CLEAN Slate 2009 Campaign Statement

Our Platform

Representing AFSA’s Members More Transparently

If elected, CLEAN Slate will open up AFSA governance and:

n      Notify members of upcoming meetings; publish our agendas in advance; and put our minutes online.

n      Institute roll-call votes – to make your union representatives more fully accountable to you.

n      Publish the rosters of AFSA’s numerous committees; make new appointments to these committees more transparently; and greatly increase the diversity of these appointments.

n      Strengthen the lines of communication between you and your AFSA representatives by encouraging AFSA GB members to communicate with you directly.

n      Tighten the administration of AFSA elections and end the irregularities that have plagued the last two contests.

n      Propose an amendment to the AFSA bylaws, to be voted on by the membership, to institute reasonable term limits on elected and appointed AFSA service to facilitate the regular flow of new talent and ideas into AFSA.

Securing Needed Resources and Better Management

CLEAN Slate will:

n      Push for significantly increased resources for the entire Foreign Service – including USAID, FCS, FAS and IBB – to meet urgent staffing/training needs.

n      Intensify AFSA’s lobbying efforts to eliminate the overseas pay gap that affects mid- and junior-level FS personnel.

n      Encourage the mutual adoption, among all the FS agencies, of best practices in benefits/standards of treatment for their FS employees (e.g., Service Need Differential, per diem policies).

n      Keep faith with those who serve in Afghanistan/Iraq by pushing for legislation to provide tax exemptions for federal civilian employees in combat zones.

n      Insist that management meet the mental health needs of its workers and decouple mental health counseling from the security clearance process; advocate enhanced treatment for PTSD.

n      Work to achieve by 2013 a steady phase-down in politically appointed ambassadors to the 20% level in favor of greater numbers of ambassadors from all FS agencies/career tracks.

n      Strive to improve the quality of FS managers by advocating for the inclusion of an “Enhanced 360” element into the performance evaluation process.

n      Secure greater support for the families of FS personnel serving at unaccompanied posts.

n      Provide a roadmap to management for expanding overseas/domestic employment opportunities for eligible family members (EFMs) and members of household.

Fighting for Your Rights

CLEAN Slate will tenaciously defend the rights of FS personnel and:

n      Insist on fairness in the assignment process and even-handed application of fair-share requirements and the 5/8 rule.

n      Lobby Congress to extend the recently passed whistleblower protections to federal workers.

n      Push for more flexible rules governing support for pregnant FS personnel and their families.

n      Press management to repeal the “gay tax” by extending the same rights/benefits to same-sex partners of FS personnel that are available to federally-recognized spouses; push for a FAM definition of EFM status that includes domestic partners.

n      Work with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security to bring greater transparency/accountability into security clearance investigations/adjudications.

n      Work to extend diplomatic privileges for FS specialists serving overseas in “administrative/technical” status; enhance specialists’ career mobility within the Service.

n      Dedicate a half-time staff position to supporting members from the smaller FS agencies.

n      Increase AFSA’s retirement staffing by 50%; fight to protect retirement/health programs; facilitate more extensive re-employment of annuitants; seek to eliminate the hours cap on WAE work and create a centralized skills database to increase WAE opportunities.