The Foreign Service Journal, December 2018

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018 17 Eddy Olislaeger is a retired Foreign Service National employee. He founded the International Foreign Service Association in 2009 and became its first elected chairman in 2011. He worked for more than 40 years as a public affairs special- ist at Embassy Brussels before retiring from the Department of State in 2012. He received the Secretary’s Career Achievement Award for his “contributions to the United States’ essential public diplomacy efforts around the world.” He is the author, with Wendy Lubetkin, of “Local Employees Seek a Dialogue with Washington” in the June 2012 FSJ . Currently he is vice chair of the Intersyndicale des Missions Diplomatiques in Brussels, Belgium. L ocally Employed staff of the U.S. Department of State—also known as Foreign Service Nationals, or FSNs—deserve to have a professional organization of their own, one that represents them within the department. This corps of local experts numbers more than 55,000; it is the largest employee group within the State Department. Yet, unlike the two other main groups of employees, LE staff have no organization to represent them, to safeguard their interests, and to promote excellence and profes- sionalism among their ranks. (AFSA represents more than 16,000 members of the Foreign Service, active-duty and retired; while the American Federation of Government Employees represents the department’s more than 12,000 Civil Service employees). FSNs are not a homogenous group. Most of them are nationals of the host country, but many are U.S. citizens or third-country nationals. The term “Locally Employed staff,” which the department now uses, has never been popular with FSNs because it sets them apart from the Foreign Service, whereas they consider themselves full members of that body. They are distinct from other State employees only in that they are hired locally, by individual embassies, and not by department headquarters in Washington. Despite having officially changed their name, the Department of State itself considers FSNs employees of the department—not individual embassies— and oversees their management from Washington. Though hired in the local economy, the framework in which FSNs operate is one that is designed and con- trolled by headquarters following a top- down model. It is therefore essential for FSNs to have a voice at the departmental level. They should be heard when impor- tant management decisions are taken that affect the workings of the missions. After all, because their tenure tran- scends the three- to four-year cycles of SPEAKING OUT members of the Foreign Service, they represent the collective memory of the missions and are often called the “back- bone” of the embassies. They understand the local culture and sensibilities, and can provide essential feedback to Washing- ton, as well as to the individual missions. In matters of security this unexploited resource can make a difference. A worldwide FSN association could offer significant benefits to State’s mission by building a relationship of collabora- tion and strong, effective support for the promotion of U.S. policy goals around the world. The benefits of such an FSN orga- nization to its members would be even greater; it would serve as a mechanism to promote professionalism and excel- lence within the community, resulting in higher job satisfaction and productivity. And it would be a channel for the State Department to communicate with the FSN community on all matters related to FSNs, such as human resources, training, collaboration projects and best practices. A Sustained Initiative FSNs have made attempts to be heard, as Wendy Lubetkin and I explained in a June 2012 article in the Journal , “Local Employees See k a Dialogue with Washington.” FSNs cre- A Worldwide FSN Association at State— Advancing a Practical Dream BY EDDY OL I S LAEGER This corps of local experts numbers more than 55,000; it is the largest employee group within the State Department.