At the urging of the American Federation of Government Employees, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development agreed Wednesday to ammend its original management reform plan in order to protect employees from layoffs.
Announced in late June, the first agency-wide reform plan proposed to reduce the size of HUD's staff from 10,500 to 7,500 by the year 2000 and consolidate 300 of HUD's programs into 71. Under the new union-management agreement, HUD will gradually reduce its staff size to 7,500 by the year 2002.
HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo said this strategy would use buyouts and attrition to downsize the agency. HUD officials estimate the buyouts will cost about $20 million.
"I don't believe in RIFs [reductions-in-force] as an intelligent way to do this," Cuomo said at a press conference to announce the agreement. "If we [management and employees] were now fighting, that could consume months, even years. That would damn this department."
HUD had been criticized by Congress and its inspector general since 1980 for failing to modernize operations and fight waste, fraud and abuse. The General Accounting Office has included the department on its list of "high risk" agencies and programs.
White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles said the agreement is a step in the right direction. "It will help HUD operate on successful business principles and deliver improved service to the American people," he said.
Mortimer Coward, president of AFGE's National Council of HUD Locals 222, said the agreement strikes the right balance between management and workers.
Under the agreement HUD employees will be given first opportunity to get jobs in 26 newly-established HUD facilities across the U.S. HUD will also retrain employees to meet new work requirements and offer outplacement services if necessary.
Cuomo said buyouts and consolidation will begin in the next few months.
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