The Foreign Service Journal, June 2013

10 JUNE 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FSOs and undercutting the Foreign Ser- vice’s ability to influence policy discus- sions and decisions—but then tilts at windmills. I don’t know how this situation can be turned around, or if it can. But I do know that Phil Habib made the case to then-Secretary of State Cyrus Vance at the onset of the Carter administra- tion, and made it stick. I also know that when the Reagan administration came to office with partisan blood in its eye, David Newsom failed to stand up for the Foreign Service. The senior career officer at a time of transition has a critical role, but whether he or she can overcome or reverse this political encroachment is another matter entirely. Still, the main problem is not with the Foreign Service as an institution, but with the political ideologues at the policy checkpoints. Jack R. Binns FSO, retired Tucson, Ariz. Becoming a Union Many people today seem somewhat confused about why AFSA decided to become a union. More than four decades ago, it was no secret why the initial undertakings were so full of acrimony— management people throughout Foggy Bottom wanted a contract similar to that of the American Federation of Govern- ment Employees, instead of rolling negotiations. The use of office space was in conten- tion, and there were a large number of unfair labor practices. AFSA was operat- ing with a skeleton crew, so many of us had to serve as advisers and attorneys while continuing to do our regular jobs. What has AFSA accomplished as a union? Some things that readily come to mind are framework issues: pursuing unfair labor practices, selection panels, precepts, insurance, transportation and storage, grievances and more. We have handled all those matters while also doing our utmost to establish profession- alism within the Foreign Service. Besides launching The Foreign Service Journal , we have dealt with membership and chapter issues and matters pertain- ing to the headquarters building at 2101 E Street NW. We also counseled selected- out personnel who regularly graced “For- eign Service Park”—as the little green space across fromheadquarters was known. There are surely many who could add to this list of achievements, such as Tom Estes, a key player who began laying the groundwork for our function as a union. In response to recriminations against AFSA members with union roles, many of us became labor union experts and labor lawyers. One elected AFSA president had to be recalled. Yet even during traumatic peri- ods, the union part of AFSA continued to function smoothly. (It was also during that time that AFSA had its first female president.) These matters all need to be a part of our history as a union. Roy A. Harrell Jr. FSO, retired Ozona, Texas CORRECTION Though AFSA purchased its cur- rent headquarters in 1967, as reported in “Paving the Way for Unionization” (April), it was the 1965-1967 AFSA Gov- erning Board, chaired by Dave McKillop, that carried out that transaction, not the 1967-1969 board chaired by Lannon Walker. As the article noted, the Walker board did complete work on the new Foreign Service Club that opened in the building in March 1969. We regret the error. n AFSA Scholarship AFSA.org/Scholar AKA StayAKA.com Clements Worldwide clements.com Diplomatic Automobile www.diplosales.com Embassy Risk Management Embassyrisk.com The Hirshorn Company hirshorn.com/afsa McGrath McGrathRealEstate.com ProMax promaxrealtors.com Tetratech Tetratech.com WJD wjdpm.com