NOAA Administrator Lautenbacher came right out and said it.

At two Congressional hearings last week, Admiral Lautenbacher was asked why the NWS was proceeding with its new concept of operations -the “Peer Office Cluster?” His answer: Staffing efficiencies and cost savings.

In other words - the new concept of operations (or “ConOps”) will enable the NWS to eliminate forecaster jobs. Under this ill-conceived scheme, forecasters at one forecast office will be expected to produce the grids and issue forecasts for not only their area of responsibility - but for three other domains as well.  

According to the March 12, 2007 version of the NWS’s “Strategic Business Plan,” the agency’s goal is to free up 35% of “staff hours” by 2014 through ConOps.

The "Clustered Peer Office" concept will enable the NWS to reduce staff and close forecast offices at night on a routine basis. NWS Director D. L. Johnson admitted as much in the August 18, 2006, email announcement he sent to all employees, in which he wrote that "we are absolutely committed to 24x7x365 services" but not to "24x7x365 staffing in WFOs."

And what is the NWS going to do with the positions it frees up as a result of ConOps? It will replace meteorologists with other oceanographers, marine biologists and other personnel who to support the “wet” side of NOAA - which already gets more funding than the NWS.  The November 14, 2006 “Cluster Peer ConOps Prototype Plan” says that ConOps  

“. . . will move the NWS from primarily a provider of weather information to a provider of an integrated information service consistent with the vision and goals of NOAA. Through hiring of applicants from a broader range of scientific backgrounds . . .the NWS staffs will gain the necessary expertise.”

Is this only “conceptual” as Admiral Launtenbacher told Congress? The day before he said that this was only in the “conceptual” and “testing” phase, I met with NWS Deputy Director John Jones who informed me that the NWS would like to implement nationwide the first step of ConOps immediately: the “two-office cluster operations.” Are you ready for the double workload of issuing forecasts for two domains?   

Although it is “cash poor,” the NWS spent $3.2 million on ConOps last fiscal year; it will spend $2.9 million on ConOps this year and plans to spend $2.7 million on ConOps next year.   Even the prototype testing of ConOps may well lead to reduce staffing. The November 14, 2006 prototype plan states that “Each cluster WFO will have at a minimum one qualified forecaster on duty at all times during the prototype period.”  Doesn’t that cut the number of forecaster in half?   As you know, NWSEO is vigorously fighting ConOps. Not only does it risk our jobs, but also the quality of forecasts we issue for the American public. Here are some of the things we are doing:

  • Aggressively lobbying Congress to oppose ConOps. In 2005, we obtained a Congressional language which prohibited the NWS from “implementing a plan to consolidate, regionalize or reduce service hours at weather service forecast offices.” At our request, Congress directed the GAO to conduct a study of whether ConOps will result in degradation of forecasts or other services. The GAO report is due in June.

  • Fighting reduction in staffing through arbitration. The employees at the Missoula Forecast Office just received back pay checks for $1200 or more of night differential they lost when management illegally eliminated a mid-shift.

  • We will oppose implementation of ConOps during collective bargaining and other consultations with NWS management.

  • Educate the public and user communities about the risk which ConOps poses to the quality of forecasts and the loss of services that will result when offices are closed part-time. For example, I addressed the annual meeting of the International Association of Emergency Managers in Orlando in January and the National Association of Counties, which met in Washington, DC in March.


NWSEO’s ability to protect NWS employees’ jobs largely depends on membership support. In the past year, over 100 new members joined NWSEO - but there are hundreds more whose jobs are on the line who have not yet joined. Our best recruiters of new members are their co-workers - so we are hoping each of you will ask those non-members in your office to joining.

They can do so by filing out this attached SF 1187 and return it to us via fax at 703 293 9653. They may also join on-line, or find out more information about NWSEO, by visiting us on this web site and by clicking "Join on Line."

Any current member who successfully recruits two new members will be invited to attend NWSEO's annual convention, with travel and hotel expenses paid. The convention will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Portland , OR during the weekend of November 10 and 11. The election for national officers will be held at the convention, so it will be an exciting time. We hope to see you there.

Daniel Sobien
National President