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Post by dwesq on Oct 19, 2021 17:36:53 GMT -5
Ive heard that about 40% of ssa is not vaxxed. (I dont know where that number came from, but I've heard that number for other agencies as well. I think it's based on the national average Vax rate).
Is ssa firing 40% of their employees on 11/8?
I'm vaxxed, so I could care less. I'm just withholding my proof of Vax until the last minute to see if ssa will blink when faced with firing so many people.
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Post by nylawyer on Oct 19, 2021 18:29:39 GMT -5
Let's see if we can get this thread locked too.
I had seen TSA was 40%, but it wasn't 40% who were unvaccinated, it was 40% who had yet to report their vaccination status.
I would have have a hard time imagining the administration would fire a huge percentage of TSA agents right before Thanksgiving.
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Post by superalj on Oct 19, 2021 19:04:47 GMT -5
A directive is a more diplomatic term than an order. On this board we all know how to get along, and things run smoothly 99% of the time. I post as a member the vast majority of the time. Only about 1% of my posts are as a moderator. I prefer being a member and dislike having to be a moderator. No, I'm not General Powell, but I have a lot of respect for him. He is a calm steading influence that I admire. Although he didn't go to the finest undergraduate school in the country, he has done well for himself. RIP Colin Powell. He would have made a great POTUS. |
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Post by fowlfinder on Oct 19, 2021 19:30:41 GMT -5
A directive is a more diplomatic term than an order. On this board we all know how to get along, and things run smoothly 99% of the time. I post as a member the vast majority of the time. Only about 1% of my posts are as a moderator. I prefer being a member and dislike having to be a moderator. No, I'm not General Powell, but I have a lot of respect for him. He is a calm steading influence that I admire. Although he didn't go to the finest undergraduate school in the country, he has done well for himself. RIP Colin Powell. He would have made a great POTUS. Hear hear. Most of the people who would have been great Presidents are the very people who didn't want the job. |
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Post by intothewild on Oct 20, 2021 10:27:15 GMT -5
A directive is a more diplomatic term than an order. On this board we all know how to get along, and things run smoothly 99% of the time. I post as a member the vast majority of the time. Only about 1% of my posts are as a moderator. I prefer being a member and dislike having to be a moderator. No, I'm not General Powell, but I have a lot of respect for him. He is a calm steading influence that I admire. Although he didn't go to the finest undergraduate school in the country, he has done well for himself. RIP Colin Powell. He would have made a great POTUS. I’m sad Powell never ran for president, he could have changed the direction of this country. I believe that. |
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Happy_GS
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Post by Happy_GS on Oct 20, 2021 12:32:36 GMT -5
Let's see if we can get this thread locked too. I had seen TSA was 40%, but it wasn't 40% who were unvaccinated, it was 40% who had yet to report their vaccination status. I would have have a hard time imagining the administration would fire a huge percentage of TSA agents right before Thanksgiving. I think that would require me vociferously posting in this thread too  (which if folks start posting vaccine misinformation again, I might feel obligated to provide further evidence of vaccine efficacy). Personally, I hope the administration has the fortitude to enforce the mandate, regardless of how many employees resist. There are tons of qualified candidates out there, even more now that past cannabis use is no longer disqualifying for these sorts of positions (which is a whole other can of worms). There's been a flurry of activity on USAjobs lately, which may be in preparation for the coming storm, or may just be because hiring was frozen during much of the previous administration. I imagine the quality of the federal workforce will improve too, if we retain only the scientifically literate employees. Also, rest in peace to General Powell, a dedicated public servant and an admirable leader. Agreed that unfortunately most of the best potential Presidents are those that would abhor the job (or the campaign trail). |
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Post by jagvet on Oct 20, 2021 15:17:53 GMT -5
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Post by nylawyer on Oct 20, 2021 17:56:42 GMT -5
There are currently something like 10 million unfilled positions in this country and we have fairly low unemployment (if you only consider those who are actively looking for a job).
There is very little reason to believe there is a huge group of people waiting to jump in if all of a sudden a huge percentage of the TSA (or the Chicago PD) were to be fired.
(I'm not suggesting that I believe that is likely to happen- as I noted above I think the number being floated around is a little misleading, I find it to be extremely unlikely that TSA agents are that disproportionately not vaccinated).
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Happy_GS
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Post by Happy_GS on Oct 20, 2021 18:44:24 GMT -5
I'll admit, I did not realize the Trump administration's hiring freeze was that short. I was not a federal employee at the time. I guess I was more referring to Saul's hiring policies within SSA (limiting transfers, telework, etc.). I was also thinking about how SSA hasn't hired any ALJs since early 2018 (if I'm not mistaken), but that has more to do with the EO that removed the prior OPM process, rather than a government-wide hiring freeze. But I certainly could have been much clearer in my original post, I apologize for being misinformed. And scientific literacy generally refers to an understanding of the scientific method and scientific evidentiary analysis, see here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_literacyAnd the term does not encompass all who agree with me, as you mentioned before you're vaccinated and (absent other evidence to the contrary) one could infer that you therefore possess a degree of scientific literacy. As we've seen through our brief discussions, you and I do not appear to agree on several topics, regardless of your scientific literacy. In other words, I do not agree with the scientifically illiterate, but I also do not agree with everyone who is scientifically literate. I disagree with lots of folks, I just have a particular disdain for those whose scientific illiteracy endangers their community, their nation, and/or the globe. Disdain might even be the wrong word, I'd love to help them understand science, if possible. Scientific literacy is not all-encompassing either, one might possess a high degree of scientific literacy in one field (e.g., immunology) and poor scientific literacy in another area (e.g., climate science). Science is confusing for some because it is constantly progressing and evolving, we learn new things every day, some of which can invalidate or re-shape our prior understandings. The key is to examine the evidence/source and keep an open mind. Again, I apologize if any of my communications on this board have come across as closed-minded, because I'd hate to be construed as such. It's just that the evidence for the safety and efficacy of these vaccines is so overwhelming, I have trouble interacting with those who cannot understand that. For those that are curious, there is a great portion in the second part of the PBS documentary "Your Inner Fish" that discusses the development of mRNA technology. It's a fascinating documentary for those with the spare time and interest: www.pbs.org/your-inner-fish/The main takeaway is that, while these vaccines have been developed at a rapid pace, the science behind them was discovered in 1995 and researchers have been experimenting with it since (including a previous mRNA vaccine in 2018 -> www.nature.com/articles/nrd.2017.243 ). Here's one last reference, for the curious: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_hedgehog |
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Happy_GS
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Post by Happy_GS on Oct 20, 2021 19:01:38 GMT -5
There are currently something like 10 million unfilled positions in this country and we have fairly low unemployment (if you only consider those who are actively looking for a job). There is very little reason to believe there is a huge group of people waiting to jump in if all of a sudden a huge percentage of the TSA (or the Chicago PD) were to be fired. (I'm not suggesting that I believe that is likely to happen- as I noted above I think the number being floated around is a little misleading, I find it to be extremely unlikely that TSA agents are that disproportionately not vaccinated). Hmm, my understanding was that employment had not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, but I guess that is nonetheless fairly low. According to the BLS, currently the unemployment rate is at 4.8 percent (with pre-pandemic levels being below 4 percent). There are approximately 6 million people not in the labor force who currently want a job, with 2.7 million being long-term unemployed. See, www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdfYou're absolutely correct on the 10 million openings. See, www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htmMy thinking would be that certain portion of those currently unemployed have quit low-wage low-skill jobs (which make up a significant portion of the openings) and they might be interested in a secure union job (such as with the feds or police), but I do not have specific numbers for any of that. I'm hopeful that you're correct and the current numbers of unvaccinated federal employees have been largely overblown. |
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Post by jagvet on Oct 20, 2021 23:22:30 GMT -5
@stuck_In_Tx, You're a good, thoughtful person, and I enjoy the tête-à-tête. I'm glad we can enjoy disagreeing on this board. Best wishes, my friend!
I do think there are few fed anti-vaxxers, but many who are nervous about their privacy. I'm still getting an occasional email from the company OPM hired around 6 or 7 years ago after OPM released thousands of feds' personal info.
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Happy_GS
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Post by Happy_GS on Oct 21, 2021 1:56:10 GMT -5
@stuck_In_Tx, You're a good, thoughtful person, and I enjoy the tête-à-tête. I'm glad we can enjoy disagreeing on this board. Best wishes, my friend! I do think there are few fed anti-vaxxers, but many who are nervous about their privacy. I'm still getting an occasional email from the company OPM hired around 6 or 7 years ago after OPM released thousands of feds' personal info. Thank you sir, I too enjoyed a spirited debate. I hope I didn’t get off on the wrong foot around here, I really don’t mean to offend, I’m just passionate. And I definitely understand your privacy concerns, I just don’t see how the current administration can enforce the mandate without some form of verification. Sometimes in order to make an omelette, you gotta break a few eggs 🤷🏻♂️ Plus my understanding from a cybersecurity standpoint is that we should presume that all of our personal information is already out there and/or available for purchase to anyone so motivated. See: www.cleveland.com/moneymatters/2018/12/assume-your-personal-information-is-already-on-the-dark-web-money-matters.htmlbreakingdefense.com/2021/07/nist-publishes-security-standards-for-critical-software/Perhaps you’ll be heartened to hear that Biden has already issued a zero-trust cybersecurity EO. See: theconversation.com/zero-trust-security-assume-that-everyone-and-everything-on-the-internet-is-out-to-get-you-and-maybe-already-has-160969I realize this might not be the most heartening notion, but again my understanding is that this the reality on the ground in our modern digital interconnected world. But hey at least we get to say goodbye to PCOM 😂👋 Thanks again, and best wishes to you as well friend! |
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gavel
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Post by gavel on Oct 21, 2021 8:34:37 GMT -5
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Post by hopefalj on Oct 21, 2021 11:50:01 GMT -5
@stuck_In_Tx, You're a good, thoughtful person, and I enjoy the tête-à-tête. I'm glad we can enjoy disagreeing on this board. Best wishes, my friend! I do think there are few fed anti-vaxxers, but many who are nervous about their privacy. I'm still getting an occasional email from the company OPM hired around 6 or 7 years ago after OPM released thousands of feds' personal info. The privacy aspect is interesting for a group of people who have likely had all manner of their background delved into to get and keep their jobs. There is a difference between medical information and criminal, credit, or other background searches obviously, but there is also a difference (IMO) between “have you gotten a shot?” and disclosing information about your physical or mental health conditions or ongoing treatment. I assume but don’t know that you’d have to provide medical documentation to qualify for leave donation or the use of extended sick leave. I guess I just find it odd that yea or nay on a vaccination is where the line would be drawn with respect to privacy. |
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Post by Ace Midnight on Oct 21, 2021 13:14:27 GMT -5
Well a "yay or nay" on a questionnaire is quite the difference between, a "yay" means you keep your job and "nay" means you're fired, is it not?
Isn't that the crux of this particular *ahem* "discussion" at this particular time in history?
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Post by rightspeech on Oct 21, 2021 15:58:37 GMT -5
after OPM released thousands of feds' personal info. by released you mean got hacked by a hostile foreign power allegedly |
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Post by hopefalj on Oct 21, 2021 18:19:51 GMT -5
Well a "yay or nay" on a questionnaire is quite the difference between, a "yay" means you keep your job and "nay" means you're fired, is it not? Isn't that the crux of this particular *ahem* "discussion" at this particular time in history? Then it’s not really a privacy issue, unless it’s a right to privacy discussion in terms of control of one’s body in not taking the vaccine. That’s a different discussion that will undoubtedly play out in the next several months/years, but that’s not the privacy I took jagvet to be talking about, particularly in light of the mention of the OPM hack and his earlier conflicted feelings about reporting his status. It’s just a difference in what we all like to keep private. For me, I don’t care enough about my vax status to have it bother me. I’m much more bothered privacy-wise that I’d have to report buying $1,000+ of MRNA stock than receiving 2 doses of their vaccine, but I would do it. |
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aboj
New Member
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Post by aboj on Oct 22, 2021 15:36:25 GMT -5
Like anything submitted electronically today, you are best just assuming you lose total control over information the moment you press the "submit" button. The vaccination verification is no different. One glance at the "Routine Uses" portion of the mandatory click-through tells you that.
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Post by hapi2balj on Nov 8, 2021 6:57:12 GMT -5
Frustrating! It's as if USA Jobs purposefully is trying to make the search engine difficult. Imagine that. So how does one successfully search for all "Judge" positions if terminology and 0935 don't work? I'm also interested in keeping up on background investigator jobs which now are under DOD. |
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gavel
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Post by gavel on Nov 8, 2021 8:59:00 GMT -5
You will probably need multiple searches. One for 0935, another for 0930, and then a search with multiple factors such as 0905 & judge, and other multi factor searches you can create. Others may be able to provide better search parameters.
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(which if folks start posting vaccine misinformation again, I might feel obligated to provide further evidence of vaccine efficacy).
