TEXARKANA -- Contract workers at Red River Army Depot were told Friday that their temporary and term appointment jobs are exempt from the federal hiring freeze and can be extended with Army approval.
The Red River Army Depot commander, Col. Jason Carrico, told workers Thursday that the contract set to expire this month has already been extended. He also announced that workers' contracts set to expire in March, April and May are making their way through the federal system, awaiting approval, and that these jobs are essential to both the depot and the Army.
More than 700 jobs at Red River Army Depot were put 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 the depot's labor pool is composed of contract labor.
Carrico said that 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.
"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," Carrico told the workforce Thursday.
Dennis Lewis of the Texas Military Preparedness Commission said in a statement: "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 for U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe, the Republican whose district includes Texarkana, Texas, said the positions are just awaiting extension authorization from the Department of the Army, and that 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.
Friday's announcement followed a letter sent to Mattis on Thursday by Randy Erwin, national president of the National Federation of Federal Employees. Erwin wrote that about 750 members of the union who hold temporary and term appointment jobs at the depot had been told they would be laid off effective March 4.
That was the case, 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 a Red River Army Depot official told employees that "based on the guidance [given to the employees] that their appointments may be extended and [they] had nothing to fear."
State Desk on 02/26/2017