• An Important Change for All NASA Civil Service Employees Changes in the Delivery of Your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)
  
  
• Federal Employees Excused from Duty on Monday, Dec. 24, 2007
  
  
• Click here to see the presentation charts regarding the benefits transition to the NSSC
  
  
• Click here to see the Office of Institutions and Management Org Chart
  
  
• Notification that FY 2008 Mid Term Progress Reviews must be completed by November 30, 2007 & FY 2007 Performance Rating Summary for HQ GS Employees attached
  
  

• The management has announced a buyout for FY'08: 
  
  "There will be a buyout window at Headquarters.  We   are currently working on our buyout plan 
                  which will be   forwarded to the Office of Human Capital for approval.  We are 
                  currently planning   on opening the window toward the middle/end of January 2008, 
                  with projected   retirement dates at the end of February/early March 2008.  The 
                  rules will be   similar to recent buyouts – priority will be given to individuals 
                  occupying surplus   competencies within their Directorate." 

• The NASA Council of IFPTE Locals (NCIL) held elections in July and elected the following persons to take office on August 21, 2007:
  • Dr. Paul K. Davis, Ames Research Center, Local 30, President
  • Wes Darbro, Marshall Space Flight Center, Local 27, Vice President
  • George Hamilton, Marshall Space Flight Center, Local 27, Secretary
  • Dr. Sheila Bailey, Glenn Research Center, Local 28, Treasurer
    
• The Headquarters union is notified by NASA HQ management that a buyout is imminent this fall. Details are sketchy, but are summarized here.
  
• IFPTE representative testifies on Capitol Hill on panel regarding NASA manpower and budget issues on May 17, 2007: Dr. Lee Stone of Ames Research Center and NASA Council of IFPTE Locals legislative representative, testified before a joint committee of the Senate and House overseeing NASA 's budget. The video stream is located at this site and copies of the oral and written testimony are linked here and here.
  
• Here is the latest information about changes to comp time rules, released May 3, 2007.
  
• On April 6, 2007, the Director, HQ Human Resources Management Division issued guidance for completing the 2006-2007 performance ratings, including how to recognize performance at the Distinguished level. The memo also introduces the revised EPCS, which is a five-level performance management system, for the 2007-2008 cycle.
• Background Investigations on NASA Employees: Some of you have already received e-mail notification from the HQ Security Office regarding the requirement to conduct a background investigation.  Here is the scoop on this.
  
• HQ releases results of latest EPCS (Employee Performance Communications System) performance reviews by HQ organization on February 9, 2007. Nearly 32 % of civil service employees received distinguished ratings.  The results from the prior performance period were posted in December 2005.
• Announcement on January 17, 2007:

Applications for the HQ buyout begin January 17 and continue through February 7, 
2007. The following briefing schedule to employees is 
planned:

           January 18	9:00 -10:30AM 		6H45            

           January 18	1:00 to 2:30PM 		6H45

           January 23	8:00 to 10:30AM		9H40

           January 25	1:00 to 2:30PM		9H40

Seating is limited and will be on a first come basis.  Additional sessions will be scheduled as needed.

• This is the latest information on the 2007 buyout:

• NASA’s buyout has been approved by OPM and OMB. The buyout window will occur in January 2007. Stay tuned for further details.
  
• Use-or-Lose Annual Leave and Restored Leave procedures for 2006:  We are posting this information from the Headquarters Human Resources Management Division issued on October 13, 2006. Please note that the leave year ends earlier than usual, on January 6, 2007, and that use-or-lose annual leave must be requested in WebTADS by November 25, 2006.
• New Federal law dictates that the following document be posted on all federal labor union Web sites before October 2, 2006. It contains a notice of facts about union participation. Here is the document: CSRAFactSheet.pdf. In addition, we have posted another document, entitled StandardsofConduct_FedSectorMembs.pdf.
  
• Information about the new Competency Management System (CMS) is now available. NHPA has been given a description, a memo on workforce planning issues, and material on the new CMS tier validation process.
  
• On June 13, 2006, The U.S. House Science Committee held hearings on the NASA Workforce Plan and heard testimony from key players whose interests are impacted by the activity. The Committee's press release is located here, while the actual statements made by the representatives are linked at this site.
• NASA HQ Human Resources has published its guidance for conducting annual performance ratings for the period ending April 30, 2006. Please note the Guidance for Distinguished Ratings. It is here.
  
• NHPA moved its Web site to Network Solutions from RCN to save money and improve performance and capacity. You should notice faster response.
• All NASA Headquarters employees will be receiving a copy of the Telework Initiative memo, seen here, signed on January 9, 2006.  We suggest that you read the memo and let us know if you have any questions.  The reason for the new policy is the passage of Public Law 109-108 on November 22, 2005.  Section 619 of the law states that NASA shall, not later than 2 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, certify that telecommuting opportunities are made available to 100% of the eligible workforce.  Upon certification (to Congress by January 22, 2006), $5,000,000.00 in appropriations will be released to NASA. Your union, the NHPA, is pleased to post the memo to get the word out for this much awaited initiative.
• HQ releases results of latest EPCS (Employee Performance Communications System) performance reviews by HQ organization on December 21, 2005. Over 35% of civil service employees received distinguished ratings.
  
• IFPTE successes on Capitol Hill preempt RIF plans for NASA. IFPTE issues a press release on December 16, 2005, detailing the action by Congress placing restrictions within the The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2005 that do not allow RIFs to take place at NASA before March 16, 2007. The AFL-CIO has also issued a letter of support for NASA's civil servants and backs all the unions who represent the NASA work force.
  
• Paul Morrell calls for waivers on personnel ceilings and hiring exceptions with his approval. This memo was brought to our attention as part of our ongoing discussions with management. We provide the information here as a courtesy and as an item of interest to our bargaining unit.
  
• NASA HQ Buyout to occur within the next few days -- Management met with Local 9 on November 1, 2005 to announce a buyout of targeted positions, details of which were not disclosed, but the buyout will take place within the next few weeks and be left open for about two weeks. All takers must leave NASA on January 3, 2006. If too many persons subscribe within a job classification which is eligible, the deciding factor will be the service completion date of the applicant (oldest dates go first). Details will follow shortly.
• New NASA Council of IFPTE Officers election was held on August 16, 2005. All four primary officers were re-elected. President Darbro appointed Lee Stone of Local 30 as the NCIL's official Legislative Affairs Liaison and Paul Curto as Web Master. David Jones is also asked to lead efforts to expand the union's presence at other Centers now not affiliated with IFPTE.
• Travel Comp Time Guidelines Issued July 11, 2005:  NHPA received an update from personnel with the following caveats regarding the content of the instructions, we'd like to highlight two points:
  

• Headquarters Buyout announced March 16, 2005, with a briefing to all HQ employees. The briefing charts are attached here and the final draft of the letter to be sent to all HQ employees is here. You will see that it is dated March 16, 2005, but was clearly not sent on March 16. As you read about the Category 1 and Category 2 buyouts/early outs to be offered at HQ, you may determine that you need additional information or clarification in order to decide your personal course of action or inaction. The attached presentation from March 16, 2005 identifies the HQ Buyout website http://www.hq.nasa.gov/buyout2005 and points-of-contact. The website includes a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) as well as buyout applications and agreements. It also contains a link to the Transformation website http://workforcetransformation.nasa.gov. The NHPA has been assured that the current offerings are Voluntary Separation Incentives, i.e., no employee will be pressured to take a buyout or to separate from HQ even if in Category 1. The short story on Category 1 is that 12-13 letters were signed on March 17, 2005 and hand delivered that afternoon to the Administrative Contacts who are to deliver them to the supervisors who are to deliver them to the employees. Of these 12-13 folks, only seven will be able to take advantage of the buyout. So for those folks who would like to leave, they can consider this a benefit. For those folks who choose to stay, they will retain their position or at some point in time perhaps be reassigned.  And finally, for those of you who found the Jim Jennings briefing of February 14, 2005 and its embedded spread sheets, you saw that HQ can support 61 buyouts. We have received confirmation that HQ has budgeted for 61 buyouts through October 3, 2005. We will continue to provide updates as we receive them.
• Former NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration and Chief Engineer Dr. Michael D. Griffin nominated by the White House to become the next NASA Administrator on March 11, 2005.
• Former Administrator Sean O'Keefe is called under investigation for improper use of government travel facilities by Senator Sue Collins (R-ME), Chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on February 15, 2005. O'Keefe refutes the claims, but hearings may be held on the topic.
• The IFPTE Federal Caucus is held at the Holiday Inn On The Hill February 13-18, 2005. Dozens of union leaders from all over the country use the opportunity to lobby for federal employees with key House and Senate members and staffers. The NASA Council meets and strategizes how to deal with the budget and personnel issues. Meetings of NASA Council representatives with Hill leaders begin to have the desired effects.
• Massive personnel cuts are announced on February 14, 2005 at Ames, Langley, and Glenn Research Centers, with as many as 3,000 jobs at risk, including over 2,000 civil service positions. Permanent and irreversible damage is done to the NASA family. Within days RIFs are announced at Langley, bypassing the process of buyouts and reassignments.
• Administrator Sean O'Keefe leaves for his new position as Chancellor at LSU in Baton Rouge, LA on February 11, 2005. Mr. Gregory is standing in until a new leader is chosen and confirmed.
• NHPA re-elects its officers on December 15, 2004. Our trustees now include new leaders John Lyver and Candy Livingston, and Pam Richardson is retained. Ron Moyer has moved on, and Bill Green has retired.
• Administrator Sean O'Keefe announces his resignation, December 13, 2004. He pledges to stay on until a replacement is found.
• President Bush and Vice-President Cheney re-elected, while both the House and Senate remain in Republican control, November 2, 2004.
• NASA Administrator O'Keefe met with the NASA Council of IFPTE Locals on September 8, 2004 to discuss many issues of mutual interest.  The meeting took place on the day of the Genesis crash and shortly after the damage assessment from Hurricane Frances was revealed. Despite differences, the event was fruitful and hopeful in reaching sensible solutions to help NASA achieve its new goals.
• On June 16, 2004 the Aldridge Report became public and shortly afterwards on June 24, 2004, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe presented the NASA Reorganization Plan.  The recommendations of the Aldridge Report included converting some or all of the NASA Centers to Federally Funded Research & Development Centers  (FFRDC's).  Two teams have been formed to evaluate and study the Aldridge recommendations.  One team to deal with FFRDC issues and another to deal with Long Range Planning issues. The "FFRDC" team, headed by Ms. Joan Salute from Ames Management, convenes in HQ.  A period of 90 days has been allocated to their effort  IFPTE has two representatives on the team.  More to follow.
• NASA Human Capital Workforce Plan goes into effect July 8, 2004.
• NASA Headquarters schedules "Shelter-In-Place" for May 20, 2004. All HQ employees are strongly advised to participate fully in the exercise that may save lives in the event of a catastrophic occurrence in Washington. The Union endorses the activity and supports its goals and purpose. Watch your information sources for details.
• NASA releases a brochure about its workforce plan to be distributed to all NASA employees by May, 2004.  A copy is here for you to read. The latest news on the Workforce Plan is that it is being prepared for submission to Congress. As reported in the press, the Plan was approved by OPM, which cleared the way for the next steps. Once the plan has been submitted to Congress, the 90 day clock starts; at the end of the 90 days, NASA will be able to begin using the new authorities.
• IFPTE Federal Caucus, March 18-24, 2004. IFPTE Council of Locals representatives held a personal meeting with Administrator O'Keefe on March 19. Mr. O'Keefe pledged continued support of joint IFPTE and NASA efforts to improve the NASA workforce and working conditions.  IFPTE President Junemann shook hands with him and praised NASA for its willingness to work with the unions to achieve common goals.  NCIL President Wes Darbro led a discussion regarding the new NASA Exploration initiative, and O'Keefe answered questions about its origins and execution, which opens the door to a bright future for NASA and its workforce.
• NASA Human Capital Legislation Passes Congress, January 28, 2004.
• NASA Headquarters Initiates New Time & Attendance System -- beginning in March 2004, described in the briefing linked herein.
• NASA to Begin Using Smart Cards for Entry Security -- NHPA secures pledge that time and attendance will not be measured using the new technology.
• New Elements Required for Performance Standards to be enacted --  NASA Headquarters will be using new performance standards and elements for all employees, beginning with a test phase in February.  Documents about the changes are attached.
• Bush Attacks All U.S. Workers' Overtime Pay Provisions and Protections -- President Bush has vowed on 11/24/2003 to destroy overtime pay provisions by threatening veto of legislation to override new rules which violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the very Act that protects all workers from the excesses of unfair labor practices.  Members are encouraged to take active roles in fighting these abuses on their own time.
• NHPA Forum on Safety and Mission Success held at HQ 11/21/2003. Slides are included here.
• White paper on Human Life Sciences Research on ISS and STS leaked from JSC on November 4, 2003 causes serious concerns for the human spaceflight program.
• Telecon to discuss new legislation impacting NASA HR policies on November 4, 2003 included a presentation on Human Capital Legislation, and discussion on three documents. One on a series of white position papers, the Legislative Workforce Plan, and on the Competency Management System.
• Pamela Barnes, NHPA Treasurer, makes a presentation at Blacks in Government (BIG) Seminar at NASA HQ October 29, 2003, on the Nine Merit System Principles. These are key elements in the new NASA-sponsored legislation supported by IFPTE, which is also outlined in the talk.
• Local 9 Elections were conducted in early October, 2003, and the results are posted in our Officers section.
• IFPTE Triennual Convention, Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii, July 28-31, 2003.  Strength Through Unity was the mantra for this meeting, wherein the world's fastest growing union met to build its numbers to 75,000 members with the addition of the 6,000 professionals of the Canadian Society of Engineers ("the Society").  Rich Trumka, the AFL/CIO's capable Secretary-Treasurer, gave a rousing speech calling for all union members everywhere to unite to bring down the political enemies of families, jobs, and the modern labor movement.  The AFL/CIO's call to OEM (Organize, Educate, and Mobilize) our bargaining units was met with a standing ovation.  Clayola Brown, VP of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE!) and the NAACP, called in a moving speech for us to gather our forces to gain the respect of our opponents.  IFPTE President Junemann called for us to contribute money to the IFPTE PAC to center and focus our political power, joining forces with the PACs from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, and others to gain a footing for pro-labor (and pro-federal employee) policies.  Information on contributing to the IFPTE PAC is located on our "Join the Union" page.
• Formation of New NASA Council of Locals conducted on July 25, 2003 in Honolulu, HI, with election of Wes Darbro (Local 27) as President, Paul Davis (Local 30) as VP, Steve Leete (Local 29) as Secretary, and Sheila Bailey (Local 28) as Treasurer. The Council met shortly thereafter to affirm its constitution and bylaws, and to follow a set of guiding principles in its deliberations. Pictures of this meeting and other activities at the Convention are at this location.
• IFPTE endorses NASA Human Resources Legislation -- On June 25, 2003, Matt Biggs of the IFPTE announced that the IFPTE had joined forces with NASA to support our need to revamp HR laws to enable hiring and promotion of critical NASA staff.
• Shuttle Return to Flight -- In the three months following the Columbia tragedy, dedicated union member engineers and scientists from inside and outside of NASA banded together in an effort to provide NASA with new technology designed to make the Shuttle system safer to fly, offering NASA management a tremendous gift of 44 proposals to save the manned spaceflight program.  This information is documented at a world-accessible web site located here.
• PAVE is a Pilot Program that will enable HQ managers and supervisors to advertise special project opportunities to NASA HQ employees.  Specific employees can be targeted depending on the skills or experience needed (for example, engineers, SES, professional/administrative). Details about the program are here.
• Loss of the Columbia, February 1, 2003
• NHPA notifies bargaining unit members about the health problem involving computer monitor flicker on Microsoft Windows PCs. This document was sent out to members on November 12, 2002.
• NHPA elections held in October, 2002.  The slate of Rick Zwierko, Rhoda Hornstein, Ron Moyer and Pamela Barnes are elected as President, VP, Secretary, and Treasurer is elected and Pamela Richardson, Paul Curto and Bill Green are elected as Trustees.
• Telecommuting Policy approved for use of all HQ employees, after over five years of negotiations with management, NASA finally agrees that this is a win-win situation for all concerned, September, 2002.

• First meeting of the NASA Council of Locals and Administrator O'Keefe, May 21, 2002.
  
  Standing from left:  Igor Eberstein (GSFC), Paul Curto (HQ), Rick Zwierko, (HQ), Stephen Leete (GSFC), Angel Pagan and Barry Wilson (GRC),  Lee Stone and Paul Davis (ARC),  Clara Welch (MSFC), Vicki Novak (HQ Code F), Pamela Barnes (HQ), Hillard Harrison (HQ Code F), and seated are  Terry Eleftherion, Eastern Federal VP of IFPTE, Sean O'Keefe (NASA Administrator), Ben Toyama, IFPTE Western Federal VP, and Wes Darbro (MSFC).
• New NASA Administrator, Sean O'Keefe, confirmed by the U.S. Senate, December 20, 2001.
• NHPA and HQ management (Code C) have reached formal agreement on office space policy, signed December 19, 2001.  All GS-15s should get offices as a result of this agreement as Codes are restacked.
• Anthrax spores detected at NASA HQ in the Administrator's Correspondence Unit, November, 2001.
• Center for Disease Control public broadcasts on bioterrorism on NASA TV, Channel 40, on several dates, as per the following website: http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/phtn/default.asp.  Next broadcast, Thursday, December 6, 1:00 to 2:30 P.M.
• Anthrax detected in Washington and New York, October, 2001.
• The Day of Terrorism in New York and Washington: September 11, 2001.
• Existing NHPA Officers and Trustees confirmed for another term, September, 2001.
• NHPA (IFPTE Local 9) election of officers and trustees, August 8-24, 2001.
• NASA Headquarters management has agreed as of July 31, 2001 to acquire and install Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) throughout the building after NHPA pushes AED deployment as a safety and health issue impacting our membership.
• First meeting on the reconstitution of the NASA Council of Locals, July 26, 2001.  All Locals were present and unanimously agreed to review proposed Charter and report back to the bargaining units before the next Council meeting in August or September, where a vote to accept or reject should be made.
• Annual Federal Caucus, Silver Spring, MD. 20-22 May, 2002.
• VITS of the meeting of the officers of the NASA Locals, where the NASA Council of Locals was officially dissolved as "dormant", by order of the IFPTE President, May 22, 2001.
• President Rick Zwierko elected as chair of a constitutional committee to rewrite a charter of a reconstituted NASA Council of Locals to be incorporated at the next meeting of the Presidents of the NASA Locals, May 22, 2001.
• Annual Federal Caucus, Silver Spring, MD. 5-8 May, 2001.