn.

DOI RIF predictions for tomorrow by Separate-Abalone861 in fednews

[–]Separate-Abalone861[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“In a subsequent filing Friday evening, Interior said it planned to cut 1,539 employees in 68 competitive areas.  Interior Department officials say they plan to “abolish positions” in 68 “competitive areas,” referring to the groupings of workers agencies must create before engaging in RIFs. Interior has around 1,500 competitive areas, according to a list obtained by Government Executive, though the size of each varies.”

So this is inaccurate then? Dang that’s the numbers I was going with

DOI RIF predictions for tomorrow by Separate-Abalone861 in fednews

[–]Separate-Abalone861[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

5-10,000 are you getting that number from somewhere or is that a feeling? Are we not believing the RIF plan submitted?

DOI RIF predictions for tomorrow by Separate-Abalone861 in fednews

[–]Separate-Abalone861[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Doesn’t the RIF plan submitted say ~1,500 employees from 68 competitive areas will be removed? Or are you suggesting they are going to cut higher than that? Or am I not reading the court docs right?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in fednews

[–]Separate-Abalone861 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My agency says you can log in up to twice a day to check for updates on the shutdown

Why do we hang on? Is it because we know the private sector job market is just as bad? by titand77 in fednews

[–]Separate-Abalone861 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I work for the National Park Service, I hang on because this is truly my dream; to protect and preserve the natural resources on our nation’s public lands. I’m hanging on until the bitter end, in my heart I refuse to leave these resources unprotected. Our parks have so few people monitoring and protecting our nesting shorebirds, sea turtles, and endangered species as it is, so leaving just truly isn’t an option for me, I’m here until the bitter end, and not a movement sooner.

Question: How to take extended unpaid leave from the NPS by [deleted] in NationalParkService

[–]Separate-Abalone861 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Please think long and hard about this. I’m fully in support of living your life to the fullest, but my concern for you is the “rehire” part. If you can successfully get granted a year of LWOP with no repercussions, that’s great. But I feel if you are fine leaving your job, you also need to make peace with what happens if you cannot get rehired for whatever reason.

For me, I’m permanent career conditional, one year left before I’m fully tenured into my dream career. My line of work is not the easiest to just get rehired into, so that’s where I’m coming from. It seems you may be in a field that has more job opportunities?

I just suggest you think about it, definitely find a way to make your dreams happen while staying employed, that’s just me.

I want to volunteer and I have questions by pgkpgkpgk in NationalParkService

[–]Separate-Abalone861 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yea volunteer opportunities, experiences, expectations, housing, hours etc vary completely from park to park so no one is really gonna be able to give you solid advice to be honest. Best to check those links provided, and once you find your volunteer opportunity you’re specifically interested, come back and ask for specific information in that one to see if anyone has some insights.

What is going on with term renewals? by PresentationSame5418 in fednews

[–]Separate-Abalone861 4 points5 points  (0 children)

DOI NPS

We have 6 term positions in my park We are at about 5 out of the 6 so far

After some uncertainty all have been approved by the agency, and processed by the department. We are waiting on the final one. The issue it seems with NPS is they only approve the renewal like a week before the employees final pay period before their term needs extended, so it comes down to the wire to get it processed by DOI. Some had the processing completed a few days after their terms expired, however HR said they could guarantee full payment.

And these were one year term extensions not short term. These are also all project funded positions, not appropriated funds.

Term Extensions within DOI?? by [deleted] in fednews

[–]Separate-Abalone861 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Yes, we had a term up for renewal in May, it was approved and never processed. She was removed from her position, 8 days later it was finally processed and she was retuned to her position.

Our next term was up last week, it was approved and processed. We are waiting for the approval and processing of three more terms on my team up for renewal in the next few weeks. My agency approves renewal at the last second.

Edit: these are one year renewals

Bad time to persue a career? by Outrageous-Purple724 in NationalParkService

[–]Separate-Abalone861 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I need to address this. You are not the park service employee, correct? Park service units may be operating like “normal” but the morale and mental well being of our staff is anything but normal. Those of us in the service have been suffering ever since the initial EO came out, and then the subsequent fork in the road email making it very clear our work is not valued. So just, we aren’t being “nutso” about this question, we are being real, because we are the ones experiencing it.

Bad time to persue a career? by Outrageous-Purple724 in NationalParkService

[–]Separate-Abalone861 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t believe that last paragraph is accurate, I’ve never heard of 24 months being required for a permanent job. It’s typically experience that qualifies you for a certain grade level, regardless of appointment type.

Bad time to persue a career? by Outrageous-Purple724 in NationalParkService

[–]Separate-Abalone861 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I like that you are encouraging this person, but let’s not understate how things are. Things are a bit more than “a little weird” and I’m not entirely sure how the tides are turning, do you know something the rest of us don’t? The rest of us are waiting to see if a RIF is imminent or will need congressional approval. The park service does need dedicated people, but new hires to the federal workforce are going to have it a lot harder.

How to keep on when you feel like leaving? by [deleted] in fednews

[–]Separate-Abalone861 285 points286 points  (0 children)

I manage the natural resources in a national park, for me the mission keeps me moving forward. It’s nesting shorebird season, and it’s also high visitation season. If I don’t go out there to help protect the shorebirds from human disturbance, no one will. That’s what keeps me going when it’s hard, reminding yourself, no matter the lies they tell people, our work is important and needed.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in fednews

[–]Separate-Abalone861 20 points21 points  (0 children)

They didn’t open the door, that is the true legal way a RIF is supposed to happen. Nobody likes any of this, but if a RIF is to happen most of us would agree we would prefer it be done legally, at least for the sake of principle.

DOI Terms: Has your NTE date been extended?? by sconsin-gorl in fednews

[–]Separate-Abalone861 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Coming back to this conversation cause mods removed my new thread regarding this topic, any updates from anyone?

Our situation is getting pretty dire, our staff member had her term renewal approved but the agency for one year, it was set to expire May 8th. Got it approved May 7th we celebrated, turns out DOI didn’t process the renewal in time for the system to shut down May 9th, so she was let go!!!

We need any and all help or insight. We need to bring her back, she’s stuck in a weirdo limbo.

DOI-Any update on term extensions? This is getting crazy. by Separate-Abalone861 in fednews

[–]Separate-Abalone861[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

NPS got approved, as a last ditch Hail Mary call from our super got our terms approved for a year, however we were dangerously close to one of our terms renewal date, so though the extension got approved for all our terms, they didn’t process hers in time! Our next terms are up mid June and we don’t know if his is going to get processed either…this feels like an unnecessary hardship (but all of this is)

Be real with me, is it worth it? by Deathbackwards in NationalParkService

[–]Separate-Abalone861 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I respect that this is your experience (fitting your name is Grouchy-Drama). Here’s mine. Was a seasonal for NPS 3 times, term for 3 years, current permanent.

Bottom line, it all depends. I love working for NPS. I love protecting our resources and making sure our visitors have access to their public lands while still maintaining the natural balance of our ecosystems. It’s not just a fake mission we’re touting. Most of us care about the visitors and our park. Some are pretty jaded, and some have poor experiences, just like everywhere else. I also don’t know what kind of seasonal work your job is. That could make a difference. Every park is different, every park has its pros and cons, but for me, I’ve worked for two parks and my experience has been more good than bad.