Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District
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Local defense personnel laud breakthrough in Congress on workers' rights
16,000 in Puget Sound area stand to benefit
23 June 2006
During a meeting at the King County Labor Temple, Seattle-area civilians employed by the Defense Department lauded congressional action this week that would restore worker rights weakened under the federal agency's new pay program.
Workers gathered outside the union hall. Inside, their leaders, including Gerry Swanke, a national vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees, and David Freiboth, executive secretary of the King County Labor Council, among others, met with U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), who authored and won a key amendment in the House on Tuesday night.
The bipartisan measure, included in a defense-spending bill, aims to withhold federal funding from aspects of the controversial National Security Personnel System (NSPS) that restrict collective bargaining and dispute settlement rights for 700,000 civilian defense workers nationwide, including 16,000 in the Puget Sound area.
"Defense Department civil servants in Puget Sound and across the nation play an important role in homeland security and the global fight against terrorism," said Inslee, who represents thousands of civilians employed at Naval Base Kitsap and Naval Station Everett. "They deserve basic rights and our nation's security depends on it.
"Long-standing employment protections must be restored to guarantee cronyism and nepotism don't seep into the system."
Tuesday's congressional action was a reversal of a previous vote. A similar provision offered by Inslee in June 2004 was rejected 202-218.
Since Inslee first offered his amendment, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that several portions of system dealing with labor relations were illegal. The February 2006 decision sited failures to ensure collective bargaining rights, meet requirements for an independent third-party review of labor relations decisions, and provide employees with fair treatment in the appeals process.
In November 2003, Congress authorized the controversial NSPS, which replaces the familiar General Schedule for pay and other employment protocols. Proponents say it would promote high performance among civilian workers.
For funding restrictions on the illegal aspects of NSPS to be implemented, Inslee's provision also must be included in the Senate version of the fiscal year 2007 defense-spending bill and signed into law by the president. The Senate is expected to take up defense appropriations later this summer.
"We've won round one and now have momentum our side," added Inslee.