A non-political letter

A few month ago, I posted a letter my wife (who works for the IRS) received.  I was upset at the political tone of the letter, which seems to place of the blame for budget problems on the Republicans and pictured Obama as fighting night and day to do the best he could for the government workers.  That generated a series of comments, some agreeing with me and others saying that the letter was no big deal.

Today, my wife got another letter on basically the same subject.  This time, however, the letter was properly devoid of the political overtones that I found so objectionable in the last one.  I post it here both to give credit where credit is due and to illustrate, by comparision, what was objectionable in the last one.  Here it is:

As you are all well aware, the fiscal environment is challenging for many Americans.  We, as government employees, provide critical services to the American taxpayer and we should all be very proud of our roles.  However, with the uncertainty of the upcoming budget, all government agencies have been asked to do their part to reduce spending. The Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget have released guidance for federal agenciesthat reduces the spending for awards funded after Oct. 1, 2011.   

There is no impact on awards that will be paid out prior to Sept. 30, 2011. Starting October 1, 2011, performance awards and individual contribution awards (such as special act awards) for executives, managers, management officials and non-bargaining unit employees will be smaller.  There will be a reduction in the number of recruitment, retention and relocation incentives.  And the number of quality step increases and employee suggestion program awards will be limited.   

Any changes made to IRS policies that affect bargaining unit employees will require negotiations with NTEU. We will keep you informed of the status of those negotiations and their results. 

We know this is not pleasant news to hear, but it is the reality we and other federal agencies are facing. It’s more important now than ever that we remain focused on the tasks at hand.  I thank you for your diligence and commitment.

-Jim Falcone

IRS Human Capital Officer 

Well written, diplomatic and non-political.  This is the way it ought to be done.