NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EEOC L0CALS No 216, AFGE, AFL-CIO

Office of the President

c/o Denver District Office, EEOC

303 East 17th Avenue, Suite 510, Denver, Colorado 80203

Tele: (303) 866-1337 Fax: (303) 966-1900

www.council216.org

 

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                     

September 28, 2005                                                                                                                        Contact:

                                                                                                                                                            Gabrielle Martin

                                                                                                                                                            (303) 725-9079

                                                                                                                                                            Rachel Shonfield                        (305) 496-7939

 

EEOC EMPLOYEES’ UNION RELEASES PLAN TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE AT THE CIVIL RIGHTS AGENCY

 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) increasingly is unable to adequately carry out its important civil rights enforcement mission, because it is suffering from a severe staffing crisis.  In response, the National Council of EEOC Locals, No. 216, AFGE/AFL-CIO, has released a comprehensive policy document, entitled, “EEOC: A People First Plan for the Future.”  The Union’s plan sets out how the agency could work within its current budget and structure to redirect resources to the frontline.

 

According to Gabrielle Martin, President of the National Council, “After a four year hiring freeze, the agency is facing backlogs as far as the eye can see.  We desperately need investigators, attorneys, mediators, hearings officers, and support-staff.  This plan shows how the EEOC could send resources to the frontlines, by pulling the plug on over $145 million in wasted spending and flattening its bloated management ranks.”  The plan also eliminates the EEOC’s 30,000 case backlog in 4 years, which EEOC’s plan does not address.

 

In May, the EEOC revealed its restructuring plan, which focused on downgrading offices and legal units in areas with high minority populations.  The plan was panned by the civil rights community.  Nevertheless, the EEOC wanted offices downgraded by October 1, 2005.  However, EEOC’s Congressional appropriators have told EEOC to hold off on implementation until a report by the General Accountability Office has been completed.

 

Martin believes this congressionally imposed time-out offers a golden opportunity for the EEOC to sit down with the Union and constituent groups to explore real ways to improve customer service.  “EEOC’s plan ignores the elephant in the room, which is to say the backlog,” Martin says.  “There are people who have been fired at work or are facing a hostile work environment.  They need immediate help.  Instead their files are collecting dust in understaffed offices.  The Union plan offers a sound alternative approach, which produces savings and improvements in customer service.” 

 

For more information and to view the Union’s plan, please visit www.council216.org.

 

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