The Foreign Service Journal, April 2015

72 APRIL 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS assignment system. The majority of respon- dents indicated that they think AFSA is well-balanced and places proper emphasis on labor-management activi- ties, congressional advocacy, member services, profes- sionalism, retirement issues, scholarships, communica- tions and financial strength. The overwhelming majority of respondents feel connected to, but not active in AFSA (67 percent). The write-in com- ments to this question have given us some indication of the reasons for this feeling, including “not sure of ways to engage” and “being overseas makes it hard to engage.”AFSA is now looking for additional ways to create opportunities for its members to remain active in association affairs while serving overseas or living outside of theWashington, D.C., metropolitan area. The survey also identified areas where our members feel AFSA should improve and develop. Some respondents noted that the association is not always as responsive to individuals as they would like, and that AFSA seems to be more concerned about generalists’ issues than those of specialists. The survey also showed that AFSAmust do a better job of informing members of the work it does on their behalf. Fully 53 percent of active-duty members were not aware of AFSA’s Strategic Plan; an additional 36 percent grades and years of service. It was open to all categories of membership and non-mem- bers. The survey response rate was very high by industry participation standards, with 3,478 individuals respond- ing and the responses were instructive. Significantly, 44 percent of active-duty members believe AFSA is balanced between being a professional associa- tion and serving as a union. (AFSAwas created as a pro- fessional association in 1924, a role it continues to play, and also became the official bargaining unit of the Foreign Service in 1973.) The survey showed that the main issues active-duty respondents want AFSA to address are: Overseas Comparability Pay (67 per- cent), employee benefits (53 percent), legislative issues (43 percent), professionalism and ethics (39 percent), working conditions (36 percent) and family/dependent issues (23 percent). When offered a chance to write in additional priority issues, survey respondents submitted more than 4,000 free-form text comments. Many urged AFSA to pursue raising the mandatory retire- ment age and equalizing pay and benefits across agencies. Other topics included Foreign Service appropriations, bud- get and pay issues; overseas security and safety; the evalu- ations and promotion system; parental leave and the FS were aware of it, but unclear about its priorities. Fortu- nately, we have the commu- nications tools in place to get the information out. Ninety percent of survey respondents read The Foreign Service Journal ; more than half report that they read the AFSANews section and AFSAnet emails. The challenge and oppor- tunity exist for AFSA to find ways to communicate that the association is taking steps to confront and address these issues in a manner that will have a valuable impact on our members’ lives, careers and satisfaction with the foreign affairs profession. AFSA has already taken steps to address some of the concerns brought to its attention by this survey (while mindful that the process will not be completed overnight). For example, AFSA has increased support of and funding for advocacy efforts and labor management issues in the 2015 budget. We will continue to use these results as we plan for the coming year, and as we direct resources toward the priorities the survey showed respondents want AFSA to address: Overseas Compara- bility Pay, employee benefits, legislative issues, profes- sionalism and ethics, working conditions and family and dependent issues. You may view select survey responses frommembers at http://bit.ly/AFSA_2014_ Survey. n 2014 SURVEY STATE MEMBERS RESPOND In AFSA’s 2014 survey, 1,600 active-duty State members answered additional, State- specific questions. These results are summarized in the infographic on the oppo- site page, and can be read as a complement to the State Department’s own 2014 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. The survey results affirmed many of AFSA’s pri- orities. Overseas Comparabil- ity Pay continues to be the number one legislative goal, followed closely by FS-rele- vant provisions of the Service Members Relief Act. More than a third of active-duty respondents encouraged AFSA to reform the FS bidding and assign- ments process. On security, an over- whelming majority believe that the department has not struck the right risk/ reward balance, and that it has become more difficult to safely and effectively engage post-Benghazi. Many DS respondents, in particular, expressed the need for an under secretary for Diplo- matic Security. Finally, while members are very satisfied with AFSA’s communications on workplace, management and employment issues, too many are unfamiliar with AFSA’s strategic plan and overall labor management priorities. n