crossposted from unbossed
The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) website is an interesting one to check in on to see what is going on in government. NTEU represents about 150,000 federal employees working in 31 federal agencies and departments. The NTEU has also been an aggressive opponent of privatization.
Here is a the NTEU take on the battle over privatizing Homeland Security's Human Resource work. The lucky Privateer is Lockheed-Martin.
On Friday, it was reported:
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee yesterday criticized the Transportation Security Administration for its decision to outsource management of the more than 40,000 transportation security officers employed by the agency.
Lockheed Martin announced July 8 that it had been awarded an eight-year, $1.2 billion contract to manage the TSA’s Integrated Hiring Operations and Personnel Program. The company said it will develop and deploy a personnel system that supports the recruitment, hiring, payment and promotions of all TSA employees.
On Thursday, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who chairs the homeland committee, criticized the TSA for outsourcing the work.
"At present, I fail to understand how this contract will benefit the Transportation Security Officer workforce, and what the contract will actually require the vendor to do to alleviate the known problems at TSA," Thompson wrote to TSA Administrator Kip Hawley.[emphasis added]
link
In my opinion and experience, it makes no sense to contract out personnel departments, human resource functions, HR - call it what you will. Nothing is more important to the success of an organization that its people. And the only way to thrive is to treat your employees professionally and appropriately.
In addition, you need to be on the same team. The essence of privatization is that you are not on the same team. The point of the contract is to make money for the contractor. So even at best, it creates divided loyalties. At worse, it creates chaos.
Here is more of the story, followed by the position statements of the NTEU.
And GovExec.com reported:
Thompson, in a five-page letter, requested information on 14 concerns related to employment practices and policies, worker morale and contract terms. Many of the inquiries originated in findings published in two recent reports by the Homeland Security Department Office of the Inspector General.
"I am concerned that the TSO workforce is suffering from a problem-plagued environment, which has led to fatigue and low morale," Thompson wrote.
"As the backbone of your agency, these frontline employees deserve clear guidelines, proper training, career development and a safe and healthy work environment. I am certain that you share my concern for their well being. However, these problems cannot be ‘outsourced’ away," Thompson wrote.
The NTEU's Position
The NTEU's position on this boondoggle could not be clearer. Of course it is in the union's interest to oppose privatization, but, given the abysmal track record for privatizing federal work, their interest coincides with our interest.
TSA Chooses the Wrong Path in Contracting Its Human Resource Duties, Kelley Says
Washington, D.C.—The leader of the union representing Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees at three major airports today called a decision by TSA to award a massive contract to perform its human resource activities over the next eight years "another step down the wrong path by a troubled agency."
"TSA is planning to spend $1.2 billion on this eight-year deal. I wonder how many TSA employees could be hired from the profit made by Lockheed Martin? And air travelers across the country should be wondering how that money could be used to reduce congestion at security checkpoints in our nation’s airports," said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).
The $1.2 billion contract, which in part consolidates work being performed by various other private contractors, was awarded to Lockheed Martin Corporation. It includes support for recruitment and hiring; the handling of employee records; the processing of paychecks, as well as health and retirement benefits; and research into strategic workplace planning.
"TSA may well be the worst of the worst, when it comes to human resource issues and this contract will do little to change that," Kelley added.
President Kelley said NTEU is in discussions with members of Congress about this contract, and that a number of them have expressed an interest in examining the need for and wisdom of such a move by the agency.
TSA is a unit of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which consistently ranks at or near the bottom among major federal agencies in Office of Personnel Management surveys on issues impacting employee satisfaction with their workplaces. In May 2008, a DHS Inspector General report detailed serious failings in TSA’s internal dispute resolution process.
A major part of the continuing problems at TSA—which have led to a dangerously high turnover rate—is centered on its much-maligned, confusing and subjective pay system. Even recent modest changes in that system have done little to address employee concerns about fairness and transparency in pay matters.
President Kelley has argued strongly for a variety of key changes at TSA—including moving employees to the General Schedule pay system and granting them the same rights to bargain collectively that are widespread throughout DHS.
NTEU is supporting H.R. 3212, introduced by Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), which would grant such rights by statute; at present, the head of TSA has the sole discretion to decide whether or not to grant TSA employees collective bargaining rights. To date, the answer has been no.
Such rights would give this important group of employees who play a major role at the front lines of the nation’s security a meaningful voice in their pay, scheduling, awards and other important workplace issues. It would, the NTEU leader has argued, go a long way toward cutting unacceptably high attrition and establish much-needed stability in an important position.
Here is the second NTEU press release on this issue:
Key House Chairman Voices Concerns over TSA Contracting Human Resource Functions; Workforce Issues
Washington, D.C.—The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee has voiced his serious concerns with a $1.2 billion Transportation Security Administration (TSA) private sector contract to perform a wide range of human resource activities over the next eight years—and he wants answers to a raft of questions about the matter.
The letter from Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) to TSA Administrator Kip Hawley comes one day after President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) was sharply and publicly critical of the TSA contract with Lockheed Martin Corp. NTEU has been working with the Homeland Security Committee to provide information from frontline employees on workplace issues.
"The profit Lockheed Martin will make from a $1.2 billion deal could be used to increase staffing and reduce congestion at our nation’s airports," President Kelley said. "Is that not a much better use of taxpayers’ money?"
TSA is plagued by high turnover and low morale, stemming in large part from a pay system widely seen as confusing and subjective, as well as a workplace where their voices are not heard on such important issues as training and scheduling.
In a five-page letter to Hawley, Rep. Thompson called TSA’s Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) "the backbone of your agency," and said these front-line employees "deserve clear guidelines, proper training, career development and a safe and healthy work environment."
He added: "I am certain that you share my concern for their well-being. However, these problems cannot be ‘outsourced’ away."
As President Kelley pointed out yesterday, the TSA contract would put Lockheed Martin in a position of supporting TSA recruitment and hiring; handling employee records; processing paychecks, and health and retirement benefits; and providing research into strategic workforce planning. Rep. Thompson has asked for information—by July 31—on these and a number of other matters relating to the contract.
The lengthy letter was one of two sent this week by Rep. Thompson to Hawley on workplace matters within the committee’s jurisdiction.
The initial letter seeks detailed information on staffing, operations and others matters relating to the TSA Office of Ombudsman. This letter comes in the wake of a report by the TSA inspector general about problems with the dispute resolution mechanism at TSA. President Kelley was sharply critical of TSA when that report was made public in late June.
"This report provides clear evidence of the need for collective bargaining rights for TSA employees including an effective and negotiated grievance procedure and having issues heard and decided by a neutral and outside third-party arbitrator," the NTEU leader said. NTEU is leading the fight for legislation that would provide TSA employees with such rights.
Among other problems, the IG report cited instances of TSA managers using intimidation to discourage employees from taking advantage of internal processes—including use of the Office of Ombudsman. One employee, the IG said, allegedly was reprimanded for talking with the Ombudsman’s office—and then reprimanded a second time when he complained about the first reprimand to the same office.
"Without an effective and independent office that is empowered to be both advocate and defender," Rep. Thompson wrote, "TSA employees will continue to face challenges in the workplace without appropriate institutional support."
"The key to creating a stable, functioning agency able to meet its important responsibilities to the American people is for TSA employees to be granted collective bargaining rights," President Kelley said. NTEU supports a measure, H.R. 3212, that would provide for such rights—which are presently widespread throughout the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). TSA is a unit of DHS.
The DHS Inspector General's May 2008 report describes problems with DHS current operation of its HR function.
No doubt, there will be more in the near future.