Silence, Uncertainly Loom at APG as Possibility of Federal Shutdown Nears

If the federal government shuts down tonight, hundreds of thousands of U.S. government workers would be forced to take furlough days or work without pay—including employees at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

How many? That's not clear.

Public Affairs Chief George Mercer said few words on the subject.

“The Army asked us not to comment,” Mercer said. “It’s because everything is so up in the air we just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

But the base is preparing for whatever comes.

“For people to make comments would be inappropriate,” Mercer said.

APG is a United States Army installation established in 1917, just six months after America entered World War I. Essentially a city-within-a-city, the base in Aberdeen is comprised of more than 72,000 acres that span both Aberdeen and Edgewood. APG continues to be the oldest active proving ground primarily used to test ordinance, firearms and ammunition.

As of late March, there were 10,842 U.S. Army civilian employees working at APG. There were 2,491 military employees there and 3,874 contractors. There are approximately 1,100 other employees who fall into other classifications, Mercer said.

Many of the civilians are represented by the American Federation of Government Employees, which filed a lawsuit against the Obama Administration on March 30 seeking details on agencies’ shutdown plans.

AFGE National President John Gage made that announcement Wednesday at a National Press Club newsmaker event in Washington D.C., according to a statement.

The AFGE filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Office of Management and Budget on March 2 seeking copies of agencies’ contingency plans for continuing operations during a government shutdown, AFGE spokesman Tim Kauffman said. The lawsuit was filed when the OMB opted not to respond to the Freedom of Information Act request.

“It’s not something that should be cavalierly handled,” Gage said in the statement. “If a shutdown goes on, there will be federal employees who are going to be hurt financially.”

AFGE Local 3176 has 33 active dues-paying members at APG, Kauffman said. But the union represents 625,000 federal employees nationwide under collective bargaining agreements whether or not they actually pay dues. That means even non-dues paying members at APG benefit from deals negotiated on behalf of paying members, Kauffman said.

The Office of Personnel Management, however, has released a document to its employees that do answer some of the looming questions.

According to the document:

• All employees whose salaries are funded through the appropriations bill would be forced to take furlough days unless their positions are considered “excepted” to continue work during periods of lapsed appropriations. But they would not get paid until Congress approves and the president signs an FY 2011 appropriations bill.
• Any paid leave approved for use during the furlough would have to be cancelled.
• Congress would determine whether “non-excepted” employees would receive retro-active pay for the furlough period when a new appropriations bill is signed.
• But health benefits would continue for all employees during lapsed appropriations periods that last less than one year. That means employees could still make doctor appointments and get prescriptions.
• “Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Coverage continues for up to 12 consecutive months while in a non-pay status without cost to the employee or the agency,” the OPM document states.
• Federal Long Term Care and Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Plan deductions will be suspended for “non-excepted” employees.
• The Office of Personnel Management will be updating its Web site regarding these matters through Friday.