Contract workers at Red River Army Depot are hopeful a threat to their jobs has been averted and soon their contracts will be extended by the Department of Defense.
More than 700 jobs at RRAD became at-risk in late January when President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on federal hiring. While military personnel were exempt, civilian employees were not. A good portion of RRAD's labor pool is comprised of contract labor.
On Thursday, Red River Army Depot Commander Col. Jason A. Carrico told RRAD workers that the process to extend temporary and term appointments is under way. One contract that was set to expire in February has already been extended.
He further announced that workers' contracts set to expire in March, April and May are making their way through the system, awaiting approval, and that these jobs are essential to both the depot and the Army.
Carrico said based on implementation instructions issued by the deputy secretary of defense on Feb. 1, the acting Army secretary must approve all extensions on a position-by-position basis. He said each installation has to justify, via the chain of command, that each extension is necessary for national security and public safety.
He told the workforce Thursday, "I understand that each of you depend on your positions as means of your livelihood and that the required approval process is very frustrating and time sensitive."
Dennis L. Lewis of the Texas Military Preparedness Commission said in a statement to the Texarkana Gazette, "Community leadership has been working this issue intensely since it first surfaced. The issue is not unique to Red River Army Depot and affects many other Army Depots and federal installations across the nation I remain optimistic that the impact on the depot, as a result of the federal hiring freeze, will be minimal."
Robbin Bass, regional representative of U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, said the positions are just awaiting extension authorization from the Department of the Army, and the congressman's office is tracking the situation.
The freeze was put in place along with other measures, including the initiation of a 30-day readiness review to assess practically all aspects of defense operations, including maintenance, munitions and infrastructure. Defense Secretary James Mattis' office will do this review.
In a letter, Randy L. Erwin, national president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, wrote to Mattis on Thursday, he said "Approximately 750 of our members who occupy term and temporary positions have now been notified that they will be laid off effective March 4, 2017."
This, he said, even though "the Office of Management and Budget issued Federal Civilian Hiring Freeze guidance on January 31, 2017, stating that term and temporary appointments of existing Federal employees may be extended up to the maximum allowable time limit."
Erwin advised Mattis that an RRAD official told employees that "based on the guidance that their appointments may be extended and (they) had nothing to fear."