General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFederal employees:
How do you plan to survive the next four years? What do you see as the biggest challenge your agency will face?
haele
(13,711 posts)Stay honest. Stay professional. Keep your head down.
Ask the honest Russians how they do it.
It's looking to become really difficult to quit, especially since everyone is looking at working for a petty mob boss or oligarch.
If you can afford to quit, it's still not going to be easy.
COL Mustard
(7,031 posts)Our oath is to the Constitution, not to any particular administration.
Its going to be a bumpy ride for many of us.
2naSalit
(94,011 posts)I was one of the first impacted by the federal hiring freeze. Remember that? I ended up applying for disability and moved into my car for ten months while I waited for my determination. I effectively and unofficially retired then and there. It was brutal and I don't recommend that route but it was my only option by then. I was already 61 and not going to get hired in the private sector so I bailed and am glad I did.
Eight years later I have managed, with my SSDI and now SSI, to stay housed since the award. Now I am thinking I need to be in a different location, like a blue state.
I will leave the country if I have to, rather not but if I had to.
keithbvadu2
(40,730 posts)madville
(7,496 posts)Sure there might be some small changes here and there but the funding and responsibilities of each specific agency is defined by Congress, most major changes have to come from them. I worked under Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden before I retired, started with DOT and ended under DHS. I cant really think of much that was notably different for the employee from one administration to the next besides a few brief government shutdowns during that time. Federal bureaucracy is convoluted and not very efficient, makes major changes difficult and incredibly slow especially since it takes a few years minimum to litigate pretty much everything, not much can be done in just a 4 year term.
COL Mustard
(7,031 posts)I'm pretty much immune from Schedule F since I'm retirement eligible right now, but many others aren't. Then there's the general unpredictability of the new people. What programs will they stop? Will there be a hiring freeze? Pay freeze? Etc. etc. They really don't understand what we do, and they really don't care.
Ping Tung
(1,493 posts)Firstvice to current Fed employees: Join or form a strong union.
Or, look up the words "Wildcat Strike".
In 1970 postal worker unions weren't recognized and it was against the law for them to strike. The workers struck anyway in some large cities which were hubs. Nixon responded by sending in the army to sort and deliver the mail. Then the bosses had to negotiate. Then we won. Pay doubled, the unions were recognized , safety rules became mandatory and split shifts were forbidden among other gains.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win . Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi but originated from an American Union activist named Nicholas Klein,
A hat tip to DU member Celerity for pointing out the misquote to me.