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Return to Article: Survey signals low morale among DHS agriculture specialists

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  CBP is a good thing on paper or in theory but when you work for it, it then overall is a second rate agency. This so called merger of Customs, Immigration and Agriculture is nothing less than a hostile takeover by customs, hence the words Customs and Border Protection. Customs clearly runs the show all the way except for a few immigration dominant locations. When the takeover started, some ports like Miami and Long Beach, customs quickly came in force, taking over ag offices and kicked aggies out to a less desirable location or disbanded a good group of aggies and placed them where CBP choose.

  Another classic example, is Seattle. This was a great port until CBP slowly dug it talons in. The aggies are under the yoke of CBP mismanagement. CBP Management have denied aggies the tools to check for the poison gas M. Bromide used for fumigation abroad and then entering the US. While inspections were being performed the aggies were using the gas detectors while in USDA but not in CBP. Work at your own risk is what they are told to do. They requested many times for tubes or electronic gas detectors calibrated for M. Bromide. They were denied.

  The Tacoma Maritime Ag unit, for example, was all but disbanded with just two ag officers, even though it is as big a port as Seattle, which has about a ten officers. This is an example of what an ag mission ignorant CBP chain of command does to its people. If an officer (any officer) is comfortable at their duty area they will most likely be moved, unless they are one of the more than a few brown noses. And try to transfer. Good luck. This is nationwide, not just locally.

  Face it, nation wide CBP management are trade driven idiots, they care less about why were are here, let alone know there duty to us as managers. When I talk about management I mean most 13's and up, all the way up to and including a DFO. Most big ports, if their lucky, may have one ag 13 that usually happens to be under the CBP yoke of do what "we" say not what "you" know.

  Here's a hint; Don't hire a businessman to run the EPA, hire a scientist. CBP should not attempt to manage aggies at all. We did a good job at USDA, and most legacy ags want to go back or at least prefer to let them do their job the USDA way professionally, not the CBP way with one eye closed and both hands tied.

  GovExec.com reader Posted March 16, 2007 3:28 AM
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  I think that in light of this survey, and the recent OPM survey that ranked DHS at the bottom of the federal government in most categories, the fools who created this awful mess should have to step up and face the music. Throwing disparate agencies together into a bowl doesn't make anything but alphabet soup. Neither does it make for good law enforcement. Don't hold your breath on ICE conducting a similar survey - they would be too afraid of the results!

  GovExec.com reader Posted February 7, 2007 7:01 PM
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  "Elite DHS"? I hope that was a sarcastic comment! Do you work at this agency? The employees are trying their best, but have been sabotaged by their "leaders" and feckless politicians, so this agency is an unmitigated disaster. Bring back Customs and a revamped INS, and we'd all be better off!

  GovExec.com reader Posted December 27, 2006 12:39 PM
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  That is the mentality of the all powerful DHS that wants to be able to move civilian employees for the sake of security (one of the reasons stated for the new payroll system). Why has the elite DHS not corrected these problems in over three years?

  Something is wrong with this survey in the following statements:

  1. Specific problems were cited included poor working relationship and a concern that the Agriculture inspection mission has been overshadowed by other CBP priorities.
  2. The most common positive item mentioned by Agriculture specialists was working relationships.

  There is a definite contradiction between poor working relationships and positive working relationships? This is the kind of propaganda the American public is fed to cover the blunders and delusion caused by the government and political groups.

  GovExec.com reader Posted December 21, 2006 9:20 AM
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  Senior Special Agent, DHS ICE,

  I understood you perfectly. What I am stating is the fact (yes, fact) that Legacy Customs personnel have mistreated former USDA personnel and abandoned the Agriculture mission. I am also stating the fact (yes, fact) that since there were no former USDA employees included in the ICE merger, you probably don't know how bad it actually is.

  As for Customs not asking for this merger, I remember when I first joined USDA in the late '90's. Back then, the Customs Inspectors that I knew were already talking about the "near" future, when "Customs is put in charge of the FIS." It was no secret then that both Robert Bonner and his predecessor had been pushing for a merger of all the FIS agencies way before 9/11. Or at least it was no secret between Customs inspectors, I don't know about the investigators. Either they had inside information or they could foresee the future quite clearly.

  Former CBP employee Posted December 20, 2006 3:35 PM
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  Dear "Aggie,"

  I didn't mean to minimize or excuse the actions of any supervisor who treated you and your colleagues poorly post-merger. That is uncalled for, and just plain inexcusable. I was, however, referring to the fact that Customs, an agency I proudly worked at for over 20 years, had no say in the merger of Customs, INS and Agriculture inspectors into CBP. It wasn't Customs that created this mess, but others with their own agendas. Again, if you were treated badly since the merger, shame on those who treated you badly. Please remember, though, that just like you and your colleagues, those of us at Customs never asked for this either!

  GovExec.com reader Posted December 19, 2006 5:18 PM
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  Senior Special Agent, DHS ICE,

  I disagree with you in that Customs is not to be blamed. Customs doesn't share the blame with Congress over behaving like idiots, neglecting the agriculture mission or mistreating employees. The blame for that falls squarely on the shoulders of the former officers and management of the old U.S. Customs Service. They openly hate (yes, I did actually hear a Legacy Customs Area Port Director use the word "hate") all the former USDA employees, demeaning them at every opportunity. You do not know how bad it is because the investigative part of USDA did not go into ICE, so there's no former USDA employees in ICE.

  Newark Aggie,

  If I remember correctly (and I remember, 'cause I was there), a supervisor had to be drafted to stay with USDA. USDA PPQ Officers were selected to stay on a seniority basis. That was, believe it or not, better than what other ports got. It's not that CBP got "the sloppy seconds" (sounds like you weren't there when this happened, so I probably don't know you), but that the quality of supervisors, with few exceptions, wasn't that good to begin with (certain individuals come to mind). And the officers, well, most of the good ones (and myself by sheer dumb luck) were smart enough to see the writing on the wall and leave.

  former CBP employee Posted December 18, 2006 2:34 PM
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  Where is the survey concerning the morale of DHS ICE SA's? I guess Julie Myers and crew are too afraid to ask. The three faces at the Border is more akin to the "Three Stooges." This whole DHS agency is suffering from low morale, not just the aggies.

  GovExec.com reader Posted December 17, 2006 10:33 PM
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  I was not aware that a survey had taken place. I worked with the USDA for 6.5 years before the merger. I would like to say that we did not "transfer" to CBP as the article states, but we were moved regardless of our wishes. Whenever we had expressed displeasure we have been told to go back to agriculture. Our original mission does not exist. Of the work that we did, we are reduced to just cut flower inspections and a few fruits and vegetables. The rest of our duties are completely neglected.

  However, I would not want to go back to USDA. I am treated with more respect from my immediate managers than the USDA managers did. USDA managers used to write you up over rumors and would retaliate against us if we complained. Now, if someone makes an accusation, they must have proof before we are penalized, that is a great improvement. The USDA had too much favoritism toward a few groups of people and family individuals with some families having up to 10 members in the same office.

  The new AS hired by CBP have a bad attitude toward us. They have no respect for the senior officers at all. They are told that they are better than us by management and this reflects on their attitude. However, they have not received all the training that we did, with respect to agriculture. They have training in other areas, but the agriculture area lacks.

  We are told to train them on-the-job, but they believe that they know everything and we have no knowledge to impart. Considering that they only inspect flowers anyway, unlike us that inspected all type of cargo, vessels, cargo planes, live plants and fruits and vegetables, they don't need much skill to inspect only flowers, so they are right, they don't need us to train them on methods that they will never use. Overall, there are bad things and good things. My positive, I mentioned it already, fairness when accused falsely. The negative, the agriculture mission has been reduced to about 25 percent of what we used to do. American agriculture is not safe, but my job is.

  GovExec.com reader Posted December 17, 2006 6:26 AM
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  I sympathize with the Agriculture specialists, and also with all those affected by the unnecessary and disastrous creation of DHS, CBP and ICE. However, don't blame "customs" for this problem. They weren't responsible for this asinine merger. Put the blame where it rightfully belongs, on Congress and the administration, who foolishly created this mess, and have since done nothing to address these and many other serious concerns!

  GovExec.com reader Posted December 15, 2006 2:03 PM
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  CBP has to be one of the most dysfunctional agencies that I have ever seen. We're treated as second class citizens. We have no opportunity for advancement, TDY's or training opportunities. In reality this is not just from the merger -- we were given sloppy seconds, the runts of the litter from the USDA in the form of management and legacy Officers.. Anyone they did not want was given to CBP. It's not going to get better until CBP finally decides to shake things and start fixing the problems.

  Newark Aggie Posted December 15, 2006 12:34 PM
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  "Other positive job qualities included salary and benefits, and some aspects of training. Some of the specialists applauded more flexible work schedules and increased overtime pay. On the training side, some noted that new hires are well-prepared."

  I find this very hard to believe. The work schedule is not more flexible in DHS, but a lot less flexible. And there is not a single agriculture specialist who did not lose overtime [ay when they were switched to COPRA. This has to be something that someone made up somewhere. Not a real survey result.

  Fact: the low morale problems are not just the result of the merger. CBP does not care about the agriculture mission. I was tasked with training non-agriculture CBP personnel in the agriculture mission and saw first hand how little they cared, especially the managers. Add to that the loss of their professional employee status after 34 years of being considered as such, the fact that former customs managers treated us like second class citizens, the fact that none of the concerns of the agriculture personnel were addressed on time, and a myriad of other factors, and you get the picture.

  What has happened with the Beagle Brigade? There's a perfect example. How many BB teams are left? How many K9 officers quit?

  In 2004, when a Customs drug dog from New York won the "Paws to Recognize" award, it merited a full front page article in CBP News. The following year, when a Beagle from Miami won the same award, it merited a footnote on the back page. Enough said.

  Former CBP employee Posted December 15, 2006 12:05 PM
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  Low morale? Let's see... The agriculture specialists in CBP: Are not being promoted to GS-13 positions (reserved for legacy customs only), cannot apply for any TDY's (reserved for legacy customs only) and are not paid the language pay (reserved for legacy customs only). No agriculture specialist is allowed in any "chief" positions, even if they are in an agriculture office (reserved for legacy customs only).

  At my port, legacy Agriculture employees averaged $10,000 less in overtime compared to CBPOs. When inquiring about work-related issues, we get the standard unintelligent disrespectful answer, "I have been in Customs for 20 years..."

  It has been noted that when customs wants to punish a manager, he/she is sent to work at agriculture. The result is that the agriculture specialists are getting the customs trash as managers. And by the way, those are the GS-12, 13 chiefs we have to deal with.

  To add insult to injury, this is the second GAO report with basically the same conclusions, and guess what CBP management did to improve: nothing, because CBP doesn't care.

  Ag Specialist Posted December 15, 2006 11:23 AM
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  Surprised? Not really. As we all know, DHS was the knee-jerk response to 9/11 by Congress, and it has lived down to its potential. Each agency crammed into this ridiculous megalithic super-agency has struggled to exist and carry out its mandated functions. But, as the article correctly points out, the Agriculture Department folks are not even remotely connected to the ex-INS and Customs re: job function. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to undo the legislation that prompted this stupid move.

  GovExec.com reader Posted December 15, 2006 4:25 AM
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  This isn't just a problem with the Aggies. The whole thing is a disaster.

  GovExec.com reader Posted December 15, 2006 12:16 AM
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  I'm not surprised at all at these results. The Agriculture inspectors never asked to join CBP, and neither did the customs and immigration inspectors who were drafted into this agency. Why not survey their morale as well? "One Face at the Border" sounds clever, but the reality is that all three jobs are unique and complicated in and of themselves. Trying to make these specialists well-versed in all three disciplines just waters down their expertise, and makes them generalists (in other words, "jacks of all trades, masters of none"). And while we're on this topic, why not also survey the morale of customs and immigration agents who were also merged against their will into ICE? Is the government afraid of what it will find?

  DHS was, is and will always be, a white elephant, and an unnecessary bureaucracy that was created out of fear, but which will never equal the sum of its legacy parts!

  GovExec.com reader Posted December 14, 2006 7:23 PM