The Bush administration is arguing that collective bargaining and existing civil service employees protection could get in the way of the department’s response to "terrorist threats" and national emergencies. Federal officials are demanding that bosses be given greater "flexibility" to hire, fire, discipline, and transfer workers from one part of the proposed department to another. The proposal also maintains executive powers to remove workers from unions under the pretext of national security threats, a policy that has been carried out by every U.S. president since James Carter.

The new government agency, which the White House expects to be able to launch next January, will merge 22 government agencies, bringing 170,000 employees under one department. Some 50,000 of the affected workers belong to the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents 600,000 federal employees.  
 
‘National security’ used as justification
Earlier this year, President George Bush issued an executive order denying union representation to more than 500 employees at the U.S. attorneys’ office and other divisions of the Justice Department, arguing that union contracts could restrict the ability of workers "to protect Americans and national security."

The proposal to bring under a Department of Homeland Security all or part of the 22 federal agencies, including cops, and agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Coast Guard, Customs Service, and Secret Service is part of the U.S. rulers’ steps to give the federal government more domestic policing powers.

The government wants to place all Homeland Security employees under a single pay system based on "performance incentives" rather than wage scales established by union contracts. The White House says it wants to have more authority to deny pay raises on the basis of performance and to fire employees more freely.

"It looks as if [President Bush] wants the secretary of the homeland security to have absolute power to decide all personnel matters on the basis of political patronage," said AFGE president Bobby Harnage. "Flexibility means nothing less than gutting the civil service merit system and busting employee unions."

While union officials have opposed the antiunion aspects of the legislation, they have supported the creation of the new agency as a way to "fight terrorism." AFL-CIO president John Sweeney said in a July 26 statement that the U.S. government has "guaranteed its career employees civil service protections and successfully fought and won wars. Congress can and should create a new homeland security department" without undermining rights and protections he said.

Harnage declared the union officials "stand solidly behind President Bush in the fight against terrorism." He added that "union membership has never been inconsistent with national security. The right of federal employees to engage in collective bargaining has never undermined homeland security."
 
 
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