From: Witold
Skwierczynski
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2014 3:28 PM
To: All Bargaining Unit Employees
Subject: Vision 2025
To: All Bargaining Unit Employees
Subject: Vision 2025
SSA
Bargaining Unit Employees:
On
March 11, the union was given a copy of a draft plan produced by the National
Academy of Public Administration (Academy) entitled "Long term Strategic Vision
and Vision Elements for the Social Security Administration" . The Academy was
contracted by SSA to assist the Agency in developing Vision
2025.
SSA
is now seeking your ideas for a Vision 2025 plan. What SSA is not telling you
is that they already have a draft plan that is a product of the Academy with the
framework of that plan given to the Academy by SSA
leadership.
The
draft plan has certain principles that we cannot agree with. First it states
that the basis for a Vision for 2025 must be that online services are the
primary means for delivering customer service. This is a change from SSA's long
time commitment to allow the customer to determine how they interact with SSA
either by face-to-face contact, by phone, or by the Internet. The entire basis
of the field office structure and community based offices where the public can
choose to receive face to face service is based on the concept of customer
choice.
Another
basis for their draft report is the following
concept:
we (i.e.,SSA) automate processes to maximize operational efficiency, meet customer demand and diverse expectations, resulting in a smaller workforce and in reduced physical infrastructure.
The
Academy's draft report is based on SSA 's desire to eliminate much, if not all,
the field structure and to get rid of many employees. That means closing field
offices reducing staff, redeploying current staff and possibly laying off excess
workers. It also means the virtual elimination of face-to-face community based
service.
The
academy draft report proposes 29 elements under 5 categories: Direct Service
Delivery to customers, Indirect service Support of Service delivery, Planning
and management of information Resources, Workforce and Organizational Structure
and Dynamics.
Item
1 of their 29 "vision elements" is "online self-service delivery is our primary
service channel". Thus, SSA clients will be expected to fend for themselves
which is the real meaning of "self-service".
Item
2 states: "we provide direct service options (e.g., in-person, phone, on-line chat, video conference) in very limited
circumstances, such as complex transactions and to meet the needs of
vulnerable populations." This means that no longer will a member of the public
have a right to communicate with an SSA employee. The future SSA
requires a justification in limited circumstances before a member of the public
can talk to an employee face-to-face, by phone, by video-conference or by chat.
The Agency will be staffed with a limited amount of interviewers to insure that
only very few get this direct communication option. My belief is that these
limited number of interviewers will work in either centralized facilities like
PSCs, Regional Offices and Baltimore Headquarters or they will work at
home.
Item
3 calls for seamless and integrated customer service channels enabling customers
to process transactions in one step start to finish. That sounds nice but,
unfortunately, there won't be any field offices providing seamless service.
When AFGE questioned the Academy about whether this could mean that DDS' would
be federalized and SSA employees could be promoted to higher graded positions
that adjudicate both the disability and non-disability portions of a claim, its
clear that it was not their intention to disturb the current Federal and State
relationship.
Item
4 proposes "integrated service delivery across SSA programs and with external
partners to improve access to a broad suite of high quality
government services ". What's that about? This proposal would increase the
number of 3rd party claims takers that currently flood our offices with
frequently substandard and incomplete claims. It also looks like the plan is to
provide that profit making 3rd party claims takers have more access to SSA's
systems. It's certainly cheaper to use 3rd parties to submit claims and charge
either the public or a government agency (i.e. tax $$) for a service that is now
provided by SSA employees.
Item
5 recommends simplification which is a laudable goal but something that gives
the union concern. The simpler the work is, the employees who process it will
be workers with lower grades. The current grade structure is based on the
complexity of work that we produce. Significant legislative changes would be
necessary to truly simplify the claims process.
Some
of the high lights or, in my estimation, low lights, of the remaining of the
recommendations follow:
- "Our work processes are fully automated except for those decisions that require some human judgment." This recommendation would potentially eliminate the current review of all i claims. "Full automation" and "some human judgment" means that most cases will be automated without any review process (i.e., judgment).
- "Our work is "portable" (e.g. electronic case files enable matching workload with available workforce capacity, advancing telework)." This proposal is consistent with the vision to eliminate face-to-face service and, therefor, dismantle the field office structure. Remaining employees will work at home- not in offices. Consequently, no more face to face service in 2025.
- "All our support functions (e.g., Human Resources, Finance) are provided through a shared service model (e.g., within SSA, across government and by contract)." This proposal envisions widespread contracting out of work currently performed in regional offices, Baltimore Headquarters and Area Director offices to the private sector.
- Another proposal envisions the IT workforce as primarily focused on development of systems to "effectively leverage private sector services to meet business needs." This is another indication that SSA's vision is to privatize more and more of what we do.
- "Technology advances allow us to have a significantly smaller and more virtual workforce". There will be fewer of us and we won't be in the same building - the workforce of alienation.
- "We make greater use of generalists with an emphasis on problem-solving, communication and data analytics skills." The Academy only visited 1 field office in Washington DC before making these proposals. Obviously they don't understand the technical complexity of the SSA programs and that few can be effective generalists due to this complexity and requiring employees to be generalists increases stress and causes health and safety problems.
- "Our "blended" workforce delivers services with greater use of project-based employee and contractor teams." Why is the current SSA leadership so eager to contract out our jobs?
- "Our communication and business processes enable a dispersed workforce that is no longer working in centralized traditional offices."
- "Our physical infrastructure is significantly reduced and re-aligned based on service delivery changes, IT and automation investments, and workforce shifts."
On
March 12, 2014 the union met with the Academy to discuss these draft proposals.
Obviously we objected to virtually all of them and made the case for
maintaining the community based field office structure that continues to allow
claimants to determine how they want to get SSA services - including face-to-
face services. We argued that there is nothing wrong with SSA being a
government agency made up of government employees. We told them that SSA's
overhead is only 1.4%. This is cheaper than any other benefit program and
significantly cheaper than any insurance company. We argued that its our
experience that many people who file claims online make poor decisions that
result in permanent benefit loss for themselves and their families and the
option of discussing benefit choices with a trained SSA employee is essential to
the service that SSA should provide to taxpayers. We told them that one should
not accept continuing reductions in SSA's administrative budget and that what
the Agency needs are strong advocates who demand that Congress provide SSA
sufficient revenue so that SSA can continue to provide first class face-to-face
and telephone services to those members of the public that choose to use
them.
Academy
members stated that their vision of 2025 is a society where most people will
never leave their house except to be entertained. Therefore, there will be no
need for offices and face-to-face options.
What
a horrible vision! It's a vision of alienation where people in the future will
not interact with others except virtually. I don't accept this vision. Most
SSA employees don't accept this vision. Those who talk to the public all day
know that many couldn't survive without being able to deal directly with an SSA
employee to complete their business.
So
SSA now wants you to participate in this charade of seeking your input when they
have already decided to significantly reduce services. The recent office and
contact station closings, reduction of hours that field offices are open to the
public, initiatives to centralize work like moving review of Internet claims
away from field offices, elimination of services like numi-lites and benefit
verifications, the sudden management acceptance of flexiplace after years of
opposition, the installation of self-help kiosks, the requirements demanded by
SSA that employees sell Internet claims and services to the public, My SSA,
video conferencing used for hearings, further expansion of regional hearing
centers, starving small offices of staff till they become non-viable and close,
etc. are all SSA strategies to reduce staff, consolidate operations and to
transform SSA into an Agency that no longer provides the public with personal
service.
The
union has decided to offer it's own vision for the future. This vision would
maintain the field structure, continue to offer the claimant filing options,
reduce unnecessary management, create more promotional opportunities for
employees and enhance their benefits, make the field office a safe and stress
free environment, continue to provide services to the public that they request
and preserve the integrity of SSA records. This is a vision that puts the
public first and mirrors the services of what the public wants not what some
bureaucrat has decided the public should get. It puts a high value on employee
health and safety and enhancement of employees careers and employee
benefits.
After
you vote, think about what SSA wants to do. An elimination of the field office
structure means an elimination of your job. IT'S TIME TO FIGHT TO PRESERVE YOUR
JOB. Please periodically check the AFGE Council 220 website at www.afgec220.org. for actions that you can
take to preserve your job and to keep up with what SSA and the union is doing.
Also, check out our Facebook page at
RallyPoint.
Witold
Skwierczynski
President
AFGE
Council of SSA Field Operations
