GovernmentExecutive.com

The Homeland Security Department announced Tuesday that some criminal investigators from the former Immigration and Naturalization Service will be promoted next month and will no longer be eligible for union representation.

The move was announced in an e-mail from Michael Garcia, assistant secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Eligible investigators will be promoted on May 2 from a GS-12 to a GS-13 in the General Schedule pay system.

DHS officials are making their pay system fair by bringing legacy INS investigators up to the same level as criminal investigators from the former Customs Service, according to Russ Knocke, an ICE spokesman.

"Issues relating to criminal investigator pay parity have been resolved," Knocke said. "What it's really doing is creating equal pay for equal work."

To be eligible for the promotion, the legacy INS investigators must have one year of experience as a GS-12, a satisfactory job evaluation and approval from a supervisor. The promotion will include a pay raise - ranging from 6 to 15 percent. No additional training will be required, Knocke said.

The investigators, however, will no longer be members of the American Federation of Government Employees or participate in collective bargaining. Under the law that established the Homeland Security Department, officials are allowed to remove investigators from union representation because their jobs include national security and counterterrorism work. Of the 1,473 investigators who are eligible for the promotion, 498 are active union members. DHS will stop the automatic withdrawal of their union dues on April 18.

The union has been battling with DHS over a wholesale overhaul of the personnel system that will eliminate the General Schedule pay system, implement "pay banding" by occupation, and streamline the appeals process. Union officials cried foul over the latest move to bar ICE investigators from collective bargaining.

"AFGE intends to fight this attempt to take away union rights at all possible levels," said union president John Gage. "Union contracts and the rights of federal employees cannot be eliminated simply by re-drafting a position description and writing in the word 'terrorism.' The new Homeland Security law requires that the primary job duty must be directly related to terrorism investigation. The mere fact that it may be one of many duties and that there is a possible connection to the duty is insufficient."

Gage said also that DHS made the decision without first discussing it with union officials.

"We had hoped for a serious collaboration with DHS, and we had been assured that it would take place," he said. "This recent action appears to be a broken promise."

Knocke said the counterterrorism mission at ICE justifies the decision, and he rejected Gage's accusation that there had been no collaboration.

"The implication that we haven't coordinated with union leadership is not entirely accurate," he said. "We've had meetings and notifications, and we have absolutely been coordinated."

Inside ICE, some legacy INS agents expected to lose collective bargaining rights. "The writing appeared to be on the wall with that issue," said one agent. "The real question is whether or not pay banding and the changes to the new HR system will erase even more employee rights."

Jason Peckenpaugh contributed to this report

COMMENTS

• I for one am thrilled to lose the union. They have done nothing but hinder my work in the past 8 years. I belong to FLEOA and have seen that they can do much more for us than the union who looks out only for their own good and not the agency as a whole. As for the 13, great, now if we could get the respect from our Legacy Customs brothers and sisters, it would be perfect. We're all doing a difficult job and I think that given the chance, the Legacy Customs side of the house will see that we have a ton of experience to offer as well. GovExec.com reader Posted April 17, 2004 7:29 PM
• Let's see what the federal sector unions accomplished before an anti-labor administration stole the election - Transit subsidies, AWS work schedules, flexiplace, day care facilities and subsidies, higher salaries through pay equity, etc..etc.. etc.. Instead of berating the INS folks for having unions you should be asking yourself how much better would you have it if you and your fellow ATF, FBI, Secret Service, Customs Non-bargaining unit folks actually came together to demand better working conditions through collective bargaining. Do you think the government would be giving you any benefits out of the goodness of agencies' hearts without a fight? What I find most interesting is that after the union has bloodied itself in getting all kinds of benefits, non-union folks -- even managers -- benefit from the fight. So please don't tell me the unions don't have the power to do anything substantial. IF you believe that than just give back to generous Uncle Sam that pay parity differential you will be getting in a week or two through the efforts of AFGE, NTEU and the other federal sector unions.:-) HR Specialist GovExec.com reader Posted April 17, 2004 4:00 PM
• Let's look at the facts: Legacy INS Agents = 1400+, of those only 450 or so were paying union dues, and I bet of those 450 paying union dues, more than half paid union dues to get the better than FEHB dental plan that the union offered. Let's concentrate on the mission, and stop with the name calling. Everyone within their own agency will have their share of "bad apples". In furtherance of the mission.... GovExec.com reader Posted April 17, 2004 12:09 AM