ontrack
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Post by ontrack on Apr 7, 2011 15:37:51 GMT -5
I know some of you on the board are also federal government workers. What are you doing to prepare for a possible shutdown? I have been notified that I am not essential to protecting life and property so will be furloughed if it happens. I have enough in savings to last me months, but it would put a definite damper on wedding savings. Ideas? Also, please spare me any posts about how gov't workers are leeches on society.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Apr 7, 2011 15:39:58 GMT -5
I'm one of 3 essential people out of our team of 30, so I'll be working.
I just found this out yesterday. I still haven't gotten a definite answer on whether or not I'll be paid for this time however, which is needless to say a little disconcerting.
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8 Bit WWBG
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Post by 8 Bit WWBG on Apr 7, 2011 15:41:50 GMT -5
I could have written the above myself. I have some savings, and am also saving for a wedding. I do not believe that I should have to suffer because somebody else has to play politics.
What more CAN I do at this point? At this point I have what I have. Historically it either comes down to the wire, or closures are very short and we get back pay. I'm already living somewhat lean, and don't have a lot of non-essential services/commitments. Its not as if I can suddenly slash half my expenditures.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Apr 7, 2011 15:42:04 GMT -5
I'm one of 3 essential people out of our team of 30, so I'll be working. But will you be getting paid through the shut down?
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❤ mollymouser ❤
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Post by ❤ mollymouser ❤ on Apr 7, 2011 15:48:48 GMT -5
My wonderful DH is active duty military ~ which means he gets to work, but won't get paid until a funding measure is passed.
Of course, every time he deploys, his local pay people mess up his pay anyway, so we're amazingly resilient and accustomed to his working and not getting a timely or accurate paycheck.
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ontrack
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Post by ontrack on Apr 7, 2011 15:49:38 GMT -5
I know that historically people were paid retroactively regardless of whether they worked, but I don't think that will happen in the current political climate. It is my understanding that if you do work, you will get paid for your time worked, it will just have to wait until they pass a funding bill.
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Post by robbase on Apr 7, 2011 16:07:23 GMT -5
"My wonderful DH is active duty military ~ which means he gets to work, but won't get paid until a funding measure is passed."
Don't count on it----how would that go over politicaly to have people in a warzone not being paid?
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Apr 7, 2011 16:24:22 GMT -5
Gates has been on television telling the troops they will not get paid until this is all resolved.
I am concerned about my federal pension and whether or not I will receive it on May 2. I haven't been saving long enough to be resilient enough to make it without my pension.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Apr 7, 2011 16:26:51 GMT -5
Hey Rob, not pay lots of people who have guns and the airplanes to get them to Washington? That would be interesting!
I can see it now.
Mr. Congressman, I'm here for my check! Oh, do you have someplace where I can put down my SAM?
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ontrack
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Post by ontrack on Apr 7, 2011 16:27:17 GMT -5
I am concerned about my federal pension and whether or not I will receive it on May 2. I haven't been saving long enough to be resilient enough to make it without my pension. May 2 is a ways away. I'm hopeful that if there is a shutdown it won't be more than a week or so.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Apr 7, 2011 16:43:09 GMT -5
I know that historically people were paid retroactively regardless of whether they worked, but I don't think that will happen in the current political climate. It is my understanding that if you do work, you will get paid for your time worked, it will just have to wait until they pass a funding bill. That's what we're hearing too, just "don't count on it". I'll find out if I'm considered essential or not after tomorrow night. Our management is worried about people's reactions to being considered "good enough or not". Last rumor I heard was that each supervisor will be allowed to pick 7 people to work. I'll find out this weekend if I'm one of those 7. I'll be ok, I have money in savings to get me by, but if it does happen and my boss chooses the fact that he doesn't like me over the fact that I'm (honestly) one of the best he has, that it only lasts a week. It's still undetermind if we can apply for UE if it lasts several weeks. Nothing I can do about it now, I've proven myself for over 10 years and that's all I could do. So now, I wait. If I get furloughed, well, DS is out of school Monday so we'll go do something special. I have a ton of work at home to get done so I'll do that. Financially I think I'm set to last it out for over a month, but I've been throwing all the extra money I have at the dream house so it would suck to have to stop doing that for too long.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Apr 7, 2011 16:54:44 GMT -5
I am concerned about my federal pension and whether or not I will receive it on May 2. I haven't been saving long enough to be resilient enough to make it without my pension. May 2 is a ways away. I'm hopeful that if there is a shutdown it won't be more than a week or so. I know and I'm sure it's all automated for people who are already on a federal pension. I also have a dear friend who will loan me the money if need be until we get our pension.
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Mardi Gras Audrey
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Post by Mardi Gras Audrey on Apr 7, 2011 19:59:09 GMT -5
You should all file for unemployment. The govt is essentially laying everyone off by saying that there is no work/pay for them. Maybe if all the fed civilians and military filed for UE in their home of residence it would get the states to pressure the feds to get something done.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Apr 7, 2011 22:47:38 GMT -5
We've already been told we may not qualify for UE--it's up the the state. I was told if the state considers it a lockout, tough luck.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2011 22:51:29 GMT -5
We've already been told we may not qualify for UE--it's up the the state. I was told if the state considers it a lockout, tough luck. Really? So they get to somewhat "lay you off" but you have no recourses to recuperate any of the income you lost? I heard this happened in the past, anyone knows how the process work then? Did the government/federal employees get back pay or were they able to file for unemployment?
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Apr 7, 2011 23:00:31 GMT -5
In the past the furloughed employees got back pay. Because of the economic situation now they will not say if furloughed employees will get back pay or not. We got an email at the very end of the day that said we are allowed to use our vacation time to get paid (earlier this week they said we could not use vacation time). BUT...if you DO use your vacation time and they decide to back-pay, you WILL not get that time back and you won't get "extra" so it would be just like taking a regular vacation. I'm not going to use my leave unless it goes on for at least two months (I doubt it would be that long). I'll use my savings and hope for the best.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Apr 8, 2011 3:02:04 GMT -5
It is a little concerning. I started with a new agency in mid march and didn't get my first paycheck. I corrected the error today but if the government shuts down I may not get paid for my first two pay periods until after the shutdown. It could end up being months until I get my paychecks for the first two pay periods I worked. I have enough savings to last a few months, so I'm not going to starve or anything. I'm a little peeved that we (federal employees) have to pay because congress can't do their jobs. But a little vacation does sound nice . "Our management is worried about people's reactions to being considered "good enough or not"." I'm not sure why, how good you are at your job or not has nothing to do with being furloughed. Why would they tie their self worth to what's going on in Washington? I was designated "non exempt" and I don't view it as not being good enough. It's not like it's a disciplinary action. I haven't heard anything about supvervisors selecting so many people to keep working. I would doubt that would be the case. It's wheather the powers that be deem you "essential to life or protection of property." I don't think anyone really knows what's going on. We had a "all hands" meeting and my impression was even the director of the interior didn't even know what is going on much more than we do. It just leads to a lot of rumors and speculation.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Apr 8, 2011 3:03:56 GMT -5
"So they get to somewhat "lay you off" but you have no recourses to recuperate any of the income you lost?"
Well, according to the OPM website, you can file for unemployment, but there's usually a waiting period (a week or two usually). I doubt a shutdown would last longer than a few days. As always, unemployment is a state issue so it varies considerably from state to state.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Apr 8, 2011 7:02:04 GMT -5
The agency I work for is a little "different" than most government agencies. We have direct funding and appropriated funding, so any work under direct funding can still be worked. I don't know what percentage of our work is direct exactly. We also have some work that, by law, have to get done. So, they will be able to have people work those jobs, but there's not enough work to cover all the crews. So, some people will be kept on to work these and some would be furloughed. As an electrician, in theory, I'm interchangeable with every other electrician at my pay grade. Of course, in real life, we all have different ability levels. There are some "electricians" I don't trust to do anything more than change light bulbs. We have a guy that can't even fix a simple, two wire lighting circuit, but he's supposed to be "equal" to someone else at his paygrade (fortunately I'm a paygrade above him). This is where the picking and choosing comes in. We have a few kiss asses that don't do anything all day but bullshit with the boss and play on the computer, but, because the boss is an insecure prick, these guys are "the golden children". Now, if the proverbial crap hits the fan, these guys would be lost. They aren't troubleshooters, they aren't good electricians, and it would take them 10 times as long to get something back up and running than it would the "top" electricians. We had a crane start tripping and after two days of troubleshooting by four different guys on one crew (we have two electrical crews) my boss sent me over to work on it. Now, I've never been trained on ANYTHING to do with cranes, and all I'd ever even touched on this one was the load cells, not the hoist drives. But I had that crane running by the end of the day. While doing so I found settings changed that they never should have touched. Stuff like this is pretty constant. Someone screws up or something breaks down and they have someone fiddle with it for a while, but when they want it fixed and want it fixed NOW, they send me in to do it. Of course, by then someone has done all kinds of stuff to it so it's harder to troubleshoot, but I always get it. So, for me and people like me, if the boss chooses the kiss ass to work but not me (because I'm "non-essential" compared to them) you can bet we'll be just a little ticked. I'll also know, 100% without doubt, just where management's priority lies, keeping their useless friends working, or doing what's best for the project. Oh, my boss does not like me because when we worked together, he was only one year ahead of me in the training program, I turned him down (he was married, but I would have turned him down anyway). My old foreman hates me because the boss hates me and he's a follower. Also because I stood up to him when he literally yelled and screamed at me (he always had temper tantrum and yelled at others or at the crew as a whole, but, I'm an adult, I'm good at my job, and I DON'T get yelled at, he wasn't happy when I didn't just take it like everyone else).
We had an "all hands" meeting yesterday too (our "friday") and got the same thing. They really don't know what they will do, we are just supposed to show up Monday and, if a budget is not passed yet, we'll find out then.
So, I guess the point is, how would you feel, being deemed "non-essential" if the guy sitting next to you, with the same exact job title, same exact duties, who couldn't do his job and you were constantly bailing him out (because the boss told you too) was deemed "essential", simply because he is the boss's drinking buddy? I'd rather see the entire crew get told we're "non-essential" than the boss to pick their buddies. Or, if you're on a good crew all the way around, if one guy is picked, but you aren't. There is one supervisor that would have a horrible time picking, he has a great crew, and with about 40 people, there are only 3 or 4 that are kind of worthless, the others all bust their butts every day to get the job done fast and safe.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2011 7:34:57 GMT -5
"So they get to somewhat "lay you off" but you have no recourses to recuperate any of the income you lost?" Well, according to the OPM website, you can file for unemployment, but there's usually a waiting period (a week or two usually). I doubt a shutdown would last longer than a few days. As always, unemployment is a state issue so it varies considerably from state to state. Ok and it truly sucks! As usual, a few idiots can't do their jobs and others might end up paying for it
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2011 7:42:25 GMT -5
I don't think state employees who are forced to take furloughs a few times a month in order to balance their dept.'s budgets are eligible for unemployment. One could argue that there are also idiots there that couldn't do their job and others end up paying for it.
But everyone tells those employees just to be "thankful."
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kccini9
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Post by kccini9 on Apr 8, 2011 8:37:06 GMT -5
My DH is active duty military. I'm not overly worried. We have money in savings, not a ton, but enough to get us through. Since we are overseas, I'm more worried about the commissaries closing. I can shop on the economy, but it won't be near as easy and I'll have to pull yen out which will end up costing me a lot more for groceries.
What kills me is all the articles I have read online about this. They all interview military wives who keep saying they have to live paycheck to paycheck. They have no other option. My DH is enlisted. We don't live paycheck to paycheck. It just pisses me off how these women go on and on about how they can barely afford to feed their 4 kids.
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Mardi Gras Audrey
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Post by Mardi Gras Audrey on Apr 8, 2011 9:42:18 GMT -5
KC,
I take it you were reading the article on Cnn.com? I read it too... as a former military member, it made me a little angry. The main wife profiled didn't work and had just bought a house. Maybe her and her husband should have budgeted with an e-fund and not had as many kids. She also could, gasp, get a a job (I know...the horror!)! I think one even made the comment that her "more important job" was being at home to mother her children. Well, most civilian families don't have the luxury of being single income and doing that "more important job" as their only job so I don't know how she expects a bunch of sympathy because the single wage earner isn't earning. It would be the same thing as if her hubby worked at GM or kellogg's and got laid off....the family should have had a backup plan...
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bobosensei
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Post by bobosensei on Apr 8, 2011 9:44:01 GMT -5
My DH is active duty army and currently deployed. We will be fine, but I do worry about the families of some of his junior enlisted soldiers. Since we are overseas we stand to lose more from the services that will be closed down such as the commissary, day care centers and other places that are staffed with nonessential employees. Either we won't be able to get products or services off post, or if we can it will come at a higher cost because of the exchange rate. You also have to think about the high number of families here that never leave post, never learn a word of German, and have no idea where to go or what to say if they have to shop off post.
DH has only ever had his pay messed up once in 7 years, and that happened to a large group and was deployment related. So yes, in theory, like molly said, most of these military families should have savings for emergencies. The reality is that they don't. When I worked for housing in the states it was amazing to see how the garbage cans of junior enlisted soldiers were overflowing after payday weekends. A lot of them live a high consumption lifestyle (or as high as the pay and credit they can get affords them) because they never think they will be without a check.
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bobosensei
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Post by bobosensei on Apr 8, 2011 9:53:04 GMT -5
I just read that CNN article. It was pretty disgusting. I can't believe the one military wife complaining that her husband was "just told that he wouldn't receive his next paycheck so they didn't have time to save money". Seriously, how about watch the news or read a paper?
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cael
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Post by cael on Apr 8, 2011 10:00:35 GMT -5
Makes me happy to be a municipal employee, we won't be affected thank goodness! My dad is a state employee, he should be fine too. I have a friend in the public health corps, and I don't know how she'll be affected, since she works for the FDA & they're sending her to school...
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Urban Chicago
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Post by Urban Chicago on Apr 8, 2011 10:11:57 GMT -5
Though I don't work for the government, my school relies heavily on federal money for students. I know they are on the chopping block, and we are all waiting with baited breath to see if we will get funding for the Summer.
I know that students not being able to go to Summer school is not the end of the world. However, with unemployment as it is, many have had no luck looking for Summer employment and had hoped to at least take some classes so they could graduate early.
I wish everyone who says "the kids can just work their way through school" could see some of these situations.
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ugga81
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Post by ugga81 on Apr 8, 2011 11:55:40 GMT -5
I'm a federal employee and was just told I'm "non-essential" in the case of a shutdown- which I'd already assumed. DH is also a fed employee and he is "essential". So basically, I won't work and won't get paid and he'll work and won't get paid until later. We'll be okay for a few months on our savings (we just bought a house and are still trying to get our savings built back up). We're paid ahead on several bills too.
I think many people are just like "hey you get a vacation". Sure... it's a vacation where I can't go anywhere or do anything because I don't want to spend money, I have no idea how long said "vacation" will be, and I'll basically be stressed out until I'm told I can work again. Once I get back to work I get to get caught back up on work that's stacked up in the time I've been gone.
One of the reasons I joined the government was because of its stability... I've been through layoffs in the private sector before. i thought by trading in higher salary in the private sector for security in the public sector I'd be better off. Turns out some spoiled brats can't get along and want to posture on CSPAN instead of taking care of the job they were hired to do. If I'd missed deadlines this much I'd be fired! In the end, I'll be fine (whether they do backpay or not). I won't be "stimulating" the economy and we'll cut way back until we are paid again. However, not a single one of those clowns will ever find their way onto one of my ballots ever again.
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skubikky
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Post by skubikky on Apr 8, 2011 12:04:05 GMT -5
\ One of the reasons I joined the government was because of its stability... I've been through layoffs in the private sector before. i thought by trading in higher salary in the private sector for security in the public sector I'd be better off. This is the first period of time that I can remember public sector employee layoffs/furloughs on such a large scale. What was once thought to provide security has certainly changed.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Apr 8, 2011 12:06:53 GMT -5
I hear you about military wives/famlies.
For some reason, the military is the one employer that's supposed to subsedize you to a certain lifestyle no matter how many kids you have or how low you are on the pay scale. I'ved worked with a lot of military family. You get some 18 year old kid who gets married, spends his enlistment bonus on a new truck, his wife doesn't work, and they have 6 kids and complain about military pay and how they can't support a family. If said 18 year old kid had worked in the private sector (or even as a civlian employee for the government) he wouldn't be able to support all those kids either, or buy a house, or afford nice furnature either. I also cringe when I hear people (especially military wives) complain about how they are so poor, and why doesn't the Pentagon do something about it.
Granted, I understand it can be difficult for military spouses to work when they're moving all the time and especially if the base is overseas or in a rural area with few job opportunities. But that still doesn't excuse them from budgeting and saving for rainy days like the rest of us.
I know not all military are like that, and most are very responsible. But it's the irresponsible ones that they seem to find to go on CNN or NBC and complain about their lot in life when it's really their own fault.
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