The Foreign Service Journal, June 2005

V.P. VOICE: USAID BY BILL CARTER Terminal Musings A s the curtain comes down onmy 2003-2005 termnext month, it seems anappropriate time to reflect andmuse onwhat has happenedbetweenAFSAandUSAIDover the past two years. Management’s approach has been to “litigate rather than negotiate.” Unfortunately, the fallout fromthis approachcloud- ed my tenure. Two cases in particular stand out. In both instances, the Foreign Service Grievance Board decided in the employee’s favor, but USAID refused to comply. This is a drama worthy of the theater of the absurd, since both employees continue to work for the agency in other capacities. That’s right: the agency is fighting in court to keep people—who are actually on board— from com- ing back on board. What a waste of time, energy and good will. Beckett lives! The example above poignantly demonstrates that bureaucracies are not infallible. Human systems need mechanisms in place to help correct errors and mitigate injus- tice. For better or worse, AFSA serves as a necessary “check and balance” against abus- es, either unintentional or otherwise. I am most proud that in many cases, AFSA has been successful in helping individual mem- bers navigate the labyrinthine ways of AEF snafus, resolve knotty IG and security prob- lems, confront the abusive behavior of a supervisor, reverseClaims Act disallowances and deal with a host of other issues. Fromthe get-go, AFSAhas harpedon the need for betterwork-forceplanning, but on that scoreourpleas havebeen largely ignored. USAID remains ever-enamored of the HR “quick-fix,” the latest being the hiring of up to 610 Foreign Service Limited employees over the next few years. Despite man- agement’s protestations to the contrary, this will likely negatively affect career officers. Sometimes, as vice president, youare forced tomake painful choices, betweenallow- ing an exception for themost worthy of members versus upholding a principle so that the faith and confidence of the broader membership is not undermined. In doing the latter, you incur the lifelong wrath of the one member who feels betrayed. Those are not the pleasant days. Ticks on the plus side: AFSA has tried to communicate more effectively with the membership through regular AFSANET messages. Some of the goals of our “invest- in-the-employee” campaignwere attained: the ImmediateBenefit Plan, language train- ing for spouses, a student loan repayment programin theworks and a reviewandpend- ing decision by USAA to allow new USAID FSOs membership. I am very proud of the role AFSA played in these small, yet significant, victories. For the future, I am hopeful that the AFSA-USAID relationship has evolved now to one of mutual respect, where “negotiate” is the first thought rather than “litigate.” Examples of this cooperative approach include management’s willingness to listen to AFSA on modifying re-blocking, on not filling assignments in critical priority coun- tries through forced placements, and on resolving some problem cases cooperatively. Lastly, what pleasedme most was the competent and cohesive professional staff of AFSA itself. What a great bunch of dedicated people to support us all. We should be thankful for them. I am. r JUNE 2005 • AFSA NEWS 3 arguments entirely. The decision contains no surprises. USAID was thrice fore- warned: The Grievance Board granted Oliver a stay of separation, the first time it has done this for an untenured employee since 1989. It issued a final decision inhis favor. It reconfirmed that decision when the agency sought reconsideration. For a long time, AFSAhad tried at var- ious levels of USAID to settle this case. It cast a pall over all AFSA-USAIDrelations. USAID received a great deal of bad pub- licity—within the agency, on theHill, and publicly viaAFSA’s communications net- work. As we have said before, glory does not shine onUSAID in thismatter. Just think of the unnecessary costs: a huge number of USAID legal and management staff hours over the years; reinstatement of the employee, withbackpay and interest; and reimbursement of attorney fees. We understand that USAID may appeal this case to the federal Court of Appeals. We ask our friends in management: “How much longerdoyouwant todragout acase you have lost every step of the way, and howmuchmoreof ourOperatingExpense funds are you willing to spend on a lost cause?” r AFSA NEWS BRIEFS Briefs • Continued from page 3 Seeking EUR Lore KenWeisbrode is working on a his- tory of the Bureau of European Affairs and seeks anecdotes & recollections from retired and cur- rent FSOs. Please send information to Ken at 201 Robinson Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138; or e-mail him at weisbrod@ fas.harvard.edu. Oliver • Continued from page 1 Briefs • Continued on page 8 AFSA serves as a necessary “check and balance” against abuses.