Todd Jacobson
WC Monitor
10/10/2014
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Chairman Peter Winokur announced to staff late this week that he will not seek re-nomination as the agency’s top official. Winokur said in an Oct. 9 meeting with staffers that he planned to serve until Daniel Santos (nominated to replace Joseph Bader) is confirmed as a Board member by the Senate, according to officials familiar with the issue. Winokur confirmed to WC Monitor that he had made the announcement, but did not provide any other details. “It was an honor and a privilege to serve on the Board and as its Chairman,” Winokur said in a statement to WC Monitor. “I’m proud of the great work our staff does to help ensure adequate protection of public and worker safety at DOE’s defense nuclear facilities.”
Winokur’s four-year appointment as chairman expires Oct. 18, but he is eligible to stay on until a new person is nominated to take his place. He has served on the DNFSB since 2006, first as a member and starting in 2010 as its chairman. Vice Chairman Jessie Roberson would likely serve as the acting chairman until the President nominates someone to fill the position. If Winokur were to leave before Santos is confirmed by the Senate, the five-member DNFSB would be left with only two members, Roberson and Sean Sullivan, and would not be able to make decisions because it would not have a quorum. Board members Kenneth Mossman and Bader both passed away earlier this year.
Forthcoming Employee Survey Results Described as ‘Not Good’
Winokur’s decision to depart comes ahead of an Office of Personnel Management employee survey that is expected to reflect a worsening of employee satisfaction data when it is released in the next few weeks. One official with knowledge of the survey results and board operations described the survey results as “not good” and suggested the forthcoming survey might have had something to do with Winokur’s decision. “I wouldn’t be surprised that in anticipation of further criticism he’s decided to head that off,” the official told NS&D Monitor. Another official close to the Board, though, said Winokur’s departure was not related to the survey. “He’s been planning to make this transition for more than a year and I don’t think the latest survey results are playing much into that,” the official said. Winokur did not respond to a request for comment on the reasons for his departure and whether it is linked to growing employee dissatisfaction.
Last year’s OPM employee survey revealed that employee satisfaction at the Board had decreased significantly, with upticks in employees reporting that they are not satisfied with the organization and that the Board is not a “good place to work.” Increases were also found in employees reporting concerns about senior management. The Board described the results of the survey as “sobering” in a white paper and attributed them in part, to “a period of significant change” underway at the agency. That included Congressional modifications to the Board’s statute, the introduction of an Inspector General, a new Performance Management System, and improvements to programmatic internal controls.
At the time, Winokur said he was concerned by the results of the survey, but stressed that the Board has begun to take action in response. “We are trying to pace ourselves but this is a set of significant challenges for any organization and we are no exception,” he said.
