Union challenges Veterans Affairs outsourcing list

The American Federation of Government Employees is challenging the Veterans Affairs Department's move to list 185,000 of its jobs as being commercial and therefore possible candidates for privatization.

"AFGE challenges the listing of these jobs as commercial; they should be designated as inherently governmental," Bobby Harnage, the union's president, wrote in a recent letter to Veterans Affairs.

The 1998 Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act requires Veterans Affairs, like all other federal agencies, to publish annual lists of jobs that are commercial and could be performed by private companies. Of VA's 204,000 jobs, about 185,000 were listed on the FAIR list--including 179,825 Veterans Health Administration jobs, 2,888 Veterans Benefits Administration positions and 1,101 National Cemetery Administration jobs.

The law does not require that the jobs on the FAIR Act be outsourced. Harnage acknowledged that in his letter, noting that no one is expecting VA to contract out the jobs at this time. However, he said, AFGE is concerned that the list will "serve as a starting point" for VA to decide what jobs it may contract out in the future.

The FAIR Act allows interested parties, including labor unions and contractors, to file challenges with agencies over jobs left on or off the list. In most cases, agencies have ruled against challengers and kept jobs on or off the lists.

A VA official, who asked not to be identified, said the agency is reviewing the appeal and will render a decision by Jan. 2.

For more information on the FAIR Act and to view agencies' job listings, see GovExec.com's A-76 and Outsourcing section.