AM I NEXT? IS THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL FOR CIVILIAN MILITARY WORKERS?

Representative Ken Calvert (R-CA) announced he has reintroduced legislation aimed at creating a more efficient civilian workforce at the Department of Defense. The cleverly-named REDUCE ACT "Rebalance for an Effective Defense Uniform and Civilian Employees Act, (H.R. 916), would require the DOD to make civilian workforce reductions in a systematic manner without compromising our ability to maintain a strong national defense over the long term."

It is estimated that more than 100,000 emloyees and an unspecified number of private contractors could be affected by the legislation.

According to Calvert, "The REDUCE Act forces the Defense Department to right-size its civilian employee-to-servicemember ratio imbalance through attrition and thereby saving an estimated $125 billion.”

The requirements of the REDUCE Act will accomplish the following:

Reduce our Defense civilian workforce by 15% by FY 2025. The Department of Defense civilian workforce would remain at or below this established cap of a 15% reduction for Fiscal Years 2025 through 2029.

The Department of Defense civilian Senior Executive Service career appointee workforce will be reduced to 1,000 by 2025 and remain at or below 1,000 employees for Fiscal Years 2025 through 2029.

Provide the Secretary of Defense the authority to use voluntary separation incentive payments and voluntary early retirement payments in order to achieve the required reductions in personnel.

Provide the Secretary of Defense the authority to assign greater weight to job performance versus tenure in a Reduction in Force then the Secretary currently has.

This bill will wind its way through the Committes and may be significant as the Biden Administration seeks to use a portion of the existing military budget to fund social justice programs.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

NO LOVE AT PURDUE PHARMA (UPDATED)

UPDATE: AUGUST 6, 2019 — PURDUE SELLS TREYBURN PLANT IN DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA TO NUVO NORDISK. FUTURE OF 80 EMPLOYEES AT RISK?

In a letter to employees, Dr. CraigLandau notes …

“Following the close, we will lease back the Treyburn space from Novo Nordisk, occupy it through the fall, and plan to vacate the facility as of Dec. 1, 2019. Until that time, we will be operating in a “business as usual” manner. As we do with all business decisions, we must always keep in mind our obligations to the patients who benefit from our medicines, and to our employees, suppliers and other business partners. To ensure a smooth transition with no interruptions to supply, it is critical that we continue to do what we have always done – focus on customers and on safe and compliant day-to-day operations.”

Original post…

The opioid crisis extends beyond the drug’s illegal users, to include an additional 350 employees at Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma, a manufacturer of OxyContin after the drug manufacturer laid off 200 salespeople in February 2018 who were promoting the opioid to physicians.

It is somewhat ironic that Purdue was profiting from both ends of the drug chain, supplying OxyContin and Symproic, a drug used to treat opioid-induced constipation.  

Purdue is facing a number of lawsuits that alleged that the dangers of OxyContin were understated.

However, what nobody is saying is that the vast majority of the opioid crisis does not arise with those seeking pain relief through conventional medical treatment, but from street drugs manufactured in Mexico, North Korea, Venezuela, and elsewhere. Especially Fentanyl and Heroin. Many of the lawsuits are motivated and pursued by shyster trial lawyers looking for yet another big payday. It is unacceptable that reputable physicians are afraid to prescribe adequate pain medications for fear of being investigated and charged by a politically-motivated prosecutor.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?