The Foreign Service Journal, September 2007

A s I start my second term of office as AFSA VP for State, I have tomake a confession: I amguiltyof being a lazy com- municator. Over the past two years, I haven’t done a very good job keeping ourmembership informed, on a regular basis, of the incredibly broad range of issues and concerns that AFSA has addressedwith department management—or of themany battles we have fought behind the scenes on behalf of ourmem- bers. Previous VPs have sent out frequent, multiple-subject status reports via theAFSAnet listserv andALDACcables on amonth- ly basis. I only produced a few suchmessages, dealingwith spe- cific,majormatters under negotiationbetween AFSA and State. As a result, our members know that AFSA has been front and center in negotiating with the director general over the big proposals that affect theentireStateDepartment ForeignService contingent (broad changes to assignment rules, special incentives for Iraq volunteers, etc.). But few are aware of the hundreds of other con- tentious issues that AFSAhas championed and continues to fight for every day. In this second term, I plan to rectify this error, starting with this column. Here are just a few examples of important —but slightly lower-visibility — issues that AFSA has raised over the past year: Incentives for UnaccompaniedAssignments: Recognizing that one of the greatest challenges facing the Foreign Service is the unprecedented growth in unaccompanied positions (currently nearly 800, most of which must be filled every summer), AFSA continues to propose to the department various creative incen- tives thatwill encourage volunteers tobidon those jobs and stave off the threat of “directed” assignments. One such incentive,which we continue to press for at every opportunity, is a doubling of the woefully inadequate Separate Maintenance Allowance. SLRP: The department’s decision to limit eligibility for the Student LoanRepayment Programto those serving at postswith a 20-percent or higher differential, and to apply this threshold retroactively, led to an outcry amongmembers who had chosen to bid on 15-percent posts because theywould be eligible for the SLRP. AFSAprotested thismove and is seeking a change inpol- icy. Personnel Techs: The breakdown in the Human Resources systemfor issuing travel orders last summer led to a backlog and a serious lack of responsiveness by personnel technicians, result- ing inmanymembers being forced to leave post without orders and able to get travel advances only by signing promissory notes. AFSA intervenedwithHR to findways to fix the systemand to expedite orders for individualmemberswhohad come to us for help. ForeignService Exam: AFSAworked closelywith the department on the pro- posed changes to the FS examand entry process. We participated at every stage of thediscussions andhelpedensure that the newprocedureswill remain fair andobjective, bring inhigh- caliber individuals, and protect the Service from bias and polit- ical manipulation. War-Zone Tax Breaks: Numerous mem- bers serving in IraqandAfghanistanhave asked us to seek a legislative change thatwouldenable Foreign Service employees serving in active combat areas to benefit from the same kinds of federal income tax exemptions thatmilitary members enjoy. AFSA is aggressively lobby- ing Congress for such a change. Family Member Employment: AFSA has interceded with Washington andpostmanagement onbehalf of numerous indi- vidual members whose familymembers have run into obstacles in trying to obtainmeaningful work at overseas posts, often due to bureaucratic glitches or inertia. Members of Household: AFSAcontinues topress theDGand the Secretary of State to develop more forward-leaning policies for dealing with the needs of the hundreds of Foreign Service employeeswhoare accompaniedat overseasposts by theirunmar- ried partners or other MOHs, who are often disadvantaged by restrictive rules concerning travel costs, access topost services and facilities, visas, work permits, etc. State Residency: A remarkable number of ourmembers find they are denied residency status in their home states when they want to enroll their kids in state universities,merely because they have servedoverseas for lengthy periods andhave not beenphys- ically present in the state. AFSA has successfully intervened on manyoccasions this past year toget theseunfairdecisions reversed. This very partial list covers just a handful of the diverse issues AFSA is addressing, beyondour “normal” dailywork in support of fairness in assignments and promotions, family-friendliness, accountability on security andmedical clearance investigations, andpreservationof aForeignServicewhosemembersplayamean- ingful role in the formulation and implementation of U.S. for- eign policy. Iwill endeavor todo a better job communicating toour State membership what AFSA is doing for you! V.P. VOICE: STATE BY STEVE KASHKETT Mea Culpa S E P T EMB E R 2 0 0 7 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 65 A F S A N E W S I will endeavor to do a better job communicating to our State membership what AFSA is doing for you!