Goddard Town Hall Was Not A Happy Affair
Keith’s note: There was a Town Hall at Goddard on Monday. Multiple employees have reported that this event was tense. There were security guards posted in the back of the overflow room. According to people who attended the Town Hall, NASA is trying to avoid involuntary RIFs as much as possible but all of this is TBD until the new Administrator shows up to review/approve plans. NASA GISS folks will telework until September until office space in New York City can be found. It would seem that the GISS lease decision was made by NASA and GSA DOGE teams. A DOGE representative told the GSFC Center Director that GISS work had value and that DOGE just had an issue with the lease cost. This is in conflict with a report that it would not be cheaper and would be disruptive (see “NASA Is Terminating The GISS Lease In Five Weeks“). The GSFC Center Director spoke about telework, saying that it is decided by direct line managers as per agency policy. However, it’s clear to folks at GSFC that managers are simply following orders from the directorate level – and each GSFC directorate head has established separate and inconsistent policies.
12 responses to “Goddard Town Hall Was Not A Happy Affair”
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I still don’t think the Columbia protest optics did any favors for GISS.
Why should it matter though? This administration wants liberty and expression for themselves, not anyone else.
I normally apply Hanlon’s razor, which in this case seems appropriate given DOGE’s proven ineptitude. They don’t understand cost or value. However, even by DOGE’s standards, the cancelation of the GISS lease and how it is implemented really smells of malice. One must remember the infamous quote by Russell Vought: “We want bureaucrats to be traumatically affected”.
Optics? After 50+ years in that building, 3.2 million rent per year in a building Columbia owns doesn’t look defensible. Thats 25,000 a year per desk for 130 workers, it can’t be that the GISS employs 130 civil servants either, do they? No surprise if the town hall was testy, giving GISS remote work after pulling civil servants back into their offices at Goddard must have gone over real well in Greenbelt.
It appears that, the center director (and HR representative) were caught off guard as to what has (or hasn’t) been happening with the available Situational Telework (or Hybrid) from the direct line managers.
Did the raising of inconsistencies open an unwanted “can of worms”?
They 100% know about the inconsistencies AND which directorate is denying all Situational Telework requests. *cough cough 500 cough cough * I was surprised they appeared surprised.
I’m well aware of 500’s policy. I wonder if they didn’t want the 500 folks to publicly know about the “inconsistencies” with other Center Directorates and that’s why the HR rep stepped in to shut it down.
I think telework is a privilege not a right and everyone should be grateful to work for such a great place.
True, and everyone is really honored and passionate to work at NASA, though even pre-COVID there we folks that had unique/hardship situations that had the ability to not really telework, but have a hybrid schedule (as needed), or just the option for occasional flexibility.
Right. And it’s one person at 500, Matt Ritsko, who is arbitrarily denying it and the ability for people to report to their closest duty station. Ironic considering his wife teleworks.
hilarious you think he’s the big bad wolf doing this to you and not just executing the presidents orders and cowardly of you to call someone out in an open forum like this and not just ask for a one on one if it’s really bothering you
It’s hilarious that you think a one on one will make a difference. I’ve had several and continue to get hardline responses and disingenuous rationales from directorate management.