The Foreign Service Journal, February 2003

V.P. VOICE: FAS BY ED PORTER Working with Management B ashing government unions is popular these days. Politicians think it is avote-getter. Union-management partnership is working in the Foreign Agricultural Service, however, as is evident by our new contract. After over a year of hard work, FAS AFSA and man- agement successfully concludednegotiations for anew, four- year contract. Both parties agree that the contract should strengthenemployee-management relations. Thenegotiations required effective communications and trust on both sides of the table. I came awaywith a better understanding ofmanagement’s concerns and believemanagement left the roomwith a deeper appreciation for the key issues on the minds of its Foreign Service officers. The negotiations significantly improved the clarity of our contract with FAS and brought light to the darkened corners ofmanagement processes that have a significant impact on the daily lives and careers of FS officers. Below are some specific examples: Since our last contract negotiations, the agency’s performance bonus procedures have evolved, but remained relatively unexplained and poorly understood by FS offi- cers. Our newcontract contains specific informationonhowthese bonuses are deter- mined by selection boards and the formula used to calculate their values. Also, while it appears that the number of officers taking leave without pay has increasedover the years, our prior contractwas vagueon this issue. Manyofficerswere unaware, for example, that they could submit aperformance evaluation forworkdone while on LWOP. The new contract specifically permits this, provided management agrees that the work is relevant to the FAS mission. Thenewcontractspecificallyspellsoutourforeignlanguagecommissioningrequire- ments, aswell as foreign language incentivepay standards andpayment amounts. This informationwas lacking fromour former contract and, surprisingly, isnot readilyavail- able in the Foreign Affairs Manual. In addition, some languages were added to our incentive pay list to reflect changes in the locations of our overseas offices. In response to employee concerns regarding selection boards, management has agreed topublicly solicit selectionboardmembers and toprovideAFSAtime to review the list of selectedofficers andprovide feedback beforemembers are contacted. In the past, board participation was solicited privately. Also, the new contract encourages boardmembers to recommend changes to future board policies and procedures and requires thatmanagement keep the chairpersonof eachboardpanel directly informed of the status of recommendations. If so requestedby a chairperson,managementmust meet to discuss its reasons for rejecting any recommendations. These changes also apply to other FS boards, including our Qualifications Review and Evaluation Panels. Under the new contract, management has agreed to announce the number of bids, by grade, it receives for each overseas assignment announced under the annual assignment notification process. Wording has been added to remind FS officers that they must be available for worldwide service and therefore, any thought of refusing an overseas assignment should be given careful consideration. In sum, government unions and management can work together to improve employeemoral andmanagement effectiveness. They canwork together tobuildcon- fidence and trust and enhance communications between managers and employees. Finally, governmentunions andmanagement canwork together tostrengthentheagen- cy’s mission and, consequently, service to the public. So, let’s stop bashing govern- ment unions. ▫ 4 AFSA NEWS • FEBRUARY 2003 AFSA NEWS BRIEFS Foreign Affairs Fellowships Applications for the Thomas Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship program are due by Feb. 21 for undergraduates and Feb. 28 for graduate students. For more information about the fellowships, visit the Web site at www.woodrow.org/public-policy/. Call for FS Spouse Writers We are seeking submissions for the AFSA News Family Member Matters column, a forum for Foreign Service family members to voice their opinions on issues of concern to the Foreign Service community. Send your 400- to 500-word essay to AFSA News Editor Shawn Dorman at Dorman@afsa.org. All submissions are seriously considered. AFSA will pay a $60 honorarium for any essay published in this series. Tales from a Small Planet Getting ready for your next assignment? 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