The Foreign Service Journal, April 2017

50 APRIL 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA Retiree VP. Contact: boyatt@afsa.org | (202) 338-4045 RETIREE VP VOICE | BY TOM BOYATT AFSA NEWS What Is AFSA? What is AFSA? For the first 50 years of our existence (AFSA was established in 1924) the answer would have been simple. AFSA was a professional association designed to enhance and broaden its members’ capabilities as diplomats, and to explore the subjects with which they engaged in their profession. Beginning in the late 1960s that simplicity disap- peared. President Nixon issued an executive order authorizing unions in the federal workforce. Secretary of State Bill Rogers sought an exemption from that executive order, which was granted—but only if State and its employee organizations could agree on a substitute employee-man- agement system that would be consistent with the unique and rigorous terms of service of Foreign Service personnel. Executive Order 11636 establishing the employee- management system of the Foreign Service was the result. That executive order was later incorporated into the Foreign Service Act of 1980. These developments generated a rigorous debate within AFSA and, indeed, throughout the Service. Should AFSA compete with established unions to represent the Service as its “exclusive employee repre- sentative” (then as now a euphemism for “union”), or remain a professional organi- zation? Emotions ran high. The sitting AFSA board held a referendum on the matter, and a majority voted for the union option. The most senior member of the AFSA board resigned. The Service itself was equally divided. The 1971 AFSA election was dominated by the union issue. The winning slate took the position that AFSA should remain a professional association and become a union; that the two roles were reinforcing, not mutu- ally exclusive; and that AFSA would benefit greatly from the dual role. In the event, AFSA defeated the American Fed- eration of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations affili- ate, the American Federation of Government Employees, and has been the Foreign Service’s union for what will soon be 50 years. By any metric, the dual- role concept has proved a smashing success. In 1971, AFSA had one full-time FSO, a handful of other staffers, 8,000 members, a small annual budget and a large mortgage on the headquar- ters building. Today we have a full-time president and four full-time vice presidents. We have official space in the agencies; our annual budget is about $4,500,000; our staff num- bers 32; membership is more than 16,000; and our balance sheet is $14 million, of which the value of the fully owned HQ building is the smallest part. In fact, this success has added another dimension to AFSA. AFSA is a busi- ness. Like all businesses (and unlike bureaucracies), AFSA’s officers and board are responsible for our own income. We sell our services to members who pay with their dues. Our fiduciary responsibilities extend to managing the budget, the staff and the balance sheet of what in commercial terms would be a mid-sized busi- ness. So there you have it. AFSA has been a very successful professional association, union and business for almost a century. It has shown a capacity for rein- venting itself to adapt to changing circumstances. As for the prospects going forward, like many, I sense that we are approaching another tipping point. Future success, as always, will have to be earned. n FOREIGN SERVICE DAY IS MAY 5 Foreign Service retirees from all the U.S. foreign affairs agencies are welcome to attend the State Department’s annual homecoming event. In addition to remarks by senior State Depart- ment officials, Foreign Service Day also includes the AFSAmemorial ceremony honoring FS personnel who have died while serving abroad under circum- stances distinctive to the Foreign Service. There will also be two sessions of off-the-record seminars on foreign policy issues and a luncheon. Reservations for the luncheon ($60 per person) will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Payment by personal check, made payable to Foreign Affairs Day, must accompany reservation. In recent years, the luncheon has sold out quickly, so mail in your RSVP card and payment as soon as possible. Retirees who haven’t attended Foreign Service Day recently may request an invitation by emailing the following information to foreignaffairsday@state.gov : first and last names, date of birth, retirement date, whether Civil Service or Foreign Service, U.S. foreign affairs agency from which they retired, mailing address, phone number and email address. n NEWS BRIEF