Scrap the System

The Defense Department has disregarded congressional objectives in developing its personnel policy overhaul, seven senior Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday.

"We strongly urge the department to withdraw this proposal immediately and submit a new proposal that is consistent with the intent of Congress," the letter said.

The letter was signed by Sens. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, Carl Levin of Michigan, Richard Durbin of Illinois and Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, and Reps. Henry Waxman of California, Ike Skelton of Missouri and Danny Davis of Illinois.

Congress has allowed the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department to reform their personnel systems to better serve military operations overseas and domestic homeland security efforts. The Defense Department released its proposed reforms in early February but they have been denounced by federal labor unions.

If the reforms were implemented in their current form, most civilian employees at the Pentagon could continue to join unions, but an alternative system would be established for employees to contract with a union for temporary representation. Some Defense employees-including accountants, intelligence personnel and attorneys-would not be allowed to join unions. Defense managers would also be able to waive collective bargaining during national security emergencies and for personnel changes that they decide are insignificant.

Defense officials say that they need to streamline bargaining and implement a performance pay system to improve military operations.

Tuesday's letter said, however, that the reforms infringe on employees' right to join unions and the right of unions to bargain collectively and protect against unfair labor practices.

"The DoD proposal effectively eliminates collective bargaining by providing only perfunctory 'consultation' followed by unilateral implementation," the letter said. "This is not good-faith collective bargaining." The lawmakers said Congress had not intended for the Pentagon to infringe on Chapter 71 of Title 5 of the 2004 National Defense Authorization Act, which sets out the rights of unions. The Defense proposals, however, specifically stipulate that the new labor system "will not employ any provisions of 5 USC Chapter 71," according to the letter.

The letter also alleges that the Defense Department did not follow congressional direction to involve the Office of Personnel Management in the policy overhaul. Last month, OPM Associate Director for Human Resources Management Ronald Sanders said that his agency had no involvement in shaping the initial proposal. During a Feb. 11 hearing, Sanders said that OPM was planning to take a larger role in the development of the new personnel system.

Echoing another frequent complaint, the letter took issue with the proposed Defense Labor Relations Board. Instead of providing an "independent third party review of decisions," as was called for the 2004 Defense Authorization Act, the board will be selected by the Defense Secretary and located within the Pentagon, according to the letter.

"We do not see how such a system could possibly be 'independent,' " the lawmakers said.