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Did anyone notice?

Anonymously contributed? Anyone notice an increase of LANL TSMs going on overhead? That 2% retroactive tax on programs to pay for the VSP seems like a huge management mistake.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Oh I noticed it. To think that McMillan made this huge pitch in first VSP announcement that the "U.S. Government owned the VRP". He concealed the fact that the Programs at LANL would end up paying the $50M. McMillan is nothing more than a con artist.
Anonymous said…
McMillan never said the feds would pay for the VSP. I was there.
Anonymous said…
Looks like there will now have to be some *more* layoffs to help pay for the voluntary layoffs (VRP). This is crazy!

Many projects are beginning to feel the pain of declining budgets to pay for their staff. People are scrambling around like mad at LANL to find codes to work on as fear of an involuntary layoff grows.
Anonymous said…
McMillan may or may not have said that the "Government owns the VSP". No one knows for sure, his communication skills are so poor it's hard to tell. Uhhh, uhmmm,.....
Anonymous said…
Good description of the so called director, Con Artist, with some else pulling his stings!
Anonymous said…
If you are a regular staff member, do not go on overhead if you plan on keeping your job through the next round of lab layoffs. Find something, anything, to work on to make it look like you have value to the lab.

Of course, if you're in management, then don't sweat it, LLNS and LANS have your back.
Anonymous said…
Find something, anything, to work on to make it look like you have value to the lab.

May 9, 2012 9:00 PM

As opposed to actually having value? Yeah, great advice. How to survive as dead wood. The problem in a nutshell.
Anonymous said…
Find something, anything, to work on to make it look like you have value to the lab.

May 9, 2012 9:00 PM

As opposed to actually having value? Yeah, great advice. How to survive as dead wood. The problem in a nutshell.

May 9, 2012 9:32 PM

"Yeah uhhh everyone, just follow the money baby , uhhh, follow the money, uhmmm" McMillan
Anonymous said…
Follow the money, and notice that Charlie's first year is almost up - time for an annual raise!
Anonymous said…
Follow the money, and notice that Charlie's first year is almost up - time for an annual raise!

May 10, 2012 8:16 AM

"And don't forget the bonuses" McMillan
Anonymous said…
He concealed the fact that the Programs at LANL would end up paying the $50M.

The programs pay for everything. The NNSA funds programs. They accept indirect as part of maintaining the institution.
Anonymous said…
NNSA may fund about half the programs at their labs but that doesn't mean they are going to supply extra funds to help cover the costs for the lost labor hours due to the VRP (severance cost) taxation on programs.

It will have to be made up by less travel, less equipment and in the end.... fewer employees (i.e., future RIFs).
Anonymous said…
help me here. for WFO, how is the retroactive tax legal. Budgets were put in up to 3 years ago. And how is time and effort then compensated?
Anonymous said…
help me here. for WFO, how is the retroactive tax legal. Budgets were put in up to 3 years ago. And how is time and effort then compensated?

May 12, 2012 9:51 PM

I don't know the details of WFO contracts. I think it likely they contain (from the NNSA side) some wording about escalating or unforeseeable costs. DOE provides special rules for DHS contracts. Unfortunately, DOE Orders are no longer available on the public web, so maybe someone in the know can fill us in. In any case, it is not a matter of legality, but what is specified in the contracts.
Anonymous said…
WFO went down from transition until Reese came in. Then it was up for a few years, and now it is back down. WFO is appreciated at SNL, but harder to find elsewhere.
Anonymous said…
Did anyone notice the 2% retroactive tax increase?

No, they did not. Now shut up and keep bringing in the funds so they can be taxed and frittered away by your lab executive management team.

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