Information for ECO associates Date: Fri, 29 Dec 1995 22:00:09 GMT To: "A - Division Chief and Staff", "B - Branch Chiefs and Offices", "DC - All District Chiefs", "Bruce K Gilbert, DACH/Operations, Reston, VA" , "Robert R Mason Jr., Hydrologist(Engr), Reston, VA" , "Ernest F Hubbard, Assistant Chief, OSW, Reston, VA" , "Gail E Kalen, Computer Specialist, Reston, VA" , "Anna M Lenox, Chief, Intl Water Resource, Reston, VA" , "Thomas C Pierson, Geologist, Vancouver, WA" , "S. Ernest Dreyer Jr., Hydrologist, Reston, VA" , "Kenneth J Lanfear, Network Info Products Coord., Reston, VA" , "Kathleen R Wilke, Supervisory Hydrologist, Denver, CO" , "Rodger F Ferreira, Associate District Chief (Bio), Albuquerque, NM" , "John P Borland, Supervisory Hydrologist (Eng.), Albuquerque, NM" , "Joel R Schuetz, Supervisory Hydrologist (Chem), Cheyenne, WY" , "Theodore C Bartke, Physical Scientist, Cheyenne, WY" , "William J Kratz, Admin Off, Carson City, NV" , "George S Outlaw, Hydraulic Engineer, Nashville, TN" , "Mary J Schlotfeld, Admin Off, Lincoln, NE" , "Glenn B Engel, Supv Hydrologist, Lincoln, NE" , "Harry C Rollins, Assistant District Chief, Louisville, KY" , "Dennis A Wentz, Willamette NAWQA Chief, Portland, OR" , "Richard A Hollway, Computer Scientist, Portland, OR" , "Marjorie S Davenport, Supv. Hydrologist, Columbia, SC" , "Paul M Buszka, Supv Hyd (GeoChem), Indianapolis, IN" , "Charles G Crawford, Supv Hyd (EnvSci), Indianapolis, IN" , "Stephen W Lipscomb, Supvy Hyd, Boise, ID" , "John J Vaccaro, Supervisory Hydrologist, Tacoma, WA" , "Gary L Turney, Hydrologist, Tacoma, WA" , "Alex K. (Sandy) Williamson, Central Columbia NAWQA Ch., Tacoma, WA" , "Merle F Wyant Jr., Administrative Officer, Tampa, FL" , "Walter F Holmes, Supv. Hydrologist (Engr), Salt Lake City, UT" , "Geoffrey Freethey, Supv. Hydrologist (Engr Geol), Salt Lake City, UT" , "Kidd M Waddell, SUPERVISORY HYDROLOGIST, Salt Lake City, UT" , "James R Kolva, Supervisory Hydrologist (Engr), Salt Lake City, UT" , "Kenneth W Toppin, Supv Hydrologist, Bow, NH" , "George A Irwin, Hydrologist (QW Spec), Tallahassee, FL" , "Clifton F Bell, Hyd(Geol), Richmond, VA" , "Hugh W Lowham, Supervisory Hydrologist(Engr), Cheyenne, WY" , "Kimball E Goddard, District Chief, Utah, Tucson, AZ" , "Robert E Davis, Supv Hyd (Geol), Helena, MT" , "Claude O Geiger, Supv Hyd (Engr), Lawrence, KS" , "Russell A Gadoury, Supv Hydrol(CivEng), Marlborough, MA" , "Louis C Murray Jr., Supv Hyd(Engr), Altamonte Sprg, FL" , "Brian J Granneman, , Sioux Falls, SD" , "George E Harlow Jr., Hyd(Geol), Richmond, VA" , "Allen R Brockman, Hyd(Geol), Richmond, VA" , "William D Mcfarland, Assistant District Chief, Portland, OR" , "Rafael W Rodriguez, HYDROLOGIST, San Juan, PR" From: "Robert M Hirsch, Chief Hydrologist, Reston, VA" (Robert M. Hirsch) Subject: Information for ECO associates Cc: "Gordon P Eaton, , Reston, VA" , "Bonnie McGregor, , Reston, VA" , "Barbara J Ryan, , Reston, VA" , "P. Patrick Leahy, Chief Geologist, Reston, VA" , "Richard E Witmer, , Reston, VA" , "William F Gossman Jr., , Reston, VA" , "Linda D Stanley, , Reston, VA" , "Pamela R Malam, , Reston, VA" , "Kathleen B Rutledge, , Reston, VA" , "Timothy E Calkins, , Reston, VA" Here is the text of a message that ECO is trying to get to all of the ECO associates. I imagine that they will be mailing it and thus it will take several days to reach them. I think it is important that USGS managers who work with ECO Associates know what is going on and that we try to do what we can to keep them informed through this difficult period. This is a very unfortunate situation and we are trying to do whatever we can from here to help resolve it. We will keep you posted as we learn more about it. Bob Hirsch FULL TEXT OF LETTER Dear ECO Associate December 29, 1995 I deeply regret to inform you that The Environmental Careers Organization has encountered a serious, short-term cash shortage, as a direct effect of the extended federal furlough. Federal government agencies currently on furlough owe us more than $3 million for associate services. We cannot access any of these funds while the furlough continues. This cash shortage has caused us to postpone the payroll scheduled to be paid today. We hope to be able to give associates access to their pay by the end of next week. This is not optimistic nor pessimistic. It is realistic given the circumstances as we know them. This time frame estimate assumes the federal furlough will continue indefinitely. If you have received a paycheck, hold onto it to be safe. However, it is most likely that a new paycheck will be issued for you. If you received and deposited a paycheck, that check will not be honored. That means that these funds will be subtracted from your bank account. Send documentation of any returned check fees charged by your bank to your ECO regional office for reimbursement. If you are on direct deposit, your pay will be deposited as soon as we can fund this payroll. All ECO associates will be paid before any ECO staff are paid. If you are a federal associate out on furlough, you are not to report to work, even after the furlough is lifted, until you are authorized to by an ECO staffperson. We will not be able to authorize associates returning to work unless we are sure we have received monies from agencies adequate to meet our payroll obligations. Please call the furlough hotline, (617) 426-4375, extension 2FUR (2387) for the latest information. If you are not a federal associate out on furlough, you may be temporarily "furloughed" if your sponsor is not current in its payments to ECO. We simply do not have the funds to subsidize sponsor nonpayment at this time. You will be informed by ECO staff if you are affected in this way. We are doing all we can to resolve this situation as soon as possible. ECO is a relatively small not-for-profit organization that has now been hit hard by the protracted federal shutdown. I apologize to you, and remind you that the furlough is an extraordinary situation that is having ripple effects throughout the nation. We will be here to answer your questions, and we will communicate any new information to you. Please direct any questions to ECO regional office staff. Thank you for your understanding and patience. Sincerely, Michael A. Rodrigues Vice President P.S. Please excuse the fact that this letter is not personally addressed to you. We wanted to get this correspondence out as quickly as possible. Please do not interpret its impersonal nature as a lack of acknowledgement of the hardship this situation may cause you to bear. CC: Project Advisors ********************************************************** * Robert M. Hirsch Phone: 703/648-5215 * * Chief Hydrologist Fax: 703/648-5002 * * 409 National Center Internet: rhirsch@usgs.gov * * U.S. Geological Survey * * Reston, VA 22092 * **********************************************************