Just ahead of Labor Day, President Trump took aim at NASA and a handful of other federal agencies’ unions, seeking to nullify them through Executive Order (EO). It comes at a time of mass layoffs and deferred resignations. The EO, signed August 28, represents “the largest rollback of labor protections for NASA’s employees in history,” according to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) advocacy group NASA Needs Help. The EO argues that collective bargaining agreements limit agencies’ abilities to modify policies promptly and union bargaining “can delay the implementation of time-sensitive national
security measures.” “NASA develops and operates advanced air and space technologies, like satellite, communications and propulsion systems, that are critical for U.S. national security,” it states. The latest move comes as the Trump administration seeks to make deep cuts to NASA, particularly the science budget, which is the primary funding source for GSFC (see the July 17 issue).
Goddard Engineers, Scientists and Technicians Association (GESTA) President Tryshanda Moton and Executive Vice President Steven Hard called the order illegal. In a joint email on the day of the EO, they told members, “We expect management to ignore the collective bargaining agreement. However, we are not finished. A union is not a contract, it’s not a certificate of recognition, it’s not a nonprofit. A union is a collective organization of workers ‒ it’s us, and we are still here.” The union is now trying to determine how to operate while the EO is fought. Anticipating that the automatic payroll deduction of dues will be stopped, GESTA is calling on members to sign up and pay dues using an online platform operating outside the payroll system and to maintain communication and continue receiving union news by providing personal email addresses in addition to their government ones.
One civil servant at GSFC, whose name we are withholding, told the News Review that actions behind closed doors at Goddard are “mostly legal but heartless,” while others fall in a gray area and some appear outright illegal. “We’re not legal experts,” he said of the engineers and scientists he works with, saying that’s one of the difficulties they face in considering whistleblowing. He believes some recent actions are illegal, saying they are “crammed down the throats of our chain of command,” and describes some recent actions as “very shady but very hard to report.” “They’ve done away with written orders,” he says of NASA’s administration.
Even without a recognized collective bargaining agreement, GESTA says they can continue to be a union, and they plan to continue to support and advise employees, including with filing various claims, requests and grievances; fighting discrimination and defending workers; objecting to management mistakes; and agitating for change. “We are strong, we are many and we can still organize,” they assured members in Thursday’s email.
GESTA staffed a Save NASA booth at Greenbelt’s Labor Day Festival Information Day on Saturday, asking everyone to help advocate for NASA’s future.
