“You know what Justice Black used to say? Flexibility is mush.”

With that quip, Judge A. Raymond Randolph cut into the opening statement of the government’s lawyer, who was defending new workplace rules at the Department of Homeland Security.

I’ll ask one more time: would someone who is in a HLS or other national security position and in a union please weigh in? Are working conditions so abismal that you have to fight this fight? Honestly, because being “exempt” for most of my life (the rest of the time I was “expendible”) I figured half-witted, pain in the ass bosses, long hours and dinner from a vending machine were par for the course.

About the Author

Michael Tanji

Michael Tanji spent nearly 20 years in the US intelligence community. Trained in both SIGINT and HUMINT disciplines he has worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the National Reconnaissance Office. At various points in his career he served as an expert in information warfare, computer network operations, computer forensics, and indications and warning. A veteran of the US Army, Michael has served in both strategic and tactical assignments in the Pacific Theater, the Balkans, and the Middle East.