I agree that the loyalty tests are psychotic, and I know how much harder it can be to manage family life if you're reporting to an office. But I really feel like, in this awful moment, when we're begging for our livelihoods and future financial security, not to mention hoping the bottom doesn't drop off of our property value and our city/region, wasting tears and publicity on RTO is not the point. Losing professions and financial health need to be the focus. We will all be glad to have offices to go to at all in a few months.

Anonymous wrote:I’m praying they lighten up on the RTO once the VERA ends. Like they did it to force people to take VERA and then will say never mind.

So sick of these psychotic loyalty tests

I’m praying they lighten up on the RTO once the VERA ends. Like they did it to force people to take VERA and then will say never mind.

I wish I had an idea of how much worse it’s going to get. Very tempted to take VERA before the deadline, but I have loved this job.

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate the union’s attitude of zealous advocacy, but The head dude was a bit much. When he maligns “management” for and says they want to torture us, he forgets that our group heads and supervisors that are staying will have some discretion and don’t want to torture us.

While it's true that supervisors are part of management that's not who he is referring to. It is very clear that he is referring to the agency leadership. Honestly supervisors have far more in common with the worker bees than they do with agency leadership.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are conflating DOGE and project2025. The latter is what the SEC is focused on.

Doge, at most, cares only about finding and cancelling any weird or embarrassing contracts and DEI stuff. But sophisticated/subsrantuve reorg. And since sec is budget neutral, doge gets little credit for any cuts.

Ok, I hate to be Debbie downer but I’m so confused how you could think, given everything that has happened, there will be anything “sophisticated” about a reorg or why they’d care about actual savings/efficiency if they have not cared about any of those things at literally any other agency?

Because sec is not like usaid or dept of education. Doge doesn’t care about sec. It’s budget neutral. Relatively small. Not red meat for maga. Lots of risk in gutting market regulator. High risk, low reward politically.

But Project2025 does care. And you may disagree with their proposed reforms, but they’re not unreasonable or crazy.

Ok well I appreciate your optimism.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The union is saying it, and the leadership may be saying it, but has doge accepted it? We all know that’s the only thing that matters.

Also the union doesn't represent BCs and ADs...will the managers be riffed?

Managers could always be demoted rather than RIFd.

Actually this is what the PP may mean who is relaying the pay cut thing - demote people out of management to cut some costs.

They do have the ability to demote people up to two levels, and if people refuse they are deprived of severance benefits.

That's part of bump and retreat in a RIF. Anyway, the agency appears to not be proposing running a RIF at this time. But who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if the “reduction in pay” is a one time skip of the pay raise, followed by changing the pay raise schedule back to following the calendar year like the rest of government.

That's a ruinously sunny view of things. They have outright contempt for those of us sticking it out; in their mind, everyone who had better options elsewhere, or even a hope of them, has already left or shortly will be departing. Why would they concede an inch instead of continuing to make things worse and worse?

I wonder if the “reduction in pay” is a one time skip of the pay raise, followed by changing the pay raise schedule back to following the calendar year like the rest of government.

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate the union’s attitude of zealous advocacy, but The head dude was a bit much. When he maligns “management” for and says they want to torture us, he forgets that our group heads and supervisors that are staying will have some discretion and don’t want to torture us.

Why would line managers below the Front Office want to torture staff?

He should focus his fire on the front office, not all of “management.”

Anonymous wrote:Agree. Most of them are going to do everything in their power to make it palatable

I hope/believe many will try to mitigate the harm. But a lot of the best 17s and SOs have left too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are conflating DOGE and project2025. The latter is what the SEC is focused on.

Doge, at most, cares only about finding and cancelling any weird or embarrassing contracts and DEI stuff. But sophisticated/subsrantuve reorg. And since sec is budget neutral, doge gets little credit for any cuts.

Ok, I hate to be Debbie downer but I’m so confused how you could think, given everything that has happened, there will be anything “sophisticated” about a reorg or why they’d care about actual savings/efficiency if they have not cared about any of those things at literally any other agency?

Because sec is not like usaid or dept of education. Doge doesn’t care about sec. It’s budget neutral. Relatively small. Not red meat for maga. Lots of risk in gutting market regulator. High risk, low reward politically.

But Project2025 does care. And you may disagree with their proposed reforms, but they’re not unreasonable or crazy.

Agree. Most of them are going to do everything in their power to make it palatable

I appreciate the union’s attitude of zealous advocacy, but The head dude was a bit much. When he maligns “management” for and says they want to torture us, he forgets that our group heads and supervisors that are staying will have some discretion and don’t want to torture us.

Anonymous wrote:People are conflating DOGE and project2025. The latter is what the SEC is focused on.

Doge, at most, cares only about finding and cancelling any weird or embarrassing contracts and DEI stuff. But sophisticated/subsrantuve reorg. And since sec is budget neutral, doge gets little credit for any cuts.

Ok, I hate to be Debbie downer but I’m so confused how you could think, given everything that has happened, there will be anything “sophisticated” about a reorg or why they’d care about actual savings/efficiency if they have not cared about any of those things at literally any other agency?