March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Union leader opposes naval station cutbacks

CUTLER — Seventy-five civilian workers at the Naval Computer Telecommunications Station on Cutler peninsula may lose 22 days of pay in a nine-month period beginning in February unless the Department of Defense restores a shortfall in the station’s 1994 budget.

Actually, the station’s predicament is much worse than the shortfall of $515,300.

According to local union President Elmer L. Harmon, the station needs $515,300 plus $545,500, for a total of $1,060,800, to sustain operations for fiscal year 1994, which ends Sept. 30, 1994.

The 22 furlough days would not satisfy the station’s overall need of $1.06 million to maintain its mission of providing communications to the ships and submarines of the Atlantic Fleet.

“If the Navy wants us to continue … then they must provide us with adequate funding,” Harmon told Sen. George J. Mitchell last week.

A recent message from the Department of Defense headquarters in Washington stated that the financial situation for the station is severe, and funding for fiscal year 1995 is likely to be even less than 1994.

Harmon said the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2635 remains opposed to furloughs or reductions in force among civilian workers at the station.

Union officials have met with representatives of Maine’s congressional delegation and have protested any actions to furlough or lay off employees.

The delegation, including Sen. Mitchell, Sen. William S. Cohen and Congresswoman Olympia J. Snowe, responded to the union’s appeal by jointly signing a letter to Secretary of the Navy John Dalton protesting any proposed cuts in civilian personnel at the station.

The reason for the budget reductions is driven by Department of Defense downsizing. While Harmon agrees that the DOD needs to downsize, the cuts should be done in an equitable manner.

“Equal cuts in military, civilians and contractors should be made, and that is not happening at NCTS,” he said. “The only cuts are being directed at the civilian work force.”

The civilian employees — angry, bewildered and extremely uneasy — are planning to meet early next month to discuss the issue of anticipated furloughs.

Last August, when Sen. Mitchell met with Secretary Dalton to discuss the communications unit, Mitchell emphasized the importance of the military installation and said it was important to the Down East area’s economy.

“As I understand it, the mission of the station has not changed, so I cannot comprehend the Navy’s decision not to adequately fund this station,” Harmon said.

“If the local commander, Nancy Brown, is forced to conduct another Reduction in Force (RIF) of civilian workers, it will be necessary to curtail operations. Considering the amount of the shortfall, I do not believe furloughs would achieve the savings necessary. We must receive adequate funding to maintain the mission,” said Harmon.

Union asks for help

The union leader has asked Mitchell to look into two specific examples of alleged inappropriate spending and staffing that should be revised in ways to help resolve the station’s financial predicament.

Harmon recently became aware that $61,000 was included in the station’s expense operating budget for the creation of new positions to support the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Department (MWR).

“It is my understanding through discussions with the station’s commanding officer, Nancy Brown, that this money must be spent on MWR or be returned to headquarters,” said Harmon.

Although he supports adequate funding for MWR, the source of those funds “should be from nonappropriated funds because the major beneficiaries of the services received are dependents and other eligible personnel. Furthermore, the existing MWR department at NCTS is overstaffed in my opinion.”

The department is staffed with 19 civilian personnel, of which four are paid from appropriated funds. Funding for these four positions exceeds $123,000 annually.

The problem, Harmon said, is not with Cmdr. Brown, whom he described as being “a very competent OIC (officer in charge) of this station.”

Instead, the problem is that the Congress or the Navy “has seen fit to ensure adequate funding for MWR while critical vacant positions remain unfilled due to lack of money.”

As an example, the station’s power generation plant has five large diesel generators which provide power to the very low-frequency (VLF) transmitter.

“If the generation plant is unable to provide power, for any reason, we cannot achieve our primary mission, communications with the submarine fleet,” he said.


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