WASHINGTON  -  U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) and Missouri U.S. Senators Kit Bond and Jim Talent yesterday requested that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) investigate the job losses at the Rolla MidContinent Mapping Center.  OPM is the federal agency responsible for building a high-quality federal workforce based on merit system principles.

 

The text of the letter is attached below:

 

 

     March 28, 2006

Dear Madam,

 

We are writing to request that the Office of Personnel Management initiate involvement in the case of federal employees of the U.S. Geological Survey MidContinent Mapping Center in Rolla, Missouri.  The MidContinent Mapping Center employs over 130 skilled men and women, all of whom are scheduled to lose their jobs in a consolidation by USGS to a National Geospatial Technical Operations Center in Denver.  To call this move a consolidation, however, is highly misleading.  None of these specialized employees, and in many cases their functions, job titles, and their working archival materials will be moved to the “consolidated” site in Denver.  A better term for what is being done in Rolla would be “elimination.”

 

We have repeatedly raised concerns about the process used to eliminate Rolla employees.  Together, we have requested an internal review by the Department of Interior and an investigation by the Inspector General.  Neither of these actions resulted in evidence to halt the elimination of Rolla or to force reconsideration of this action, but as you can see from the attached copies of their findings, serious concerns are raised even within the narrow scope of these inquiries.

 

Last year, when USGS began the process of consolidation, it sought to select a site.  Management convened a team to assess the candidates: Rolla, Reston, VA, and Denver.  The team recruited a consulting firm specializing in consolidations, reviewed the findings, and reported a recommendation.  USGS management threw out the entire report and, upon reviewing the team’s scored criteria, even threw out the many criteria developed by the team in favor of three of their own.  Those new criteria were never scored; the decision to choose Denver was made subjectively and was never documented.  This is just one of many examples of unfairness to Rolla’s USGS employees.

 

After the decision was made, USGS clearly used early retirement and buyout opportunities to drain talent from the Rolla USGS, making Rolla appear to be less qualified to host a consolidated center.  None of the Rolla employees were offered positions in Denver.  The next steps in this plan are clear to us: close the Denver facility and contract a private vendor for this vital function of USGS which affects homeland security, emergency response, river management and many other missions of the federal government.

 

Our leading concern is that these employees not lose their jobs, which they enjoy and are good at, simply to pave the way for privatization within the USGS.  It is clear to us that, by eliminating Rolla and dispersing the skilled workforce that exists there, USGS is removing a cost-effective competitor from an imminent A-76 privatization study.  Without Rolla to show what efficient, dedicated employees can do in a rural community, USGS is assuring that privatization is the only remaining logical choice for U.S. taxpayers.  This strategy is deceptive; it deprives excellent government employees of their jobs; it costs taxpayers in the process of neglecting due diligence and it sets a terrible precedent for government.

 

In addition, one potential, nearby federal employer, Fort Leonard Wood, has changed a policy of hiring federal annuitants.  Rolla USGS employees who expect to retire have expressed concern that, unless they can demonstrate considerable financial need, they will be ineligible for these jobs.  We request your guidance in this matter, too.

 

Finally, we would urge you to also consider the remaining employees who will continue to work for USGS in Rolla.  To our knowledge and to the knowledge of the Rolla employees, no assessment has been made of how the elimination of the MidContinent Mapping Center will affect them.  They will inherit an enormous IT infrastructure and physical plant costs.  They, too, fear for their jobs.

 

If there is any way in which we can assist or expedite the Office of Personnel Management’s involvement in this pressing situation, please contact us.  We remain convinced that this decision cannot stand and hope you might help us intervene on behalf of these employees since USGS is not inclined to do so. 

 

                                                                Sincerely,

 ____________________       ____________________       ____________________

 

JO ANN EMERSON                    KIT BOND                                  JIM TALENT
Member of Congress                 U.S. Senator                             U.S. Senator