The Guam Power Authority served a notice of layoff to its employees informing of its intentions to eliminate eight positions impacted by the implementation of Smart Grid. Eight full-time, classified employees at the Guam Power Authority will be laid off, not due to monetary or economic considerations as required by statute but rather stems from reorganization without adequate consideration for existing employees.

Some of these employees have been employed with GPA for decades and at least one is within a year or two of retirement but now faces unemployment without any wrong doing or malfeasance on the employees’ part. These employees have rendered satisfactory service to the agency and the people of Guam for many years and are deserving of greater consideration. GPA’s offer of continued employment is limited to allowing existing employees only to apply and compete for a vacant position at entry level wages. This is unprecedented mistreatment of Government employees. Never in history of the Government of Guam have classified full time employees been subject to such incomprehensible lack of appreciation and insensitivity for their welfare by government managers. Classified employees in GPA should not treated as at-will employees whom serve at the pleasure and whim of the General Manager.

GFT requests that the legislature and the CCU now intervene, early in the process, before employees and their families begin suffering from the loss of income, loss of retirement and loss of employment by prohibiting the layoff of existing classified employees, freeze all hiring in the agency until the affected employees are absorbed and restrained to fill existing vacant positions in the Guam Power Authority without downgrade of salary.