McEntee: Let Public Employees Succeed

Government will not be redesigned effectively through the privatization of services nor the dictates of bureaucratic managers. Real improvements in service delivery will come only through more employee involvement and empowerment and less red tape and interference from management.

Pres. Gerald W. McEntee delivered those messages at a June hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Education and the Workforce. McEntee’s testimony was solidly backed by Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith (D), who listed his city’s many successes working with unions to improve services and efficiency.

Speaking to the topic of “Meeting the Needs of the Twenty-First Century Workplace,” McEntee said, “Nobody is more frustrated with bureaucratic inefficiencies than the front-line workers we represent, and nobody is in a better position to improve the quality of public services than those who perform the work.”

McEntee noted that the “quick-fix approaches for reinventing government — such as layoffs and outsourcing — do not address the underlying challenges of delivering services in an increasingly complex and demanding environment.” He cited several cases of labor/management cooperation involving AFSCME affiliates where quality improvement and cost-cutting efforts have proven successful.

Mayor Goldsmith said Indianapolis Department of Transportation workers are bidding against outside contractors and saving the city significant amounts of money. He noted “most civil servants are hardworking and talented. The problem is they’ve been trapped in a system that punishes initiative, ignores efficiency, and rewards big spenders.”