This story was originally produced by the Portsmouth Herald. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Congressional delegation members from Maine and New Hampshire are fighting proposed federal disciplinary review changes they contend would hurt Portsmouth Naval Shipyard workers.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management and the Merit Systems Protection Board pitched a new “Promoting Employee Accountability" policy in early July aimed at altering existing standards used by federal supervisors to discipline workers. Lawmakers say the policy, in reality, would strip away merit-based employment and due process for workers.
Six lawmakers — Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, Maggie Hassan, D-NH, and Angus King, I-Maine, and Reps. Chris Pappas, D-NH, Maggie Goodlander, D-NH, and Chellie Pingree, D-Maine — shared their criticism of the proposal with the two agencies.
A Monday, Aug. 3 letter from the group to Scott Kupor, the OPM’s director, and Henry Kerner, acting chairperson of the MSPB, argued the proposal could strain the shipyard’s existing workforce, noting the 226-year-old installation already needs to hire more than 700 workers annually to meet demand.
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