COFE - Coalition Of Federal Employees

P.O. Box 44311, Washington, DC 20026-4322

410-433-7314, Fax: 410-433-3886

Social Action For Public Accountability - Defending rights and promoting change to secure justice for Federal employees in support of good government for citizens and taxpayers.

In the Campaign for Justice at the U.S. Department of Energy, COFE has encountered a special situation in which we feel compelled to make clear that COFE intends to hold all leadership accountable - whether in Departmental management or in the union hierarchy. The responsibilities of leadership are equal, and justice and good government require unimpeachable integrity from all who hold such positions. We strongly support leadership when it carries out its duties in accordance with law and fairness. We oppose it when it perpetrates injustice.

COFE is not a union but stands with labor on the matter of rights. COFE represents employees across the spectrum, regardless of their bargaining unit status, because employees at all levels, in all occupations, and among all racial, gender, age, disability, ethnic, religious, and other categories experience injustice and violations of rights. We recognize and acknowledge the special nature, frequency, and intensity of discrimination against persons in protected classes and groups, but we recognize as well that injustice can also be perpetrated by members of said classes and groups. Many of those who have been targeted are non-bargaining unit employees, and some are themselves ostensibly part of management. We live by the adage that "the truth shall make you free," not blind loyalty based on affinity, personality, or arbitrary group characteristics.

In our observation, it is especially the case at the Department of Energy that those who oppose wrongdoing and injustice are isolated and marginalized by the perpetrators by any possible means - that discrimination is the secondary effect rather than the primary cause of the wrongdoing. This does not mitigate or vitiate the harm, illegality, or possible remedies in discrimination cases, but we believe the real problems are of a deeper systemic and institutional nature. The violation of laws, rules, and rights with apparent impunity is the consistent pattern and practice, and the particular ways in which these violations occur then vary according to the circumstance of the individuals who challenge "the system" - whether inadvertently or by virtue of their fortitude, ethics, and official duties.

Too often, individuals subjected to maltreatment in these situations are hounded to the point where their health, families, careers, and fortunes are permanently harmed or ruined. COFE was established to address these systemic and institutional problems. We are interested in the facts of individual cases and seek to build and sustain a community of support for the agents of change. We are unable to conduct individual cases ourselves but will provide information on organizations and resources which may assist individuals in their cases. COFE is prepared to consider larger, class actions and related interventions which will achieve systemic, institutional change. We will also monitor individual cases because they manifest and reflect the deeper problems. In selected instances, COFE will present individual cases that represent larger, systemic issues.

Individuals who wish to join in this effort, with a serious commitment to achieving change, should contact COFE directly. Commitments and contributions of time, effort, expertise, contacts, money, and other resources are welcome. We will also assist employees from other agencies in forming action groups to tackle systemic and institutional problems in those agencies.

What we want at the U.S. Department of Energy:

• Quit wasting taxpayer money to defend injustice, mismanagement, bias, and incompetence - recognize that failure to remedy systemic problems and prejudices is a failure of internal controls, a violation of financial integrity, a breech of ethics and standards of conduct, against the law, bad for morale, and just plain wrong.



• End official support for wrongdoing - quit using the Office of Personnel, the Office of Civil Rights, the Inspector General, and the General Counsel to coverup and defend waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement, and bias.



• Lead the right way - follow the current Federal laws, rules, and policies that give rights and protections to employees, labor, and underrepresented groups.



• Fix existing cases - treat legitimate complaints and grievances properly and move without further delay to settle cases fairly; immediately promote or reassign qualified people who have been unfairly or improperly denied promotions or proper assignments.



• Respect the bargaining unit - for employees covered by labor agreements, act with integrity in negotiations and fulfilling all terms of contracts in good faith; and do not seek to corrupt local chapter officials with undo influence or improper gratuities.



• Stop the New Buddy System - give authority and responsibility back to career Federal employees and stop sending work improperly to contractors, consultants, non-Federal employees, or political appointees where there is no true justification for noncareer assignment of work.



• Restore a true merit system with an end to discrimination and favoritism - stop abusing discretion to waive credentials to avoid hiring or promoting or training or rewarding better qualified and credentialed career and underrepresented candidates.



• Cease dividing the ranks - stop using discrimination, favoritism, fear, coercion, intimidation, and unfairness to sow dissension in the career workforce and to control the hierarchy.



• Reengineer and reinvent government sanely - stop calling unplanned, poorly managed, chaotic action and bad decisions by the faddish name of the moment and start involving career Federal employees properly in mutually beneficial change with the right resources allocated and good practices employed by knowledgeable and qualified personnel.



• Don't defend bad management or bad managers - recognize that the rank and file in Federal service are duty bound to know, respect, and uphold the law and the rules even against the direct orders of superiors.



• Achieve equal opportunity that remedies underrepresentation - comply with the Federal requirements for EEO plans, Affirmative Action, and proper enforcement and promote career minorities fairly into senior positions - and use local workforce data properly in determining underrepresentation.



• Stop tokenism - don't just reward those willing to do the bidding of The New Buddy System; reward honest performance even from those known for speaking out and defending their legal rights.



• Stop marginalizing rights advocates - advocacy of rights enforcement is official Federal Government policy and should be supported, rewarded, and respected among those who do act on it.



• Act justly on legitimate employee complaints and grievances - cease practices which frustrate full and fair investigations, intimidate those who initiate actions, or otherwise impede due process and honest dealing.



• Hold leaders accountable - discipline appropriately executives, managers, and supervisors who cause these legitimate complaints and grievances; do not reward them with awards, and do take action up to and including dismissal for serious or repeated offenses.



• Provide proper training for all - stop using training as a form of favoritism or its denial as punishment; make sure everyone is well and fully trained for his or her job.



• Support rights from the top down - "walk the talk" and require proof of commitment in performance plans and appraisals, award decisions, and other forms of recognition so that anyone in a leadership position is required to support and implement the existing Federal policies on behalf of employee, labor, and civil rights, including Affirmative Action.



• Promote excellence in equity - require supervisors to do their jobs in first being fully qualified themselves and then giving proper job descriptions, performance plans, career ladders, training programs, guidance and feedback, and appropriate discipline intended to develop the workforce, not punish those in disfavor.



• Remove unqualified officials from executive, management, and supervisory positions - give them the opportunity to meet the new expectations and get properly qualified, but don't permit lesser qualified persons to hold back those already more qualified persons who, because of the New Buddy System, have been placed in subordinate positions.



• Act now - follow through on commitments to employee advocacy groups and the union.

Immediately take the following actions:

• Reorganize the Office of Civil Rights



• Include civil rights, labor relations, and merit principles among the bases for Whistleblower Protection



• Establish measurable mandatory competencies for positions in the offices of civil rights, employee and labor relations, and implement immediate action to bring all personnel in those offices in compliance as quickly as possible, not to exceed six months



• Appoint a trustworthy and competent Director of Civil Rights who reports directly to the Secretary



• Promote qualified career minorities to senior positions now



• Immediately begin reviewing all hiring, promotion, reassignment, and adverse actions for patterns and practices of unlawful discrimination or favoritism

• Block actions where questions are raised until the issues are resolved to eliminate bias



• Eliminate "make work" assignments



• Take immediate action to intervene when there is evidence of management abuse



• Put all managers on notice that they will not be indemnified against improper or unlawful actions



• Require mandatory training in good management, employee rights, and dispute resolution with penalties for noncompliance of all managers and supervisors with higher than average rates of grievances or complaints



• Report immediately on patterns of complaints and grievances by organization and manager



• Report immediately on the patterns of performance ratings and awards by organization and manager



• Evaluate the correlation of the last two reports



• Require each organization and each manager within the organization to report monthly on any and all outstanding complaints and grievances with the status



• Assemble, consolidate, and report the general statistics of the above at least quarterly to the Department's workforce



• Give monthly written reports to Secretary on status of all enforcement activities



• Report fully all costs of discrimination, complaints, settlements, and waste



• Identify civil rights as an internal control weakness for the Department



• Train management in fair treatment

• Train employees in rights, responsibilities, and protections

• Write and issue a pamphlet to all employees spelling out the process, time lines, employee options, etc. for complaints, grievances, and alternative dispute resolution in and out of the bargaining unit

• Increase the number and the qualifications, training, and competence of civil rights counselors

• Assure that settlements are fact-based and fair, not political, based on monitoring and evaluation



• Respond quickly in situations of retaliation to intervene, assess the facts, stop it, and discipline any responsible manager



• Investigate patterns of discrimination for sources and causes of multiple complaints to seek systemic solutions and remedies, including appropriate intervention



• Investigate patterns of settlements to assure that the terms of settlement are not used to coverup the discrimination or coerce unfair outcomes



• Establish and use talent banks and referrals of underrepresented groups for all career opportunities



• Develop and implement Individual Development Plans (IDPs) for all employees and evaluate the overall pattern of plans to assure fair career planning to meet agency needs and goals for workforce mobility, development, succession, and remedying underrepresentation



• Establish and aggressively promote a program to identify and develop leadership talent at and below grade 12 among groups underrepresented at any level above grade 12



• Replace all one-grade interval occupational series jobs with career ladders having upward mobility potential limited only by the talent and motivation of individual employees and convert all incumbents en masse to eliminate structural impediments to promotions and career opportunities



• Impose disciplinary actions when managers commit grievable or actionable offenses, Unfair Labor Practices, or engage in discrimination or favoritism or other violations of Merit Principles and Ethics



• Review award nominations and take action to assure that managers having committed offenses are not also being rewarded



• Evaluate all other areas of supervision, discipline, training, and human resources recruitment, development, and management to identify and correct patterns and practices adversely impacting career employees in general and protected classes and underrepresented groups in particular



• Monitor and report to the Secretary and employee and labor groups on all of the above on an ongoing and timely basis



• Utilize these evaluations and reports in the performance evaluations of senior executive service members and other senior managers and supervisors



• Use a program similar to defense agencies to achieve competency-based affirmative action



• Publicize and inform all employees of the above, and provide refresher briefings annually