Federal Daily - August 3, 2009

GAO Details FPS Struggle With Hiring, Training

The Federal Protective Service (FPS) did not meet recent hiring targets because of difficulties in realigning priorities to increase its workforce rather than downsize it, said a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released July 30. Although FPS currently has 1,239 employees on board, including 929 law enforcement officers, it did not meet this mandate until April 2009, about a year after a congressional deadline. FPS exceeded the deadline because it had problems shifting gears to grow the agency workforce after years of downsizing. There were other problems. FPS—part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—was not experienced working with DHS’s hiring service centers and underwent delays in the candidate-screening process. FPS also had difficulties in the post-hiring process, the report said. As of May 2009, 46 percent of the 187 new hires had not completed the basic law enforcement training, and therefore were not permitted to conduct any of the central law enforcement components of their jobs—such as carrying firearms, making arrests or doing searches. “Insufficient and uneven training have been cited repeatedly as a weakness of the Federal Protective Service,” said Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii. “The agency needs a plan because it has not been able to accurately assess its staffing needs, and DHS and Congress are left guessing during the budgeting process.” To see more, go to: www.gao.gov/new.items/d09749.pdf.

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Unions Oppose Arbitration Amendment to USPS Relief Bill

Labor unions sharply criticized an amendment to a Postal Service relief bill that would require arbitrators ruling on postal contracts to take into account the “financial health of the Postal Service.” The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., was adopted during a mark-up of the bill, S. 1507, by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on July 29. Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., supported the amendment. If adopted into law, it would tamper with the long-established labor arbitration process, said National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) President Fred Rolando. The amendment is not necessary since arbitration boards already take postal finances into account, Rolando said. Worse, by not listing other factors that should be considered by boards, the new language has the effect of giving short-term financial conditions priority over other relevant factors, Rolando said. The American Postal Workers Union (APWU), which also opposed the amendment, urged members to call senators and ask them to vote against the bill. “If the bill passes as written, it will destroy collective bargaining for postal workers,” said APWU President William Burrus. “If this bill passes, we can anticipate that in the next round of negotiations, many of the things our members take for granted—such as cost-of-living increases, raises, and protection against layoffs—will be at risk.” S. 1507 and a House companion bill, H. 22, would reverse a law that requires the Postal Service to “pre-fund” retiree healthcare benefits—a requirement that threatens to drive the Postal Service into insolvency. To see more, go to: http://apwu.org/news/webart/2009/09-088-s1507campaign-090730.htm or www.nalc.org/depart/legpol/index.html#s1507markup

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Panel Approves Domestic Partners Bill

A House subcommittee on July 30 approved a bill that would, if signed into law, provide government benefits to domestic partners of federal employees equal to those given to spouses. The Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and District of Columbia subcommittee, on a 5-3 party-line vote, approved H.R. 2517, the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009. The bill now moves to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which expects to consider it this fall, committee staffers told FEND. H.R. 2517, and its companion bill, S. 1102, would permit a federal employee to file a legal statement declaring the identity of a domestic partner with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). OPM then would verify that a partner is sharing financial responsibility in the home and confirm that partner’s eligibility. Once determined eligible, a domestic partner could take advantage of the same benefits as spouses, such as healthcare, retirement, workers’ compensation, death and disability insurance, and other benefits granted to spouses of federal employees. The bill would cover current federal employees as well as currently retired federal employees. Following the subcommittee mark-up, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) issued a statement on behalf of the bill. “This legislation, which NTEU strongly supports, will help the federal government become more competitive with the private sector and address a basic fairness issue,” the union said. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org  or http://federalworkforce.oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=2558.

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