Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!mcgill-vision!snorkelwacker!usc!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ames!skipper!shafer From: shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer) Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle Subject: Re: Why is voluntary work excluded? Message-ID: Date: 12 Sep 90 15:15:51 GMT References: <3876@sactoh0.SAC.CA.US> <1990Sep4.001018.4034@zoo.toronto.edu> <1990Sep10.054830.27039@nmt.edu> Sender: shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov Organization: NASA Dryden, Edwards, Cal. Lines: 38 In-reply-to: nraoaoc@nmt.edu's message of 10 Sep 90 05:48:30 GMT In article <1990Sep10.054830.27039@nmt.edu> nraoaoc@nmt.edu (Daniel Briggs) writes: In article shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer) writes: >So short of funds that we've all gotten the dreaded furlough letter. >NASA is legally required to give us 30 days notice of a furlough and >the letter says it may be as long as 22 days. At this time, >management is predicting that we'll only be in a non-pay status for >one day in October. Non-pay status means that we don't get paid and >we can't come to work, even as volunteers. I'm just curious, Mary, as to why voluntary work is specifically excluded. Is it simply that they want to *completely* close down in the installation, (ie. heaters, janitors, non-gate guards, and so on) and that anyone coming into the work area would be a problem this way, or is there some more obscure reason? Shutting down the facility won't save any R&PM money, since janitors, guards, power, etc come out of a different fund. I think that there are two reasons. The first is to protect the troops from demands by management for non-voluntary voluntary work. The second, more minor issue is liability and responsibility. Also, I think there's some brinksmanship going on here. The USDA is saying, for example, that food processing and meat packing plants will have to be shut down due to the lack of inspectors. If the inspectors come trooping in anyway, there'd go that bit of leverage. I personally believe that the whole thing demonstrates a remarkable lack of leadership and courage on the part of Congress and the Administration, but I don't want to be accused of lobbying, so I won't launch into my jeremiad on the topic. -- Mary Shafer shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov ames!skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov!shafer NASA Ames Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA Of course I don't speak for NASA "A MiG at your six is better than no MiG at all"--Unknown US fighter pilot