Federal workers organize to block the sequester

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| By Eric Pianin, The Fiscal Times

About 6,000 employees have filed appeals with the Merit Systems Protection Board to block furloughs or recover lost pay that is resulting from the sequester.

As Congress slips closer to a second round of across-the-board budget cuts and government furloughs this fall, federal workers have begun to fight back.

With nearly one in two federal workers facing enforced unpaid leaves of absence to help meet stringent deficit reduction mandated by sequestration, about 6,000 employees have filed appeals with the Merit Systems Protection Board to block the furloughs or recover lost pay. Meanwhile, labor unions are galvanizing public employees across the country to fight the sequester and are taking their case to Capitol Hill.

During a hearing Tuesday morning before the Senate Budget Committee, Jennifer-Cari Green, a secretary at the Madigan Army Medical Center in Washington State and the single mother of a six-year-old son, said that she had struggled to make ends meet under a three-year military pay freeze even before the sequester hit. Now she calculates that her take-home pay will drop from $1,477 a month to $1,008 through the end of September (the end of the fiscal year) as she is forced to take 11 days of furlough -- a 32% reduction over two weeks, or a 4.5% annual reduction.

"I live without luxuries, I don't have cable in my home, I don't go get my nails done, eat out frequently or do any of the things people generally think they will have to cut back on whenever times are tough," said Green, a member of Local 1502 of the American Federation of Government Employees in Tacoma. "I often hear people talk about 'tightening your belt,' but I have very few options available to me."

Instead, she said, she is falling dangerously close to the poverty line, even while she makes too much to qualify for food stamps or free school lunches for her son.

Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, an ardent foe of sequestration, said that Green's dilemma is emblematic of the hardships being imposed by mindless, across the board cuts in defense and domestic discretionary spending that both Democrats and Republicans voted for believing a better budget bargain would emerge.

That bargain never happened.

"At a time when too many Americans are still struggling to find work, civilian defense employees are being furloughed, and small businesses are struggling to stay afloat, our economic recovery and our military preparedness is suffering," she said.

"While I believe there are responsible spending cuts to be made in defense programs," she added, "the current across-the-board cuts and future arbitrary spending reductions over the next eight years as part of sequestration are not the answer."

Short of a miraculous turn-around by lawmakers and the administration Congress appears to be sliding toward a second year of sequestration -- meaning the slashed budgets of the current fiscal year will soon receive an equally unpopular sequel. The same political gridlock that set off the decade-long, $1.2 trillion sequestration last fall has only worsened in recent months. House Republicans and Senate Democrats have proven incapable of agreeing to the basic contours for a fiscal 2014 budget. Nor can they work together on immigration reform, farm legislation and food stamps.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., ridiculed the sequester as "stupidity on steroids" on Tuesday because it leaves most departments and agencies with little leeway to find savings without cutting into the bone of government programs or forcing temporary unpaid layoffs.

Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the Budget Committee, agreed the sequester is not the ideal way to go about cutting spending. But he insisted that "the matter that we are facing today has been made substantially worse" by the fact that President Obama prevented his defense chiefs from doing substantial advanced planning to gradually phase in the inevitable cuts."

"And I've heard from many people that the furloughs that may be necessary to some degree could have been avoided in many instances, but it was determined [by the White House] that to do the furloughs . . . was a way to politically drive the issue," Sessions said.

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Detroit's long shot: A federal bailout

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| By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

Any argument that Detroit can improve the services to its citizens on its own seems misguided, given the constraints of bankruptcy.

Detroit may have filed for bankruptcy, but it's not looking for a federal bailout . . . yet.

It all raises a question as to whether a city in decline for six decades can magically turn around with a slew of court filings -- and almost no outside help.

Vice President Joe Biden has acknowledged that "we don't know at this point" what types of aid can come from Washington. House Republicans were reluctant earlier this year to help the victims of Superstorm Sandy, so it's doubtful as to why they would endorse aiding a city government infamous for its corruption and mismanagement.

"I think it's very difficult right now to ask directly for support," Detroit Mayor Dave Bing told ABC News' "This Week" on Sunday.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder went even further, indicating that he does not expect federal dollars to revive Motown, a city that he put under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager in March. That manager, bankruptcy lawyer Kevyn Orr, took over a city with $18 billion in debt and decided last week to seek Chapter 9 protection. The predicament looked so dire that Orr took an inventory of the city's zoo animals and art holdings.

"It's not just about putting more money in a situation," Snyder told CBS News' "Face the Nation." "It's about better services to citizens again. It's about accountable government."

On "Fox News Sunday," Orr, the city manager, said his strategy is based on Washington staying at a distance. "We are not expecting the cavalry to come charging in," he said. "We are out here on outpost and we have to fix it because we dug the hole. And that's the assumption that we are operating on."

But any argument that Detroit can improve the services to its citizens on its own seems misguided, given the constraints of bankruptcy. Restoring the balance sheet will mean cutting department budgets further. Borrowing will become ever harder for a place that once branded itself as "Renaissance City," while top city officials spend more of their time dealing with finances instead of constituents. For the next several months, lawyers, creditors, and representatives for city pension plans will be haggling over a settlement.

At the same time, the Motor City still must provide basic services to 700,000 residents. Trash must be collected. Snow-filled streets must be plowed. Children must be educated. Crime must be stopped, or at least -- given the 58-minute response time of the Detroit Police Department -- minimized.

It's unclear exactly how Detroit can finance those services without an outside influx of cash. When General Motors and Chrysler began the path to bankruptcy in 2008, the two automakers -- companies stitched into Detroit's DNA -- received about $60 billion in federal loans to keep operating.

State and local taxes generated $2.3 billion in revenue for Detroit last year, according to an April report by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan. It had a deficit of $326.6 million. That deficit would be close to zero if revenues had still approached the $2.59 billion the city received in 2002.

The problem has been caused by a shriveling population -- down from 1.85 million in 1950 -- and a dwindling tax base. Real estate listings indicate that a home worth more than $1 million in the nation's capital would barely command an $11,000 asking price in Detroit.

The population flight has been so great that when the Michigan governor was asked about specifics to turnaround the city he cited a partnership with the federal government to tear down 78,000 abandoned houses in 30 days.

Clearing those homes -- much like the bankruptcy filing -- should theoretically help clear away much of the debris that has interfered with Detroit's ability to function. But it is still reeling from the loss of people, the disappearance of middle class jobs as the auto industry downsized, mismanagement in City Hall, and a corrupt political class. Former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been in-and-out of prison since 2008.

Bing indicated that a plan to continue services during bankruptcy proceedings -- let alone enhance them as Snyder indicated -- has yet to be determined.

"We have to have an organized plan," he said, "so we know that whatever we get is going to be invested where we can maximize the return on the investment and give the people the kind of services that they need, give them the idea that they can live in this city and be safe."

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Flatulent federal worker's reprimand is rescinded

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A redacted copy of the SSA flatulence reprimand letter was posted to The Smoking Gun website.

By Ben Popken, TODAY contributor
It sounds like a "Dilbert" cartoon come to life, but the Social Security Administration has taken back a reprimand it gave to an employee who was written up for "passing gas and releasing an unpleasant odor" that created a "hostile work environment."

The official charge was "Conduct unbecoming a Federal employee." More specifically, "On September 7, 2012, and continuing, you disrupted the work floor by passing gas and releasing an unpleasant odor."

A copy of the letter, along with a picture of the employee at an amusement park standing next to an actor in a Pepe Le Pew costume, was published on TheSmokingGun.com.

The letter included a timestamped log accurate to the minute, documenting 60 separate-gas passing incidents from the employee in his office in three months, or about 9 per day.

The average person passes gas 14 times per day.

Medical conditions such as Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and lactose intolerance, can cause sufferers to have chronic gas problems. The employee told management he was lactose intolerant.

"You have submitted medical evidence that you have some medical conditions," the letter read, "however, nothing that you have submitted has indicated that you would have uncontrollable flatulence. It is my belief that you can control this condition."

Several of the employee's coworkers in the "module," or work area, had complained to management about the smell. A supervisor, Deputy Division Director and a Module Manager all spoke with the employee on separate occasions about his need to control his flatulence.

"You said that you would try to pass gas and that you would turn your fan on when it happens," the Module Manager wrote of a discussion that took place on May 18, 2012. "I explained to you that turning on the fan would cause the smell to spread and worsen the air quality in the module."

On August 14th the employee promised to purchase "Gas X" in order to limit his gas output.

Another incident, dated August 15th, noted "you have continued to release the odor and it has become intolerable to work in the module creating a hostile work environment for all your coworkers."

The letter quoted guidelines from the "Annual Personnel Reminder" and "2012 SSA/AFGE National Agreement" which the Module Manager claimed the employee had violated, including "courtesy and consideration while dealing with coworkers" and "refrain from coercive, intimidating, loud or abusive behavior."

If the "misconduct" was continued after the reprimand letter, it could lead to "more severe disciplinary action...including, removal from federal service."

Reached for comment, SSA spokesperson Mark Hinkle told TODAY, "A reprimand was issued to the employee; however, when senior management became aware of the reprimand it was rescinded on December 17, 2012. The agency cannot comment further due to privacy concerns. "

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