Defending government in an anti-government age
In an era of tight budgets, the 'federal brand' has in many minds been tarnished.
Last fall, Washington-area viewers of the Sunday morning talk shows got a steady dose of commercials featuring Federal News Radio's Mike Causey. Pointing to a studio backdrop of the U.S. Capitol, Causey tells the camera affably that "it's Politics 101 that the people in that building respect the strength of groups of people more than individuals."
The TV spot, called "Us vs. Them" by its creators, is a recruitment pitch for the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. The organization is just one of an array of unions and federal employee associations that have launched or accelerated public outreach campaigns to counter the recent surge in anti-government sentiment.
The National Treasury Employees Union has sprayed the landscape with public service ads under the theme "They Work for U.S." The American Federation of Government Employees is taking a more granular approach, staging rallies and rolling out social media messages and Web micro campaign sites defending workers at specific agencies. They include SavetheVA.org (focused on the Veterans Affairs Department), PreserveYourSocial Security.org (the Social Security Administration) and ProtectYourJob.org (the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). The National Federation of Federal Employees offers downloadable recruiting flyers with such slogans as "Congress has big plans for your paycheck."
In Congress, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., has taken over a practice begun in 2009 by then-Sen. Ted Kaufman, D-Del., of giving regular floor speeches honoring exemplary federal employees.
During a time of pay freezes and across-the-waterfront budget cuts, what could be thought of as the "federal brand" has in many minds been tarnished. For many citizens, all it takes to cement a negative view of government is news stories about air traffic control supervisors falling asleep on duty, allegations (since discredited) that the Justice Department spent $16 apiece on muffins at a conference, or revelations that the Office of Personnel Management mishandled an upgrade of the USAJobs.gov site.
To no one's surprise, deficit-wary Republicans have kept up a steady drumbeat of criticism of federal agencies and employees since the GOP victories in the 2010 elections. "Federal workers are reaping unconscionable salaries, which with benefits can exceed those of similar jobs in the private sector by 60 percent to 80 percent," Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., said at a March hearing. "We're paying too many people too much money," Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, told a radio host in November 2010 while pressing for a 10 percent federal pay cut.
In August 2011, a Pew Research Center poll found that only 11 percent of Americans were "basically content" with the federal government, down from 22 percent last winter. And a Gallup poll in September found that Americans estimate the government wastes 51 cents on the dollar, the highest level since the question was first posed in 1979.
"Trust in the federal government has been falling from a high in 1963 of about 80 percent to around 30 percent today," says Marc Holzer, dean of the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University's Newark campus. "This is discouraging to people who work for the federal government.
"The public is upset about taxes, but federal employees are spending efficiently and wisely, for the most part," he adds. "What they do is not clear to people who are paying their salaries."
Negative stereotypes derive in part from the expansion of government's role in American lives, says Karlyn Bowman, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. "When government gets involved in moral issues such as abortion and gay rights, it tells some people that their views are not acceptable," she says. "It was easier to be good citizens when government did a lot less."
Many observers distinguish between the behemoth of government in the abstract and the good deeds of specific agencies and civil servants. "The American people don't have a solid understanding of the difference between state, local and federal governments," says Lara Shane, vice president for communications and research at the Partnership for Public Service. "They're all painted with the same brush, and Congress' ratings are at an all-time low."
While employee associations and unions have long made it their mission to present the case for greater respect for civil servants, today's budget emergency has prompted the groups to step up their outreach. They're engaging in sophisticated multimedia strategies, both short term and long term, in their bid to shift public attitudes.
None of the campaigns is coordinated or vetted by the Obama administration. But Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry says, "to the extent they are factual and respectfully done, it obviously would help our cause. We share the goal of showing that federal employees are motivated by the importance of their mission. Despite the political snow, sleet or ice, they will still get the job done."
In the January issue of Government Executive, staff correspondent Charles S. Clark looks at the U.S. brand. Read the full article here.