ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE – Members of Georgia’s congressional delegation are exhibiting a limited range of reactions as Air Force officials deprive some 3,000 Robins Air Force Base civilian workers of promised opportunities for year-end bonuses.

About 44,000 workers Air Force wide are impacted – mostly supervisors, engineers and other professionals – in the required transition from NSPS to the decades-old General Schedule personnel system.

The short-lived NSPS, or National Security Personnel System, sought to issue bonuses, pay raises and promotions based on performance rather than the longevity approach under the GS system.

As a consequence, NSPS workers were forced to forego the step-pay increases, bonuses and much of the comparability increases enjoyed by GS workers. Instead, the annual accumulation of money was pooled and made available to supervisors for rewarding top performers.

After a series of court cases flowing from intense opposition by federal labor unions, Congress cut the cord on NSPS several months ago, ruling in the fiscal year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act that affected workers must transition to comparable GS positions by Jan. 1, 2012.

As a result, Air Force decided to accelerate the transition and move virtually all employees off NSPS rosters by Sept. 26 – four days before the end of the federal fiscal year when bonuses under the system would have been mandatory.

Air Force Pentagon spokesperson Beth Gosselin confirmed the move’s consequences in response to a query from The Warner Robins Patriot.

“Because of the scheduled transition dates out of NSPS, employees will not be eligible for a performance-based payout,” she said.

While Air Force officials have said employees “will not lose salary” as they convert to GS slots, the promises do not include retention of NSPS bonus opportunities.

The news raised a storm of protest among some Robins workers. Charges of “bait and switch” have erupted. One senior official said workers originally “forced to go on NSPS” are being “disenfranchised” and now “they’re rubbing their noses in it.”

District 8 Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga, quickly picked up on the move’s impact, but his actions are unclear.

“I want NSPS employees treated fairly,” he said in an e-mailed response. “If NSPS employees worked this year with a legitimate expectation of performance bonuses, they should get them. A deal’s a deal where I come from.”

Marshall spokesman Doug Moore said he was not certain what moves might be taken by Congress. “The House Armed Services Committee has taken an interest in this, though,” he said.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga, said he was “concerned” that Robins workers would not receive the bonuses.

“I look forward to finding out how the Department of Defense plans to distribute the money that NSPS accumulated during fiscal year 2010 in a fair and equitable way to the affected employees,” he said. Isakson will be visiting Robins on Tuesday.

Ashley Nelson, spokesperson for Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga, stressed that salary would not be lost and that bonus funding accumulated in 2010 would be used “during 2010 to pay performance awards in 2011 under the GS system.”

She did not indicate any additional action or interest by the senator.

One senior official has dismissed the prospect for rollover of 2010 funds to 2011.

“NSPS employees have already contributed to the pay pool for the cycle that expires Sept. 30,” the individual pointed out. “The money is there and it will be spent on operations and maintenance projects or on someone else’s list of priorities.”