Senators urge Pentagon to increase dialogue on personnel reform

A bipartisan group of senators Wednesday urged the Defense Department to collaborate more with other federal agencies and unions in developing its new personnel system.

Navy Secretary Gordon England was appointed last month to act as a liaison between the Pentagon and federal workers unions during the planned overhaul of the Defense civilian personnel system. In the fiscal 2004 defense authorization bill, Congress gave the Pentagon the authority to reshape its human resources system for greater flexibility and efficiency. Union representatives and lawmakers have expressed concerns over many of the proposed changes.

Under the proposed personnel reforms, civilian employees could continue to join unions, but they also could contract with a union to represent them in certain situations for a fee. Union leaders have said that that move would encourage members to drop their full-time membership.

Defense Department managers would also be given the right to waive collective bargaining during national security emergencies, the right to set pay levels and bonuses, and the prerogative to determine performance ratings and buyouts. Consultation between the Pentagon and the unions would be limited to 60 days. If no agreement was reached after that time, the changes proposed by the managers would be put into place. The Defense Labor Relations Board would be able to review the consultation process, but it would not be able to reverse the managerial decisions.

Wednesday's letter called on England to ensure the design process was "fair" and "transparent."

The senators -- Susan Collins, R-Maine; Carl Levin, D-Mich.; Ted Stevens, R-Alaska; George Voinovich, R-Ohio; and John Sununu, R-N.H. -- urged England to study Homeland Security's model and to open the debate to a variety of points of view. The Homeland Security personnel overhaul remains controversial, but lawmakers and union leaders often praise the extensive dialogue that preceded the reform proposals.

Homeland Security "employed a thoughtful and deliberative approach that can be instructive to the Defense Department as it moves forward with a flexible personnel system," the letter said. "While there are differences of opinion on the proposed regulations for the Department of Homeland Security, we believe that the design process produced a better product and more employee acceptance."

The letter also called on England to include the Office of Personnel Management in the process of developing the defense personnel system. According to the senators, Congress intended for OPM to be a full partner in the process. A senior OPM official revealed last month, however, that the Pentagon developed its initial reform proposal without OPM assistance.

During a Senate Armed Services hearing on Tuesday, Levin also accused Pentagon officials of ignoring the will of Congress in the design process.