- Federal Trade Commission (FTC) employees voted overwhelmingly to unionize, joining the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). The 415 to 25 vote paves the way for more than 800 employees in Washington, D.C., and eight regional offices across the country to have representation. FTC began the process to unionize back in 2023, raising concerns about their access to telework, potential politicization of the civil service and other issues. With FTC, NTEU now represents 36 agencies. NTEU President Doreen Greenwald called it a “historic day” for frontline workers seeking a stronger voice in the workplace.
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is readying federal volunteers to help the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas directed the activation of the Surge Capacity Force. The force is made up of some 7,800 federal employee volunteers. They can be called to assist FEMA’s disaster response efforts for up to 45 days. More than 3,200 federal personnel are already helping respond to Helene across the southeast United States.
- Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continues to fall short of hiring targets in spite of efforts to bolster its recruiting processes. CBP in recent years has moved its job applications online loosened its polygraph requirements and offered generous recruitment incentives. But the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in a new report found CBP is still short thousands of law enforcement officers. Attrition has outpaced hiring for several key fields including Border Patrol agents and air interdiction officers. CBP told GAO it’s taking steps to address longstanding retention and morale challenges.
- Another short-term funding plan will have impacts on military readiness, training, contracting and modernization efforts Army Secretary Christine Wormuth says the Army would have to delay approximately $8.2 billion worth of investments under a six-month continuing resolution. The service would also have to postpone 23 new start procurement programs valued at $400 million. Meanwhile, the Department of the Air Force would have to delay funding for the Flying Hour Program under a three-month CR. Funding for maintaining, repairing and upgrading Air Force facilities would also be delayed.
- The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) hired 53,000 new employees between fiscal 2021 and 2023 but more than 35% of those hires exceeded an 80-day window set by the Office of Personnel Management. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration finds security checks took longer than expected, and that aging IT systems led to some challenges. The IRS and the Treasury are embarking on a refresh of their HR IT systems.
- The US Postal Service (USPS) is opening about 400 sorting and delivery centers all across the country in the coming years. But the USPS inspector general’s office finds they’re falling short of their goals. The IG’s office says the facilities, on average, only met 3 of 17 metrics. USPS did come close to achieving 8 of the 14 metrics it fell short on. USPS OIG says the missed goals relate to letter carriers not meeting performance goals. Sorting and delivery centers are large facilities that bring mail processing and mail delivery operations all under one roof.
- The Department of the Air Force is looking for the next chief technology officer (CTO). The CTO will provide guidance and oversight for implementing and integrating information technology systems and tools across the service. Jay Bonci, who currently holds the CTO position, will depart the federal government in early October. Bonci’s most notable recent accomplishment is publishing the department’s zero trust and Identity, Credential and Access Management (ICAM) roadmaps. Applications are due by October 10.
- The General Services Administration (GSA) is adding a familiar face to its technology leadership team. Dovarius Peoples is leaving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and moving to the General Services Administration to be its deputy chief information officer. Peoples has been the Army Corps CIO/G6 since April 2019. Peoples first day at GSA will be Oct. 6. He replaces Beth Killoran, who left in May 2023 to become the CIO at the Government Accountability Office. Before joining the Army Corps, Peoples also worked for Army Network Command, the Joint Service Provider in the Pentagon and the National Security Agency. He also was the associate CIO for the Office of Personnel Management from 2016 to 2018.
- The Army may have already found a few good men and women, but now they are looking for even better ones to learn software coding. The Army Software Factory is accepting applications for its 10th cohort of trainees for its Software Factory program through October 31. The cohort is open to soldiers who possess the knowledge, skills and behaviors, or have a strong interest in software development and cloud engineering, as well as related fields of agile product management and user interface design. The Army says only active component officers, warrant officers and enlisted soldiers can apply.
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