Revolt In San Diego Quashed

From the San Diego Union Tribune:

From their nondescript eighth-floor offices in Golden Eagle Plaza downtown, nine administrative law judges of the Social Security Administration work in near-total anonymity. ...

Despite the obscurity, the judges wield an impressive amount of power. Each year they conduct thousands of hearings and issue opinions on individual claims for Social Security benefits – such as retirement, disability and Supplemental Security Income – that the agency initially denied.

But behind the placid scenes of this little-known court system, a quiet revolt has been simmering for months.

One day in November, eight of the judges took the extraordinary step of signing a petition demanding the removal of the longtime chief judge of the San Diego office, Edward D. Steinman. ...

The petition was sent to the chief administrative law judge in Washington, D.C., who oversees all 1,200 judges in the Social Security legal system spread across 141 offices around the country.

Two investigators sent from Washington interviewed several of the ODAR judges earlier this year, one judge in the San Diego office said. The judge would speak only if he were allowed to remain anonymous because judges are not allowed to speak to the media.

Weeks later, two other officials announced the results. “They decided the chief judge would stay and there was no rationale for removing him,” the judge said. ...

Judge David Wurzel wrote that Steinman “put himself first by commandeering support staff for his own use. He takes the best clerks and writers for himself, and manipulates assignment of cases to enhance his own numbers. That enhances his own productivity but lessens the overall productivity of the office.”

This Will Sure Help The Contract Negotiations

From a July 16 letter from Witold Skwierczynski, the President of Council 220 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) which will shortly open contract negotiations with Social Security, to Michael Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security:

Recently SSA has received a great deal of adverse publicity as a result of the Management Tango Conference in Phoenix AZ the week of July 6, 2009. ...

AFGE is outraged that you would condone, approve and participate in such an extravagant waste of taxpayer dollars. The Union is especially disturbed that SSA would spend such enormous sums of taxpayer dollars to treat managers to the comforts of a luxurious resort that featured such amenities as 8 swimming pools, 7 tennis courts, two 18 hole golf courses, a spa and 5 restaurants. ...

AFGE has discovered that the Phoenix tango is not an isolated event. Management officials have conducted or are scheduled to conduct in the near future similar management conferences for hundreds of SSA management officials at sites such as Ft. Lauderdale FL, San Francisco CA, San Antonio TX, Boston MA, Hunt Valley MD, New Orleans LA, New York City, Kansas City MO, Bellevue WA and Austin TX . SSA is apparently spending $ millions in travel and per diem costs, hotel set up fees and salaries for participants to these events. Although AFGE has not seen agendas for all these conferences, if the Phoenix meeting agenda is reflective of the conference agendas, these meetings constitute gross misuse of SSA’s appropriated funds. ... Scheduling 1 ¾ hour lunches during which managers danced and boogied on government time is outrageous.

While virtually all the management officials in the San Francisco region were in Phoenix networking, dancing and taking extended catered lunches, SSI recipients were informed that SSA could not issue emergency payments to them because there were no management officials available to approve such payments. One office even posted a sign to that effect. ...

While the Agency is demanding more resources from Congress to process increasing workloads and eliminating backlogs, you have created a situation in which SSA is now a subject of public ridicule regarding the wasteful expenditure of tax dollars for frivolous management conferences. ...

Two years ago you cancelled sending 40 year SSA employee’s travel to Baltimore to attend the awards ceremony where they were to receive their 40 year certificates. SSA had paid for these trips in the past as a reward and in appreciation of the long time service of such veteran SSA employees. You cancelled these trips to Baltimore for employees in the field to receive their awards to save money.

AFGE Newsletter Critical Of Social Security Management

Council 220 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a union which represents most Social Security employees has issued its July 2009 newsletter. Here is a little excerpt from one article:

Nepotism is alive and well at Social Security -- and Union officials believe some managers are using the Federal Career Intern Program (FCIP) as a way to bring their family members and friends into the agency.

I do not have a dog in the fight over FCIP. However, my gut feeling based upon only limited knowledge of the program is that Social Security management needs to think about whether extensive use of FCIP is a good idea. Council 220 goes over the top at times, but that does not mean that they are always wrong.

And there is also this information in the newsletter:

Senior Executive Service (SES) Performance Awards were given on December 24, 2006 (Christmas Eve) to the following individuals. They are considered 2007 awards:

• Linda McMahon, Deputy Commissioner for Operations $25,000
• Milt Beever, Associate Commissioner, Office of Labor- Management and Employee Relations (OLMER) $8,000]

Regional Commissioners:

• Paul Barnes (Atlanta) $22,000
• Nancy Berryhill (Denver) $14,000
• Beatrice M. Disman (New York) $25,000
• Michael Grochowski (Kansas City) $10,000
• James F. Martin (Chicago) $12,000
• Carl L. Rabun (Seattle) $10,000
• Ramona Schuenemeyer (Dallas) $8,000
• Manuel J. Vaz (Boston) $20,000
• Laurie B. Watkins (Philadelphia) $20,000

More award money was also given throughout 2008. Most of them were SES Performance Awards and were announced on March 14 (except where noted).

• Paul Barnes $22,000
• Milt Beever $12,500
• Nancy Berryhill $17,500
• Beatrice Disman $26,150
• Michael Grochowski $13,500
• James F. Martin $12,000
• Linda McMahon $26,150
• Ramona Schuenemeyer (SES Rank Award; Sept. 30) $32,975
• Ramona Schuenemyer $21,750
• Pete Spencer (San Francisco Regional Commissioner) $26,150
• Manuel J. Vaz (SES Rank Award; Sept. 30) $59,897
• Manuel J. Vaz $23,375
• Laurie Watkins $21,250

TOTAL for both years: $489,197

FY 2010 Appropriations Bill Reported Out Of House Committee

The House Appropriations Committee has reported out the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 appropriations bill that covers Social Security's administrative budget. Social Security would receive the same amount as the President recommended.

Mom On Ice Copycat

The Associated Press reports that Rosland Auslander of New York state has pleaded guilty to freezing the dead body of his 98 year old mother so he could continue to cash her Social Security checks.

Long time readers of this blog know that "Mom on ice" stories pop up on a regular basis on this blog. Criminals are so predictable.

Hearing Office For Alaska

This news is not all that new, but the Anchorage Daily News is reporting that the Social Security Administration plans to open a full hearing office in Anchorage in February of next year.

AFGE Jumps On Conference Criticism

From Al Kamen's Inside the Loop column at the Washington Post:

The American Federation of Government Employees [AFGE]... estimated the gathering -- which it said included receptions, door prizes, skits, a dance troupe, a lunchtime comedian and a trip to a casino -- cost $750,000, not including salaries. That, said Witold Skwierczynski, president of the union's field office local, was a "callous waste of money when video conferencing is available."

He said SSA had recently installed a "state-of-the-art" interactive video system for training new and newly promoted employees. "These employees sit in an office and watch on IVT while trainers instruct them from remote locations," Skwierczynski said. "Apparently the folks who run SSA feel" that's fine for lower-level employees but "managers deserve the amenities of the Arizona Biltmore when they get instruction."

Annual Statistical Report On Disability Insurance Program

The Social Security Administration has released its Annual Statistical Report On The Social Security Disability Insurance Program 2008.