National Security Personnel System
NSPS Officially Repealed as President Obama Signs Defense Bill
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Randy Erwin,
Legislative Director Phone: (202) 257-0948
Today, President Obama signed the 2010 National Defense Authorization
Act. Included in the bill was a provision to repeal the
controversial National Security Personnel System (NSPS). The bill
also contained several small provisions impacting retirement benefits
for the federal workforce.
The National Federation of Federal Employees, a union representing
100,000 federal employees nationwide, including 50,000 in the U.S.
Department of Defense (DoD), praise President Obama and Congress for
their support of this legislation, including the bold decision to repeal
NSPS.
“We applaud President Obama and Congress for their bold decision to
repeal this anti-worker personnel system,” said William R. Dougan,
National President of the National Federation of Federal Employees.
“This shows that they are seriously committed to building a stronger,
more just federal workplace in DoD.”
The NSPS provisions in the bill dictate a repeal of the system, and a
conversion of the over 200,000 covered employees back into existing pay
systems by January 1, 2012. NSPS workers will be guaranteed the
full annual GS pay adjustment over the transitional period.
Also included in the Defense Bill are provisions offering employees
enrolled in the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) credit for
their unused sick leave upon retirement, and extending locality pay to
workers stationed outside of the mainland United States – both critical
NFFE priorities.
“We are pleased to see that these crucial federal pay and retirement
benefits have finally been extended to everyone in the federal
workforce,” said Dougan. “These are just common sense policies that are
really going to make a difference for employee morale and the
performance of federal agencies.”
The most important development, however, is undoubtedly the demise of
NSPS. NFFE and its sister unions in the federal sector have fought
vigorously for over six years to bring an end to the anti-union,
anti-worker personnel system. Now that the system is repealed, both
federal employees and their unions can breathe a sigh of relief.
“We had to pull out all the stops in this NSPS fight because we knew
that we were fighting for our very existence” said Dougan. “NSPS
is clearly an unjust system. This system has harbored
discriminatory pay practices and it is the least transparent pay system
we have ever seen. We knew we had to beat it, and today we finally did.
This is a proud day for NFFE and our membership.”
Media Releases
Remembering a Strong Advocate and Good Friend
By Joe Davidson Thursday, August 27, 2009
NFFE Opposes Recommendation to Reconstruct NSPS
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Panel recommends reform of Pentagon pay system
By Alex M. Parker Govexec.com July 16, 2009
Senate panel backs bill to ax NSPS
By STEPHEN LOSEY Federal Times.com June 26, 2009
House sounds death knell for Pentagon pay-for-performance system
Kellie Lunney Govexec.com June 25, 2009
Administration calls language gutting Pentagon pay system 'premature'
Amelia Gruber Govexec.com June 24, 2009
Panel backs bill that could spell end of Defense pay system
Alex M. Parker Govexec.com June 16, 2009
DoD, OPM Release New Details on NSPS Review
National Federation of Federal Employees, May 15, 2009
Pay for performance debate centers on incentives
Alex M. Parker Govexec.com April 13, 2009
Personnel pick remains flexible on pay-for-performance systems
Alyssa Rosenberg Govexec.com March 26, 2009
Pentagon suspends NSPS conversions
Alyssa Rosenberg Govexec.com March 16, 2009
Pentagon's Personnel System Under Fire
By Joe Davidson washingtonpost.com February 20, 2009
Lawmakers urge halt to NSPS pending review
Brittany R. Ballenstedt Govexec.com February 13, 2009
Lawmakers urge Pentagon to halt transfer of employees to NSPS
STEPHEN LOSEY Federal Times February 13, 2009
Union outlines legislative agenda.
Obama will support significant changes to the National Security
Personnel System
By Alyssa Rosenberg Govexec.com February 4, 2009
Pentagon drops plans to convert union employees to NSPS
Brittany R. Ballenstedt Govexec.com September 30, 2008
Defense to probe fairness of pay for performance system
Brittany R. Ballenstedt Govexec.com September 11, 2008
GAO: Defense should address employee concerns with personnel system
Brittany R. Ballenstedt Govexec.com
August 22, 2008
Official Documents
Final Rule in the Federal Register (January 16, 2009 )
Stay informed. Knowledge is power.
Talking Points for NSPS
NFFE response letter to initial NSPS document
NFFE FL7 response
to District 1