Federal Workers Protest Contracting Out of Their Jobs

by James Parks, Jun 6, 2007

Hundreds of federal employees spent their lunch hour today rallying, chanting and carrying signs in front of the agency that is supposed to be protecting their rights but, instead, is shipping out their jobs to nonunion contractors.

Members of AFGE Local 12 rallied outside the U.S. Department of Labor to protest Labor Secretary Elaine Chao’s decision to contract out 250 jobs throughout the department to GAP Solutions Inc.

The workers announced today they are seeking a congressional investigation into the competitive contracting process, which eliminated the jobs, and they are considering filing a lawsuit against the department and Chao.

Alex Bastani, president of the AFGE Local 12, which represents the Labor Department employees, says:

We are concerned that this competition has been unfairly awarded and disproportionately impacts minority employees. During Public Service Recognition Week, we celebrate the high quality of work of federal employees and their contributions to this nation. Abolishing these positions is a slap in the face to all federal workers. 

The union says Labor Department officials violated guidelines for competitive outsourcing of jobs by deliberately omitting certain job skills and grossly undervaluing others in its bid statement. 

Bastani adds:

The contractor will have to perform a higher level of work than it bid to perform, increasing the actual cost of the bid. It is highly questionable whether the work in question can be performed for the amount stated in the initial bid.

Federal employees have been fighting for years against the Bush administration’s push to privatize federal work. Last month, AFGE President John Gage condemned Office of Management and Budget (OMB) officials for their efforts to promote so-called competitive sourcing, which he called  “wholesale privatization.” 

Each Spring brings forth a new OMB marketing campaign for its “wholesale privatization” effort. And while this hardy perennial is hardly pleasing to the eye, we can all agree that it is the product of a lot of fertilizer.

OMB officials continue to make grandiose claims for savings through the controversial Circular A-76 process. However, the Comptroller General has said repeatedly that agencies lack financial accounting systems necessary to make such claims.

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