Findings on Pay Structure Leave Some Cold

As members of a task force reviewing the Defense Department's civilian pay structure left a Pentagon meeting room yesterday, a big guy with a ruddy complexion stood near the door and shook his head in obvious disgust.

"This just isn't good enough," John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, told panel members as they walked by.

Gage had hoped the Defense Business Board task group would make like the Grim Reaper on a hot July day and deliver the gift of death to the National Security Personnel System.

Instead, their recommendations left him cold.

"I'm very frustrated," he said during a later interview. "I wasn't happy at all."

Killing NSPS has been at the top of the priority list for Gage and other federal union leaders, who say workers who simply don't trust the pay-for-performance system.

Rather than recommending a death sentence, the task group's interim report called for a "reconstruction of the NSPS." The report's findings describe a system that is "complex," "confusing," "lacks transparency" and has "limited promotion opportunities."

It confirms the lack-of-trust criticism, and it repeatedly implies that Pentagon management does not effectively cooperate with workers. "Reestablishing DOD commitment to collaborating with employees and manager associations," is one recommendation.

But the interim report didn't have much meat on the bone, leaving many questions for the final report and a decision by the full board, which remains weeks away.

Nevertheless, despite Gage's misgivings, even the thin interim document lays the groundwork for dismantling the system that was a keystone of the Bush administration's plan to replace the General Schedule, more widely known as the GS system. Performance rewards also are possible through the GS system, but that mechanism has not been widely effective.

Whatever a reconstructed or new system looks like, it will need a different name. "NSPS" has become "radioactive," as one board member said.

President Obama wants a new system that includes a strong performance-evaluation component, according to Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry. During the presidential campaign, Obama said he would "strongly consider a complete repeal" of NSPS or at least an extensive overhaul of it.