Local 918 Executive Vice President, Secretary and Legislative Affairs Committee Chair met with senior officials of DHS. We discussed various bargaining unit concerns, including those matters that clearly affect the potential future of IP/Chemical Security Inspectors and the Federal Protective service.
A very important part of our recent engagements in Washington D.C. included speaking with bipartisan committees of the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
Congress doesn't seem to really care about FPS or our Mission. The President of National Local 918 and our entire team have worked tirelessly get the Attention of Congress and the Administration to promote the success of our Mission that is in Jeopardy. Things aren't looking so good for FPS. If FPS doesn't get the proper funding to staff and equip the troops, who knows what the future will bring.
We need your help if we are to save this sinking ship.
On behalf of every LEO in FPS, I am asking for your help (5 minutes) to support our members of the Federal Protective Service. Our folks respond to and safeguard the public and brothers and sisters in public service daily from POE’s to SSA offices.
Please help those who answer your call when you need help. Just take 5 minutes.
https://whoismyrepresentative.com/
Below a template example of a message to send to your Representatives in both houses of Congress ((online use find my rep link for their websites))
Dear Representative* (or) Senator* xxxx,
My name is XXXXXXXX, I am a friend of the Federal Protective Service (FPS) and one of your constituents.
I have three main items I implore your help with concerning the future success of FPS.
1) Adequate Staffing.
FPS currently lacks adequate staffing (in the field) of non-supervisory Uniformed Law Enforcement Officers.
This deficit negatively affects every aspect of the FPS mission from Patrol and Response, physical security tasks, preparedness for emerging national deployments and much more.
How you can help with this:
FPS needs a minimum of 900 non-supervisory Uniformed Law Enforcement Officers Nationwide to protect the over 10,000 facilities, federal employees and the citizen occupants FPS serves. Currently FPS has less than 600 non supervisory Uniformed LEO’s Nationwide.
If Congress acts now, it will take years to recover from the atrophy of the Uniformed LEO Force of FPS, as vetting and training officers is at least a year and a half process. These positions are desperately needed. Our current FPS officers are stressed to the max with over tasking. FPS has suffered losses to other LEO covered Agencies and some members have even left everything and everyone. New Uniformed non-supervisory officers are vital to the future success of the FPS mission. Lets not forget the support staff who make everything work...we have very few. The Agency cant even properly process basic SF-50 personnel actions because they have one person for the whole Agency.
2) LEO retirement.
Our Uniformed Officers need the same type of retirement as Capitol Police, U.S. Park Police, SCOTUS Police, CBP, ICE, BP, USMS and so on.
FPS needs this same coverage to recruit and retain vigorous Law Enforcement Officers as outlined in the statues for LEO retirement of the aforementioned agency’s. FPS should be no different.
Today FPS has lone officers and agents in rural and urban areas of the US and territories that need your help.
3) Adequate funding.
The current funding mechanism (billing other agencies) for FPS has failed. The planned future billing scheme will also fail if congress does not support FPS by at least a partial appropriation.
FPS currently has less than 1,400 people (total) and needs funding to the same minimum level of our Nation's other Law Enforcement Agencies such as Capitol Police.
While the Budget for FPS is 380 Million, 220 Million goes straight to Salary, the rest 160 Million is supposed to pay for everything else and it doesn't.
Please help FPS to make mission. FPS safeguards America, the people and places where the very process of government is accomplished daily. We want to stop another OKC, with the lack of troops in the field, who knows if we can.
For more information, FPS employees and Union officers are available to answer any questions through Jmurphy@afge918.org, Fbaier@afge918.org and Amills@afge918.org.
Thank you for your time.
Joe Murphy
President
AFGE National Local 918
Representing Labor of DHS/FPS/CISA