USDA Scientists refusing to move/relocate to Missouri

[Anonymous]

So 100k jobs are moving? What agencies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So 100k jobs are moving? What agencies?

A friend of mine with the FBI is being relocated. He said he was surprised by how many senior folks (whole divisions it sounds like) are being moved. Several thousand in total.

[Anonymous]

Good way to clear the dead wood, PhD or not PhD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good way to clear the dead wood, PhD or not PhD.

I think it will be precisely the opposite. The people who feel like they are competitive and can easily find another job will stay in DC and any dead-end lifers will move to keep the gig.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The idea that there is a "breadwinner" and a "little wifey who doesn't have a job who is ready to follow hubby wherever" is archaic. Is every USDA employee's wife or husband supposed to give up their medical practice, law practice, teaching career, own government job? I don't know anyone who can afford to only have one job per family! Moving a job to a different location effectively equates to a fifty percent paycut for most families.

Yes, this! Insane that in 2019 this kind of crap still happens. Not to mention that your spouse might (gasp!) have their own career goals and plans, which might be much harder to fulfill in Kansas City. Also the locality rate for KC is significantly lower than DC - so the employee gets a major pay cut to boot.

And I say this as a Kansas City native that grew up there, loves the area, and still has family nearby. I still wouldn't take a permanent relocation there - no way my wife and I would come even close to the kind of income we get in the DC area (cheaper housing doesn't make up for a 50%+ paycut) and I'm not wrecking my wife's career. I'm sure a lot of the agriculture folks feel the same way.

[Anonymous]

Have officials even decided whether folks will be moved to KC Kansas or Missouri yet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have officials even decided whether folks will be moved to KC Kansas or Missouri yet?

No, they have not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have officials even decided whether folks will be moved to KC Kansas or Missouri yet?

No, they have not.

That’s part of what I find so crazy about this- how can you expect families to pack up and move without that information?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have officials even decided whether folks will be moved to KC Kansas or Missouri yet?

No, they have not.

That’s part of what I find so crazy about this- how can you expect families to pack up and move without that information?

That is not the only crazy component to this reassignment.

[Anonymous]

I've heard that two-earner families where one's in a relocating part of USDA and the other is in a different federal agency (or even a different section of USDA!) are not getting any help arranging telework or finding appropriate federal work in KC.

If USDA had a good reason for the move you'd think they'd want their staff to go along and allowing spouses to remain employed would certainly help with that. The lack of assistance makes me think that USDA does want a lot of the NIFA folks to quit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've heard that two-earner families where one's in a relocating part of USDA and the other is in a different federal agency (or even a different section of USDA!) are not getting any help arranging telework or finding appropriate federal work in KC.

If USDA had a good reason for the move you'd think they'd want their staff to go along and allowing spouses to remain employed would certainly help with that. The lack of assistance makes me think that USDA does want a lot of the NIFA folks to quit.

I agree but the US government never provides this type of assistance. I should think that spouses should get preference in USA jobs at least when moving. DH's agency tried to get us to move overseas but without any assistance to me whatsoever (I'm a fed) I refused. At the very least I needed a work visa in the foreign country and they wouldn't even help with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Poor QOL is the only reason they won't go. If the USDA was moving to the south of France they would have been the first volunteers.

Administration’s Decision to move USDA research agencies across the country was made without consulting Congress and against the will of most federal employees at those agencies, who will be forced to uproot their families if the move happens.

We are fighting for them. - VA Rep Beyer

Wait- people are surprised about this? OF course some people can't relocate their families for their jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The idea that there is a "breadwinner" and a "little wifey who doesn't have a job who is ready to follow hubby wherever" is archaic. Is every USDA employee's wife or husband supposed to give up their medical practice, law practice, teaching career, own government job? I don't know anyone who can afford to only have one job per family! Moving a job to a different location effectively equates to a fifty percent paycut for most families.

Yes, this! Insane that in 2019 this kind of crap still happens. Not to mention that your spouse might (gasp!) have their own career goals and plans, which might be much harder to fulfill in Kansas City. Also the locality rate for KC is significantly lower than DC - so the employee gets a major pay cut to boot.

And I say this as a Kansas City native that grew up there, loves the area, and still has family nearby. I still wouldn't take a permanent relocation there - no way my wife and I would come even close to the kind of income we get in the DC area (cheaper housing doesn't make up for a 50%+ paycut) and I'm not wrecking my wife's career. I'm sure a lot of the agriculture folks feel the same way.

Is it insane when a private company does the exact same thing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good way to clear the dead wood, PhD or not PhD.

I think it will be precisely the opposite. The people who feel like they are competitive and can easily find another job will stay in DC and any dead-end lifers will move to keep the gig.

Pretty much. It's a very good way to keep the "dead wood" and get rid of anyone who decides they don't want to move and can get hired somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good way to clear the dead wood, PhD or not PhD.

I think it will be precisely the opposite. The people who feel like they are competitive and can easily find another job will stay in DC and any dead-end lifers will move to keep the gig.

Pretty much. It's a very good way to keep the "dead wood" and get rid of anyone who decides they don't want to move and can get hired somewhere else.

I resigned recently. I have a PhD in Statistics and an undergrad/master's in ag economics. I loved working there and was there for a long time, but honestly they are doing this to essentially shut the office down and wind down the work we have been doing. For pretty terrible reasons:

Fun fact: we help set pricing for goods. Without our data, consumers could be screwed left and right if the government chose to hike prices.

People have no clue what we do, and that's fine, but if you don't know then you definitely will be surprised.

My new job pays 5 times what I was making before. Yes, it's not as fulfilling, but I got kids, a spouse and bills.