The Foreign Service Journal, May 2003

A fter almost four yearsof negotiations, theForeignService Impasse Disputes Panel has determined the amount of official time the AFSA vice president at Commerce can spend on AFSA activities. The FSIDP was the last stop on a long and frustrating road to get approval for the AFSA VPatCommerce tobe accorded the samebenefits andoppor- tunities as theAFSAofficials at all theother foreignaffairs agen- cies who spend 100 percent of their time on AFSA activities. AFSAmade two points in its presentation. First, it takes more than 50 percent of the FCS AFSA VP’s official time to fulfill responsibilities to constituents and tonegotiatewithFCSmanagement. Second, in the evaluationprocess, the FCS VP cannot compete with fellow FSOs because the evaluation is based solely onwhat he or she does for FCSmanage- ment in the non-AFSA time, which has been as little as one hour per week. FCS management’s position was that 50 per- cent of the employee’s official time and other time “as needed and requested” is a satisfactory formula. If the AFSA VP does not do well in the evaluation process, it is a reflectionof theofficer’s abil- ities, not a problemwith the system. AFSA presented detailed evidence showing that I was spending over 90 per- cent ofmy time counseling, researching andnegotiating issues andproviding the basic services of a professional association. We pointed out that twice in two years, FCS had agreed to a negotiated policy only to back off several months later. AFSA had to file Unfair Labor Practice complaints and institutional grievances for failure to nego- tiate in good faith on several occasions, all of which took time. FCS responded that I had used as much time as I needed to address AFSA issues, and implied that by sign- ing my biweekly time sheets and activity logs, management approved the 90 percent of my time spent on AFSA business. The FSIDP held that there was no evidence in the record that the AFSA VP had been prevented from providing service to the unit due to lack of official time. Therefore the existing arrangement (a block grant of 50 percent official time and 40 percent approved additional time) should bemaintained. The performance evaluation part of the argument was less clear-cut. AFSA held that allmy activities shouldbe discussed inmy evaluationwithout delineatingwhether the work was for AFSA or FCS. We proposed that, like the State AFSAVP, I be per- mitted to discuss what I did inmy evaluation (in the past, AFSAVPs at State have dis- cussed theirAFSAaccomplishments inmemoranda for their official performance files). This was especially important in my case since FCS had not given me any meaning- ful assignments during my three-plus years in the position. FCS responded that my EER should only include FCS-specified activities. AFSA’s position remains that since there are none, it is hard for the FCS VP to compete for promotion with his or her peers. The FSIDP did not address this in its decision. After all our efforts, the collective bargaining agreement continues to state that Commerce agrees that 50percent of theAFSAVP’s official timemay be spent onAFSA issues, withadditional time as neededandapproved. Thus, the FSIDPdecisionupholds the status quo of the VP devoting 90 percent of his or her time to AFSA. ▫ After almost four years of negotiations, the Foreign Service Impasse Disputes Panel has determined the amount of official time the AFSA Vice President at Commerce can spend on AFSA activities. V.P. VOICE: FCS ■ BY PETER FREDERICK How Much Time Is Enough? MAY 2003 • AFSA NEWS 9 tant role in implementation of theMCC in the field. AFSA also suggested that before passing legislation, the committee test this new approach to development by starting a pilot program in one country. To encourage cooperation and dis- cussion of theMCC plans, inMarch the AFSA office at USAID and the Open Forum at the State Department initiat- ed plans for a town hall meeting in early April. AFSA expected broad participa- tion from Foreign Service and Civil Service USAID and State employees, members of Congress, the interagency committee drafting theMCC legislation, and development partners and profes- sionals. A town hall meeting gives employees an opportunity to speak candidly about their concerns and learn details about MCC implementation in the field. The Open Forum planned to telecast the meeting at the State Department, USAID Washington, and USAIDmissions and embassies overseas. Members of Congress and the MCC committee were invited to contribute to the discussion. Please contact Joe Pastic at jpastic@usaid.gov o r Judy Slater at aidproject@afsa.org for more information about the Millennium Challenge Corporation and/or to participate in future forums. ▫ ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY! 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