Why I became a Member of Local 27 of the IFPTE (MESA)
by Jerry Cox
April 6, 2007
I hired on at Marshall Space Flight Center in December 1966; six months later I was drafted into the U.S. Army (this was during the Vietnam conflict), while STILL a NASA employee. This was an unusal state of affairs in that most NASA draft eligible employees would be given occupational deferments by their Draft Boards. I spent my mandatory two years in the Army. Meanwhile, unknown to me, I was removed from the employment rolls at MSFC contrary to Federal law. 
Upon returning to civilian life, I knew that I had, by law, 90 days to claim my job, and it was when I returned to MSFC some two weeks after my military separation I learned I was denied my reemployment rights.
While in the army, I had received a friendly personal letter from my MSFC supervisor with news of my co-workers - things such as marriages and new babies. Due to circumstances at the time, I did not reply to the letter which apparently left the supervisor with the unfounded impression that I did not intend to return to my job, and so based on that impression, he initiated the act to drop me from the employee rolls.
In order to get my reemployment rights, I had to appeal to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in Atlanta. After some effort and time the CSC ruled that MSFC must grant me my full reemployment after military separation rights.
While technicians and clerical employees at MSFC were represented by a Union, MSFC Engineers were not. If there had been a Union for the engineer employees, I would not have had to do all this alone; it would have been much easier to get my job back; and, more importantlyl, I would not have had to involve a third party (the CSC).
This experience inspired me to become a charter member and help bring about MESA, Local 27 of the IFPTE.