Private firms won most job competitions at GSA unit

New information from the General Services Administration shows federal employees have lost most recent job competitions at one of the agency's divisions.

Most analyses of job competitions have shown federal employees winning the majority of competitions, which is used as evidence that federal employees are not getting hurt by competitive sourcing initiatives. But according to an internal memo obtained by Government Executive, 18 out of 28 recent competitions held at GSA's Public Buildings Service under streamlined competition regulations were won by private contractors.

"Although our associates delivered very good service in these areas, we discovered after very careful study that private contractors could deliver comparable service at a much lower cost," wrote GSA Administrator Stephen Perry.

The memo, sent to GSA's 13,000 employees in October, does not disclose any job losses associated with the competitions, but Perry adds, "Many of our associates performing these functions were able to obtain employment opportunities with the contractors selected." He estimates GSA saved almost $11 million from switching the services to the private sector.

The information stirred up both sides of the competitive sourcing debate. The American Federation of Government Employees distributed information from the memo in an action alert to its members. The Contract Services Association of America, which represents government contractors, then posted the information AFGE sent on its Web site.

Contractors pointed to the new data as evidence that GSA's job competitions were fairer than those that result in a higher percentage of wins for federal employees. "When you have some reasonable balance, it at least suggests that as an entity, the organization is trying to have real competitions," said Stan Soloway, president of the Professional Services Council, which represents companies that bid on government contracts.

Other studies that show federal employees winning close to 90 percent of competitions suggest those competitions are biased, he said. "I have a great deal of respect for federal employees, but no one wins 90 percent of the time," he added.

Representatives of federal employees, however, interpreted the information as a sign that contractors have an advantage in job competitions. "Everyone knows that the A-76 process is biased in favor of contractors. And everyone knows that OMB is forcing agencies to review work for privatization that managers very much want to keep in-house," said John Threlkeld, a lobbyist for AFGE.

Cathy Garman, senior vice president of public policy at the Contract Services Association, said that regardless of who wins the competitions, federal employees rarely lose their jobs. "The private sector company is usually always expecting to pick up the public sector employees. Their attitude is, 'You guys know what needs to be done… We're not stupid, we're not going to lose that knowledge,' " she said.

She said only in rare cases do federal employees hired by the contractor have to take a pay or benefits cut.

A recent University of Maryland study found that only 5 percent of Defense Department employees lost their jobs as a result of competitions, largely because they opted for retirement, were hired by private contractors, or found other government jobs.

A GSA spokeswoman said the memo was not posted on GSA's Web site because it's not the agency's policy to make internal memos public.