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Promise fulfilled: Trump freezes federal hiring amid demands for “diversity”
Hotair ^ | 01/24/2017 | Jazz Shaw

Posted on 01/24/2017 8:08:24 AM PST by SeekAndFind

It was one of the promises Donald Trump made on the campaign trail which drew widespread approbation from conservatives while spurring varying degrees of either anger or depression among the beltway crowd. Trump said that it would be more of an ax than a new broom when it comes to the size of the federal workforce and he would freeze hiring if elected. The pledge led as many as a third of federal workers to say they might walk off the job if he was elected. So would he really do it? Well… that didn’t take long. (Government Executive)

Trump said his hiring moratorium would “be applied across the board in the executive branch” and apply to any positions vacant as of Jan. 22. It would bar agencies from creating new positions. Agency heads can exempt positions they deem “necessary to meet national security or public safety responsibilities.”

The memorandum gives the directors of the Office of Management and Budget (Trump’s pick, Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., will face confirmation hearings Tuesday) and the Office of Personnel Management (Trump has yet to name an OPM leader) 90 days to come with a “long-term plan to reduce the size of the federal government through attrition.” Once that plan is implemented, the hiring freeze will expire.

Outsourcing jobs to the private sector to get around the freeze will not be permitted, Trump wrote.

That last sentence is key and it’s going to keep Trump’s new OMB pick busy. Previous freezes under both Jimmy Carter and Reagan wound up not saving us much money because managers simply brought in more private sector contractors to get around the freeze. That allegedly won’t be happening going forward.

The attrition portion of the plan shouldn’t be too difficult. At any given time there are a significant number of workers who are eligible for retirement but still staying on the job until they max out their benefits and make preparations for the end of their careers. By simply failing to replace them we could significantly trim the herd.

You knew a move like this wasn’t going to happen without controversy and the old guard is already looking to cause trouble. The target for their ire is the concern that a hiring freeze will adversely affect diversity. If that one has you doing a double take, you’re not alone. But there’s a rationale being offered for it. You see, they needed to hire more Hispanic workers.

The Office of Personnel Management and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission called on agencies with at least 1,000 full-time employees to “conduct a more focused barrier analysis on Hispanic employment” based on a recommendation from the Hispanic Council on Federal Employment. The reviews should focus on employees at the General Schedule 12 level through the Senior Executive Service, assessing recruitment of Latinos, hiring levels, promotions, and separations, among other workforce data and trends related to the population. OPM and EEOC are asking agencies for detailed, in-depth analyses…

The timing of the memo was unusual. It was issued two days before the Obama administration left, and less than a week later, President Trump issued an executive order freezing federal hiring except for members of the military, and public safety and public health workers. Trump has not announced a nominee to lead OPM yet, and EEOC Chair Jenny Yang’s term expires in July.

Did you catch that? We’re being set up for accusations that Donald Trump is suppressing diversity in hiring Hispanic workers. (Because he must be a racist, right?) But the basis for the accusation is that the Obama administration didn’t hire enough Hispanic workers. It’s really enough to make your head spin. But be that as it may, the big freeze is here and we expect to see the government behemoth going on a crash diet very soon.



TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: cutbabycut; cutgovernment; diversity; federal; first100days; hiring; hiringfreeze; opm; trump; trump45; trumpwinsagain
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To: SeekAndFind

Obama administration orders a study on Hispanics and diversity TWO DAYS before Trump inauguration. Another setup sure to backfire.


21 posted on 01/24/2017 9:16:30 AM PST by Rusty0604 (bc)
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To: txrefugee
"The “essential personnel,” who are necessary for the government to function, stay on the payroll. Everyone who can stay home, can be laid off."

To some extent, I agree with you. But the reality is that "essential personnel" are those deemed essential for the daily operation of the facility. On Fort Hood, that pertains even to the soldiers; essential personnel might include MPs, EMTs, emergency room personnel, and select personnel necessary for ensuring that the "non-essential personnel" can be mustered to strength in an emergency.

No one would assume that simply because the on- and off-post authorities would like to keep the "non-essential military personnel" off the icy roads for part of or even the whole day means that those "non-essential personnel" of the military persuasion aren't needed.

To some extent, the same goes for the civilian component here at Fort Hood. For a number of years, I have been deemed a tier-two "essential person(nel)". When the roads are listed as "red", I would be one of the people still .. very slowly and carefully .. coming onto Fort Hood to perform duties. When the roads are "black", I would stay home, along with almost every person, military or civilian, assigned to Fort Hood ... mainly excepting the on-duty military police, EMTs, etc.

Now, do I believe that the job that I perform here is anything absolutely critical or vital to national security? No. But, without me .. or someone else performing the duties that I do on a daily basis .. a little bit of grit gets thrown in the gears of mission accomplishment. Enough days off .. or enough support mission personnel not performing their support duties for the military branch .. and the gears start to break down and the mission will and does suffer.

Of course, my position could be replaced by a military person. But that's one less to be deployed. That military person is subject to being transferred, deployed, or promoted out of that position ... meaning, again, the mission suffers while someone is retrained (who will also have to be be pulled off the line, meaning one less for flexible use). I have been in my position since 1995; I know the ins-and-outs that are necessary to the smooth administration of my duties. I know where the bodies are buried. As the old saying goes, "I do more before 9 o'clock than most people do all day" mainly because I've been doing it for so long.

So throwing the baby out with the bathwater .. just lay off all "non-essential personnel" .. is something that can be done. But those jobs are still going to have to be done and that means more uniformed military performing facility, base/post, and support duties rather than the jobs that they were trained for. I'm personally not worried about my job security; I'm good at what I do and can do it better than anyone else. But the cemeteries are full of "mission-essential personnel" and, eventually, I will leave this position and someone else will have to do it. I spent 20 years as an enlisted member of the military and going on 22 years in a civil service capacity and I can honestly say that the American people would be proud and pleased with the amount of productivity and "added value" that I have given the Department of the Army during that time. I have nothing to be ashamed of and, if the determination is made to terminate my position, I will leave with my head held high.

22 posted on 01/24/2017 9:16:39 AM PST by BlueLancer ("If the present tries to sit in judgment on the past, it will lose the future." Winston Churchill)
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To: SeekAndFind

“THANK-YOU” - President TRUMP!


23 posted on 01/24/2017 9:25:17 AM PST by EnglishOnly (Fight all out to win OR get out now.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Typical of Leftist / Democrats. It isn’t competency that should be hired...Nooooo... It’s diversity that matters. Trump needs to bust up the Federal Workers Union.


24 posted on 01/24/2017 10:21:02 AM PST by DAC21
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To: SeekAndFind

If you have a hundred employees and only one is Hispanic, you can alleviate the lack of diversity by firing 90 or so just as easily as you can by hiring more. Fire them all and the problem goes away.


25 posted on 01/24/2017 10:26:33 AM PST by Billthedrill
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To: SeekAndFind

Hiring freeze / diversity not even close


26 posted on 01/24/2017 11:06:02 AM PST by ronnie raygun
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To: ClearCase_guy

“Obama didn’t hire enough Hispanics, therefore Trump is racist.”

It’s ridiculous isn’t it?


27 posted on 01/24/2017 1:34:03 PM PST by HollyB
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To: SeekAndFind
Outsourcing jobs to the private sector to get around the freeze will not be permitted, Trump wrote.

Bingo

That was the one thing that has always rankled the rank and file of federal workers in the past.

One thing to keep in mind in all this. Military bases aren't to be affected as far as the freeze. Reducing jobs through attrition seems to be still on the books though, and that's ok.

28 posted on 01/24/2017 2:00:34 PM PST by ducttape45 (Every Saint has a past, Every Sinner has a Future!)
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To: SeekAndFind

OPM and EEOC work for Trump too.


29 posted on 01/24/2017 2:21:40 PM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: BlueLancer
President Trump issued an executive order freezing federal hiring except for members of the military, and public safety and public health workers.

Given Trump's campaign stance on seriously revitalizing our military, I think you're safe for at least the next eight years, FRiend   :-)

30 posted on 01/24/2017 2:22:09 PM PST by tomkat
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To: freedumb2003

People who want diversity and AA are those who would rule with an iron fist and extreme prejudice, were they ever to become the majority.


31 posted on 01/24/2017 2:52:14 PM PST by GnuThere
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To: SeekAndFind

More winning!


32 posted on 01/24/2017 3:02:58 PM PST by simpson96
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To: bus man

I see your point, but in the end what happens is they have to hire white guys anyway (to actually do the work) while they hire some window-dressing tokens to pretend they are economically viable (wealth re-distribution via “workfare”). Without affirmative action/quotas (especially in government hiring) some minorities would have a 95%+ unemployment rate.


33 posted on 01/24/2017 3:18:35 PM PST by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: bus man

“Think Trump will get any credit for this?”

Will Slick Willie become a priest?
Will Michael Moore become skinny?
Will Nancy Pelosi say something sensible?


34 posted on 01/24/2017 4:08:09 PM PST by RipSawyer (At the end of the day...the sun goes down.)
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To: butlerweave

Diverse actor nominations (7/20) are about 3 times the general population rate.


35 posted on 01/24/2017 8:00:30 PM PST by GnuThere
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