Uncle Sam’s silent, invisible snow warriors

Not that long ago a major weather event (like a blizzard) almost always triggered a government shutdown in the Washington area. It was like an updated version of the Salem witch trials. With fewer fatalities. TV, radio, newspapers around the nation from the Fargo Bugle to the Minneapolis Smug ridiculed officials here — and ordinary people — for our inability/refusal to cope with what, to them, is part of winter. Some of the criticism was valid. Much was overkill. But things have changed.

Technology and changing attitudes have made it incorrect to refer to a government shutdown anymore. What happens — when there is a major weather or man-made event — is more like a change of venue. Tens of thousands of feds who once would have been allowed to stay home and chill out are now expected to put in a full day teleworking. Last week, we talked about the rapidly changing history of technology. That, plus the, uh snow/blizzard over the weekend prompted folks to report from the trenches. Such as:

”My agency (within the USDA) no longer gets closed down for weather (or any other reason) because we are almost all set up to telework. When the blizzard arrives, we are expected to be online and working — unless we have no power or have childcare/elderly care issues.

“As a result, I get annoyed when the media reports “the federal government is shut down”… what they really mean is that government facilities are closed but the people are hard at work.

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“There is such a huge push to promote telework within federal service now that it might be useful for you to report some actual numbers. I’m fairly certain USDA keeps metrics on how many employees are telework-ready (we certainly have to report the numbers upward). I suspect it’s a fairly large number.

“If it’s true, it would certainly help federal employee morale if the media accurately reported that although buildings are closed, most feds are online and working. We are not wimps! :-)

“BTW … I love your column and have listened/read your stuff for years. I will be retiring in April having 42 years of useful, gratifying and, for the most part, enjoyable federal service.

“Thank you for all you do for Federal workers.”

Adrie Custer
Economic Research Service

S.W. believes that OPM blew it last week, when it didn’t offer a delayed arrival option for the pre-blizzard dusting that made roads very, very dangerous for the a.m. commute. He says: “I made it to the office Thursday morning in downtown WDC from Northern VA. (Before the storm hit). Roads from last night’s little snow went untreated … and what snow fell became ice as cars drove over or slid off the road as the case may be. Heading in from the Greenway, down the toll road into WDC, we saw between 40-50 abandoned vehicles along the way. Some in the roadway. Emergency workers attempting to move vehicles from the roadway. Main reason we made it in is we left home at 4:00 am for the one hour drive. I did not want to be on the road later that morning.”

“Oh yeah, when I arrived to work, I called my staff and informed them to telework. We hope OPM is not setting a precedent for this winter.”

Happy WDC Fed

        Read more: Mike Causey

Nearly Useless Factoid

By Michael O’Connell

With an average temperature of 73 degrees Fahrenheit, January is the coldest month in Cancun, Mexico.

Source: HolidayWeather.com

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