Trump administration wants to un-fire nuclear safety workers but can’t figure out how to reach them

[Trogdor the Burninator]

This must be that efficiency I keep hearing about

WASHINGTON — National Nuclear Security Administration officials on Friday attempted to notify some employees who had been let go the day before that they are now due to be reinstated — but they struggled to find them because they didn't have their new contact information.

In an email sent to employees at NNSA and obtained by NBC News, officials wrote, “The termination letters for some NNSA probationary employees are being rescinded, but we do not have a good way to get in touch with those personnel.”

First they're fired, now they're not fired. And it's not like nuclear safety workers do anything useful anyway.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

This must be that efficiency I keep hearing about

Yes, they were hired by the forgetful Biden Administration. Who would have thought keeping records of employees was so hard? Perhaps they can find the contact info in a Maryland garage.

 

[JustaPewFiller]

Yes, they were hired by the forgetful Biden Administration. Who would have thought keeping records of employees was so hard? Perhaps they can find the contact info in a Maryland garage.

In all fairness, the computer system(s) that kept their government and civilian contact info so separated was probably designed and built long ago under who knows what administration and maintained over time through various administrations. Likely nothing political on either side with this screw-up regarding difficulty contacting them. Whoever was in office at the time (Biden, Trump, Obama, Bush, Clinton, etc) probably did not have nor wanted any visibility into how this agency handled its employee records.

I say this after 25 years in IT in a very large, very old company where trying to contact someone who has been let go can sometimes be very hard just due to the difficulty of accessing the person's personal contact info. Decisions to do it that way usually stem from some combo of security (keep company and personal data separate) or cost and dumb management ( "Why would we ever need to contact a terminated employee?!!? We fired them! We never want to talk to them again!")

Look - I am not saying there is not waste, fraud, abuse, etc. There most certainly is. But sometimes (like in this case) the blame for the mess is bureaucracy + time + poor management = really bad processes and systems that are largely non-partisan and continue to operate in the same horrible way regardless of who is in charge until they are dismantled / replaced or fixed.

 

[RamiC]

I say this after 25 years in IT in a very large, very old company where trying to contact someone who has been let go can sometimes be very hard just due to the difficulty of accessing the person's personal contact info. Decisions to do it that way usually stem from some combo of security (keep company and personal data separate) or cost and dumb management ( "Why would we ever need to contact a terminated employee?!!? We fired them! We never want to talk to them again!")

Perhaps not terminating them and then trying to undo it just 24 hours later would have been easier then?

 

[JustaPewFiller]

Perhaps not terminating them and then trying to undo it just 24 hours later would have been easier then?

Oh yes, that would have been way, way, way, Way, WAAAY easier. That is what should have been done.

But, that would involve things like the DOGE crew actually doing a small amount of due diligence to determine what work the people did and if it was important or not and the results of that passed on to whoever was making the keep vs fire decisions. Clearly, some (or all ) of that process was missed here.

There really isn't any other way to state it, DOGE crew goofed up here and fired some people that shouldn't have been fired. Most likely because they didn't do their homework.

For what it is worth, I've seen this happen in business time and time again when a rapid restructuring effort is carried out by people that don't have any real knowledge of what they are restructuring. They make mistakes, fire people they should have kept, keep things they should have done away with, etc. Things break. It happens. Once the dust settles a bit they declare victory and then they fix (or rebuild) all necessary stuff they broke during the rapid restructure. In business, it is messy, but it works. However, in business you usually aren't dealing with nuclear weapons. That is the thing about the DOGE effort, the stakes vary so much. Could something really, really bad happen if some DEI project is canceled? No, probably not. Could something really, really, bad happen if they goof up something with the county's nuclear arsenal? Yes, it very much could.

 

[RamiC]

However, in business you usually aren't dealing with nuclear weapons.

This. I will assume most people do know what nuclear weapons are. Then I wonder, do people realise that there are countries that are hostile to the USA, who can see when someone suddenly sacked all the relevant staff? They do not need spies to get there, they will have Reuters. Because.

 

[Stephen3141]

Firing a lot of people, just to have the appearance of doing something
useful, is not an intelligent move.

Many in the agencies involved, have mentioned this.

 

[RamiC]

Firing a lot of people, just to have the appearance of doing something
useful, is not an intelligent move.

Many in the agencies involved, have mentioned this.

From outside the USA, it creates the image of a country being lead by someone who doesn't really know how to lead. Half of your nation might be cheering him on, but it looks like no one knows what he is going to do next. You do not look stable.

 

[rjs330]

It appears that only some of the workers were going to be contacted. Not all.

And no one here has provided any information that these workers were critical to the safety of the facilities. Maybe some were, maybe they weren't. A lot of assumptions being made here.

 

[com7fy8]

Well, it's been in the news. So, workers can see they are desired to return.

Now - - do they want to still work there . . . or enjoy a nice vacation?

Or, they know how it was to work there and they already are finding other work.

Maybe it's all a publicity conspiracy to make them look good so they can get other work.

 

[MyOwnSockPuppet]

Well, it's been in the news. So, workers can see they are desired to return.

Now - - do they want to still work there . . . or enjoy a nice vacation?

Or, they know how it was to work there and they already are finding other work.

Maybe it's all a publicity conspiracy to make them look good so they can get other work.

I'd imagine they'd want quite a substantial pay rise as compensation, I think it's down to the orange-skinned idiot and junior rocket man to make sure that the pay rise comes from the federal government rather than (for instance) North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela etc.

 

[okay]

surprise! DOGE is operating the same way Musk did when he bought twitter.

 

[Nithavela]

First six words of the thread title made me hopeful. Such a bait and switch.

 

[rjs330]

Just remember these were probationary employees which meant they were newbies. What kind of idiotic records keepers do they have that they don't maintain current addresses or phone numbers for these people? Are they all lost? What kind of mickey mouse operation are they running?

If these employees are critical for the safe operation of Nuclear sites then for security reasons we should know everything about them. Where they live, thier phone numbers, family contacts everything. This is foolish beyond incompetence.

 

[That Guy 11200]

Just remember these were probationary employees which meant they were newbies. What kind of idiotic records keepers do they have that they don't maintain current addresses or phone numbers for these people? Are they all lost? What kind of mickey mouse operation are they running?

If these employees are critical for the safe operation of Nuclear sites then for security reasons we should know everything about them. Where they live, thier phone numbers, family contacts everything. This is foolish beyond incompetence.

It was probably designed like this so that foreign agents couldn't simply steal the information, track them down and bump them off. These jobs are, after all, vital to national security.

Also, I doubt the people who originally set the system up envisioned the US Government being staffed by such incompentents, who would simply fire people without even bothering to check if they were needed first.

 

[com7fy8]

lololololololol

So, it could mean they are keeping addresses safe from terrorist hackers. And it could be they are incompetent at keeping records. And if there were phone contacts, for all we know, someone somewhere in some phone company might detect that they get a phone call from a secure government number, and sell the info on the dark web. And I have at times found out the real reason for something, and it was totally different than the possibilities I considered.

"He who answers a matter before he hears it,
It is folly and shame to him."
(Proverbs 18:13)

There is how God uses each thing for His purposes. This remains to be discovered, in any case.

 

[rjs330]

It was probably designed like this so that foreign agents couldn't simply steal the information, track them down and bump them off. These jobs are, after all, vital to national security.

Also, I doubt the people who originally set the system up envisioned the US Government being staffed by such incompentents, who would simply fire people without even bothering to check if they were needed first.

What nonsense. No such thing as top secret information on these people? How do they get vetted? Fill out an application and then all information gets shredded.

If they are so vital to national security then why arw rhey running around lose and probatiinary employees and no one knows where they are or what their phone number is? No one knows who their family is?

That is such malarkey and you know it.

 

[rjs330]

So, it could mean they are keeping addresses safe from terrorist hackers.

Apparently these probationary employees information is so secure that no one even at the highest levels has any idea where they are or anything about them. You'd think these probationers were operating deep under cover in Russia or Iran with how people talk. Maybe members of the IMF.

No im.not buying this.

 

[DaisyDay]

Apparently these probationary employees information is so secure that no one even at the highest levels has any idea where they are or anything about them.

The people at the highest levels are the least likely to know the names and personal info of employees. That sort of thing is usually delegated to HR and the employees' immediate supervisors. It sounds as though these people were dismissed without an exit interview

You'd think these probationers were operating deep under cover in Russia or Iran with how people talk. Maybe members of the IMF.

No, but people move and go on vacation when fired sometimes. Most "paychecks" these days are direct deposit or debit cards for seasonals.

No im.not buying this.

Have a blissful day.

 

[com7fy8]

No im.not buying this.

Don't worry. I do not charge even five cents for my advice. If you want something worth something, see Lucy.