Furloughs Force 2-Day Commissary Closure
Beginning July 9, 2013 the Naval Air Station Patuxent River’s commissary will be closed on Tuesdays.
The commissary employs 57 federal workers who keep the store open six days a week, closing only on Mondays. These workers are subject to furloughs which will require the store to close a second day a week during “furlough season,” reports Connie Hempel of The Tester.
The two-day, Monday-Tuesday closures will begin July 8 and continue through September 30.
Other than the furlough day, there are no other changes planned for store operation hours.
“Throughout sequestration, we’ve done our best to try and reduce the impact on our patrons, and we will continue to do so when furloughs are implemented,” said Debbie House, the Pax River commissary store manager.
The commissary manages more than 30,000 customer transactions a month, Ms. House said. Although the store will be closed two days instead of one, customers can still expect to have the same quantity and selection of products whenever it is open, she said. But, like any retail operation, commissaries are subject to potential marketplace supply fluctuations.
As with all other federal employees subject to the 11 furlough days, Kevin Robinson, Defense Commissary Agency public affairs specialist, said the commissary’s federal employees will also lose 20 percent of their pay during the furlough period; these employees do not include baggers or the contract workers who staff the deli and bakery.
Source: The Tester