Age discrimination at contractors NAS/PAX

[BernieP]

Why not eliminate the government workers that just show up for a paycheck? As a former defense contractor (I worked on the same contract with 4 different employers) I had MANY government counterparts that were way under qualified even though they were with the government for decades. 1 dude use to fall asleep in meetings and another gal sat with a co-worker and BSed all day long. And those are just 2 of the worst offenders but there were many more.

I spent more time in private industry than government service, a lot more. I can tell that the same stuff goes on in both the private sector as the government AND it happens in small businesses as well.

There is no test for "the best and the brightest". A large part of the decision on who gets hired and who gets paid what is based on appearance. When you combine a poor work ethic with someone who knows they are the fair haired child you get what you describe.

 

[BernieP]

If the government really wants to save money on military spending they should stop penalizing contractors for not using all the money in their materials contracts. People that work for a government contractor probably know what I am taking about. If they would reward them for coming in under budget instead of penalizing them the savings would probably be in the billions.

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If the government wanted to save money on military spending they would follow the acquisition laws and stop turning over the decision making to an entity that is required to do what is in the best interest of their share holders.
I will give you there are a lot of stupid practices, particularly when if comes to spending funds when they are budgeted. But the biggest mistake is the faith leadership puts in the "patriotism" of corporations.
Corporations are not human, they cannot be patriotic. Every employee in a corporation has a legal responsibility to maximize shareholder return. That means they cannot, should not, be making decisions on what is best value for the government.

 

[bilbur]

This persons job involves explosives & if not done right people can die. Experience is vital. There are openings for this position, & if filled by the cheapest instead of the best, like I said people can be badly injured or killed. He has worked it for about 20 years with a spotless record. Been recognized for excellent work. He had 1 infraction over a year ago. during his time there, he has seen people with the same infraction, several times & a really bad record hired back, but he is older. What else could it be?

It may be because he is older for the same reason most companies won't hire someone who is overqualified. They have the impression that the person will not be with them long either due to retirement or finding a better position that is a better fit for their qualifications. I know it is not legal or the right thing to do to make judgments based on age or experience but, unfortunately, the interviewers are human and unless they use a computer program to pick someone for a job based solely on their qualifications for that job there is going to be some bias.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

I just dropped something on my foot and yelled "Ouch c*nt tw*t tittyf*cker" but it really hurt. Im at home though.

My old supervisor said f*ck all the time in meetings, probably a good 15-20 times in a 30 minute division meeting.

 

[bilbur]

Try 8 years, but I'm not gov't or a contractor

It sucks doesn't it. In the last 4 years I got my Bachelors, took over as lead for the project, got 2 certifications, and when my coworker left I took over all of his responsibilities and no more money. That's ok, 7 months ago I got fed up and went to a different contractor who gladly gave me what I was asking because I was still cheaper than most in my field. Seems the only way to get a bump in salary is to change jobs if you can find anyone hiring.

 

[FED_UP]

It sucks doesn't it. In the last 4 years I got my Bachelors, took over as lead for the project, got 2 certifications, and when my coworker left I took over all of his responsibilities and no more money. That's ok, 7 months ago I got fed up and went to a different contractor who gladly gave me what I was asking because I was still cheaper than most in my field. Seems the only way to get a bump in salary is to change jobs if you can find anyone hiring.

I did not go to a different contractor with you.

 

[acommondisaster]

It isn't just government employees, I know two people who work for a company whose name starts with a B and ends in a oing that sleep every single day at their desks. You can hear the snoring from the main isle in the cube farm.

I witness this crap nearly every night, where the people sitting on govt. contracts that do not demand performance, but pay by the seat occupied, do absolutely nothing, or worse. (And the Govvie is just as bad, they sleep, too). It's insane to think that there are mandated requirements for things that just don't work or dont make sense, but that no one with authority will change or do away with because it's either "not in their lane" or will diminish their own role in an organization. It sucks that my tax dollars go towards it.

One thing you find working nights is that there are a lot of people who work two jobs - a 40 hour a week job during the day time, and then they seem to gravitate to night jobs that aren't monitored well for performance and they spend 4 to 8 hours sleeping at their desks. I was talking with a former colleague, who has moved to Bolling AFB for another contract and we talked about night sleepers and he said "it's way worse here - there's nobody hiding it- they pull up a 2nd chair, take their shoes off and sleep with their feet up".

If you want to know how our networks are getting hacked into, you might ask yourselfabout the level of performance required. My biggest complaint is that the government has a template for what they want, but it isn't what they need. Certifications and degrees mean nothing if you have no work ethic or no experience, or if employees are stymied by rules and mandates and regulations that hinder them from doing their job. My frustration level is extremely high when I see the nonsense - the "our hands are tied because of sequestration" mentality. I can't even begin to speak to the STUPID requirements that meant when I moved from one contract to another - in the same room, with the same company, with the same clearances, I had to sit for 4 weeks while the government decided whether I was "clearable" to work there. 4 weeks getting paid to sit in a room and wait. Surfing the net, watching youtube and netflix on your dime and my dime. Because of the big behemoth non-flexible beauracracy called our government. (i cant spell that work right for the life of me). It's the reason I'm done after this contract ends. I'd rather greet at Walmart than go through this sort of crap again.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

I witness this crap nearly every night, where the people sitting on govt. contracts that do not demand performance, but pay by the seat occupied, do absolutely nothing, or worse. (And the Govvie is just as bad, they sleep, too). It's insane to think that there are mandated requirements for things that just don't work or dont make sense, but that no one with authority will change or do away with because it's either "not in their lane" or will diminish their own role in an organization. It sucks that my tax dollars go towards it.

One thing you find working nights is that there are a lot of people who work two jobs - a 40 hour a week job during the day time, and then they seem to gravitate to night jobs that aren't monitored well for performance and they spend 4 to 8 hours sleeping at their desks. I was talking with a former colleague, who has moved to Bolling AFB for another contract and we talked about night sleepers and he said "it's way worse here - there's nobody hiding it- they pull up a 2nd chair, take their shoes off and sleep with their feet up".

If you want to know how our networks are getting hacked into, you might ask yourselfabout the level of performance required. My biggest complaint is that the government has a template for what they want, but it isn't what they need. Certifications and degrees mean nothing if you have no work ethic or no experience, or if employees are stymied by rules and mandates and regulations that hinder them from doing their job. My frustration level is extremely high when I see the nonsense - the "our hands are tied because of sequestration" mentality. I can't even begin to speak to the STUPID requirements that meant when I moved from one contract to another - in the same room, with the same company, with the same clearances, I had to sit for 4 weeks while the government decided whether I was "clearable" to work there. 4 weeks getting paid to sit in a room and wait. Surfing the net, watching youtube and netflix on your dime and my dime. Because of the big behemoth non-flexible beauracracy called our government. (i cant spell that work right for the life of me). It's the reason I'm done after this contract ends. I'd rather greet at Walmart than go through this sort of crap again.

The two I am referring to do it during the middle of the day. They are both older fellows, we joke that they are strippers at night that's why they are always sleeping during the day.

Ever walk into an maintenance shop needing something and there are 20+ mechanics sitting around watching a soap opera?

 

[getbent]

It sucks doesn't it. In the last 4 years I got my Bachelors, took over as lead for the project, got 2 certifications, and when my coworker left I took over all of his responsibilities and no more money. That's ok, 7 months ago I got fed up and went to a different contractor who gladly gave me what I was asking because I was still cheaper than most in my field. Seems the only way to get a bump in salary is to change jobs if you can find anyone hiring.

Glad you were able to find someone willing to pay you more. I've tried, but no luck. I'm only working on my Associates right now. Hopefully it'll help. I'm not looking to get rich, just be able to keep the roof over my head.

 

[Hodr]

I was in the Navy for twenty years. I never heard anyone using f***, f***ing, f***er, f***ingest f***er, and various other forms of the word, like this guy did in the five minutes he spoke in this office with five other employees present including the supervisor who matched him nearly every "f" word for "f" word. He wasn't even angry, neither was she. I was a Wyle employee too and I was embarrassed at both of them.

For the last couple of years I have sat squarely between two retired Sr. Chiefs, and that particular word makes up the majority of every conversation in exactly the way you just outlined.

 

[BernieP]

Glad you were able to find someone willing to pay you more. I've tried, but no luck. I'm only working on my Associates right now. Hopefully it'll help. I'm not looking to get rich, just be able to keep the roof over my head.

keep working, we lost people who had masters degrees, 30 years of experience and were highly respected for the quality of their work and dedication.
They were offered their position at more than a 50 percent pay cut. They no longer support the Navy. It's going to be hard for NAVAIR to recruit engineers and scientists when they find out their pay will be capped at a salary not to much above the average starting wage in industry.

 

[bilbur]

keep working, we lost people who had masters degrees, 30 years of experience and were highly respected for the quality of their work and dedication.
They were offered their position at more than a 50 percent pay cut. They no longer support the Navy. It's going to be hard for NAVAIR to recruit engineers and scientists when they find out their pay will be capped at a salary not to much above the average starting wage in industry.

Just wait until they raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Not only are skilled and educated people getting huge pay cuts, the cost of goods and services is about to go up. It will be like getting a pay cut all over again. Oh well, I guess the employees at fast food restaurants deserve to make the same as an electrical technician. They do manage to get my order right at least 60% of the time so that is worthy of a raise, right?