Employees facing layoffs are fighting a General Services Administration plan to close eight warehouses around the country, a decision that critics say could also hurt thousands of disabled and blind workers who make products for the federal government.
In July, GSA announced it would close the warehouses that stock many supplies-from office supplies to emergency equipment to hardware-for federal agencies. The decision could put as many as 2,000 warehouse employees out of work. GSA, which serves as the government's central procurement agency, plans to automate its handling of customer orders and move toward a system in which most supplies will be delivered directly from vendors to agencies.
Bruce Williams, spokesman for the American Federation of Government Employees Council of GSA Locals, which represents the GSA warehouse employees, said GSA violated at least two rules by deciding to close down the warehouses.
According to Williams, U.S. law dictates that GSA has a duty to supply goods and services to the government. "You can't just walk away from that responsibility," he said. Under GSA's plan to replace the warehouses with a so-called "virtual platform," services and supplies will be available to order through online procurement channels.
But, from the union's perspective, some inherently governmental items cannot be supplied online. Warehouses are needed for storing equipment for major disasters handled by FEMA, Williams said, because local communities can't afford to have such emergency equipment on hand at all times. Similarly, overseas Defense Department customers cannot purchase some items locally, and depend on the warehouses for mission-critical supplies, he said.
A GSA employee commented that federal agencies will be in trouble without the warehouses, should several emergencies crop up nationwide at once. "Wait 'til those big West Coast fires roar through town or those pesky floods need an extra several hundred thousand sand bags," the employee wrote on GSA's intranet comment board, "Naturally most of that stuff will be in virtual platform back order."
But some customers said they will simply change their ways once the warehouses are closed.
John Emmanuel, logistics assistant at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said he was caught off guard when he heard that GSA was closing the warehouses. He purchases office supplies and emergency equipment, as much as $50,000 per disaster, from GSA.
"It's gonna hurt us a little bit, but we can work around it," Emmanuel said.
Emmanuel will now place most of his orders online, a system that he says is easy and won't cause any major disruptions to agency operations.
Sgt. Randall Malone, supply manager at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, was surprised by the warehouse shutdown, too. He occasionally drove to one of the warehouses, in Burlington, N.J. to pick up orders, but said business won't be affected very much "as long as I can still order from GSA."
Meanwhile, AFGE alleges that GSA also violated a memorandum of understanding with the union. The memo states that GSA must consult with the union before any major decisions are made so that those decisions can be negotiated.
"We want to make them back up and do it the right way," Williams said, "which might affect the outcome."
GSA's intranet bulletin board was abuzz with employees' comments about the warehouse closings. Comments included:
- This is a "thoughtless rush to score reinvention points at the White House."
- ". . . someone has been in Al Gore's back pocket from the start."
- "The committee that was put together seemed to leave a lot of voices out. Where were the warehouse workers, the purchasing personnel, vendors, customers, freight forwarders, and anyone else affected by the new 'virtual platform?'"
- "The FSS [federal supply service] plan will do exactly what it is designed to do- take GSA's multi-billion dollar a year business and hand it over to private industry, make the economy look good, and put a nice check into the pocket of the person who is behind this decision."
Gail Lovelace, chief people officer at GSA said, "GSA is continuing to talk with both of our union partners to best assist our employees affected by this change."
But, the impact of the warehouse closures will be felt by more than just the warehouse employees. National Industry for the Blind workers, whose products are sold by the Federal Supply Service, may feel a ripple effect from the shutdowns.
For more than 50 years, GSA has been the primary distributor of products produced by NIB-associated agencies, community rehabilitation programs that create jobs for the blind. One-third of GSA's stock program is comprised of products made by the blind or disabled and 60 percent of NIB's distribution is through GSA, according to NIB. At least 1,400 blind and disabled workers who produce warehouse products or work in customer service positions for contractors will be affected by the closings, said NIB President Jim Gibbons.
According to Gibbons, more is at stake that the 1,400 disabled individuals' jobs. "The domino effect could jeopardize the whole program," Gibbons said, including large and small community agencies that provide rehabilitation, job training and job placement for the blind.
GSA Administrator David Barram and Frank Pugliese, commissioner of GSA's Federal Supply Service, have pledged their support, Gibbons said. "We are truly counting on that," he said. NIB is also developing some new distribution channels for its products, including online ordering from a soon-to-be launched Web site and a new call center for phone orders.
Despite renewed efforts to distribute through new channels and a pledge of support from top GSA leadership, Gibbons is uncertain about NIB's future. Barram and Pugliese have so far not provided many details as to what their pledge entails.
"Obviously [the new channels] can't compensate for the magnitude of the GSA closings," Gibbons said. "We're on pins and needles, trying to stay in very close contact with the decision makers and counting on their support."
An arbitrator heard union officials' complaints in early August and is expected to issue a decision by the end of September, just months before some of the warehouses are scheduled to stop filling customers orders.