DHS Last in Job Satisfaction Survey — ‘Recipe for Disaster,’ Says Rep. Price
EmailThe President’s visit today was the first time in three-and-a-half years he’s been to the Homeland Security headquarters, a place whose own employees describe it as the worst place in the federal government to work. In his meeting this afternoon with top officials, President Bush said he was very proud of the hard work of the men and women at Homeland Security. But the results of the federal government’s own survey of employee morale paints a different picture. Of the 36 agencies surveyed, Homeland Security employees rated theirs as last: 36th in job satisfaction, 35th on leadership and 36th on results-oriented performance. "Dysfunction equals danger," said Clark Kent Ervin, the former inspector general of the Homeland Security Department, who says the results of the survey are one more sign of serious trouble for the agency in charge of protecting America. "The less good people feel about their jobs, the less likely they are to be attentive and alert," he said. For example, in a test late last year, screeners at Newark International Airport failed tests to detect weapons at 20 of 22 checkpoints, one of the airports used by the 9/ll hijackers. "That shows how little progress has been made, and that’s especially troubling because we have devoted the bulk of our counterterrorism efforts since 9/ll to aviation, spending somewhere between $18 to $20 billion," Ervin told ABC News. On Capitol Hill today, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was confronted with the latest employee survey. "That is not acceptable," said Congressman David Price, D-N.C.. "It’s a recipe for disaster." "Obviously we are the newest department. The department of defense took 40 years to get configured properly in Goldwater Nickels, and we all know the first secretary of defense committed suicide," Chertoff told the committee in response. At the same time, down the hall, another congressional committee was looking into allegations of millions of dollars in waste and possible corruption involving the Coast Guard’s new cutters and plans to build a fence along the border with Mexico — all under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security. "It is still the case that the department is just a collection of disparate, dysfunction agencies," Ervin said. "There is yet to be an integratged, cohesive whole." That’s obviously not what President Bush had in mind when he created the Department of Homeland Security in July 2002, merging 22 agencies under one roof. "This Department of Homeland Security will foster a new culture throughout our government," President Bush said on July 22, 2002. A merger some are beginning to say has to be undone. "You’ve got to slim down this beast; it’s just too big, too many missions, too many employees, too much turnover, not enough leadership, the list of problems goes on and on," said Professor Paul Light of the New York University’s Wagner School. A spokesman for the Homeland Security Department told us today the low morale was the fault of the media and its focus during Hurricane Katrina on FEMA, another of the troubled agencies under the department.
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“A spokesman for the Homeland Security Department told us today the low morale was the fault of the media and its focus during Hurricane Katrina on FEMA, another of the troubled agencies under the department.”
Ya think, liberal Media?
Posted by: One_American | February 8, 2007, 8:01 pm 8:01 pm
No surprise in these results. “Brownie you’re doin a heckuva job”. Then, there is Chertoff who was “elsewhere” during Katrina. Reap what you sow is the appropriate motto here. Leadership is non-existent.
Posted by: Ben | February 8, 2007, 8:07 pm 8:07 pm
This is scary. If HSD is as well run as the war — which is what this sounds like — perhaps we should ask for a change
Posted by: Bob | February 8, 2007, 9:57 pm 9:57 pm
I’d be curious to know where US embassy personnel rank on that list.
I know here in China, I cringe if I have to deal with the embassy people.
There are so many power plays going on in that place, you can almost hear the bullets zinging past.
Then you have the visa department.
Posted by: GeorgeMBush | February 8, 2007, 10:03 pm 10:03 pm
I’m about as shocked as Inspector Renault was when he learned that there was gambling at Rick’s.
The incompetence defies belief. I’m a merchant marine officer. Post 9/11, every holder of a merchant mariners document was vetted through a long and expensive security check.
Of course, going to or from a ship means a one-way flight. Guess who gets selected for additional screening? One end of the DHS doesn’t communicate with the others.
And don’t get me going about running the wand around somebody’s head. Do they really expect to find anything?
I work on a tanker carrying Alaskan crude to U.S. West Coast ports. Many times while entering Washington state waters we’ll be boarded by the Coast Guard where we’re all made to wait on deck while they board the ship, and then we’re herded into a common room where we have to show our identification. It’s a nice exercise for the USCG, but does nothing to enhance security. A half dozen Coast Guard guys aren’t going to find somebody hiding out on a 975 ft. long ship, and it kind of implies that we don’t know who our own shipmates are.
DHS puts on a great show at an incredible cost. Meanwhile, real security remains a dream.
Posted by: Scott | February 8, 2007, 10:17 pm 10:17 pm
I’m just totally dumbfounded how so many people are willing to do anything to throw our country into the toilet just to make sure Bush is a loser! Wake up! Bush will not be the only loser folks!
Posted by: Christine | February 8, 2007, 10:42 pm 10:42 pm
Brian,
Your report on Homeland Security was right on the money. I am a TSA employee who was laid off from the business sector after 22 years. I have a college degree and I have worked for a few major corporations. It is NOT the medias fault. It is the goverment’s fault. They run it like a military operation. It is NOT a military operation. It is a civilan workforce. The management at this location have no managerial skills or people skills. I invite you to come to this location and interview me and other employees who are not afraid to tell you the truth. This is nothing more than a blanket to make the public feel safe. Believe me if someone wanted to get a bomb thru this airport they would have no problem. I wish they would do a test here. Please feel free to contact me concerning this issue. Please do not let this fall by the waist side. I am doing what I can to support my family, and I am in a very uncomfortable situation. I thought I could help my country and at the same time have a rewarding career. But this is a joke and a major waste of tax payers money! Please contact me.
Posted by: Ken Dolch | February 8, 2007, 11:25 pm 11:25 pm
The man we elected President, who himself doesn’t have a clue so he creates a agency with the same mentally that he has, blame everyone else for his stupidity. People in this country better wake up soon if it’s not too late.
Posted by: Craig Robinson | February 9, 2007, 2:05 am 2:05 am
One reason the Department of Homeland Security is disfunctional is that it has dismantled the old GS-system and has implemented a system of so-called “Merit Pay”for rank and file and large bonuses to management.
Under “merit pay” only a small percentage of workers get a raise every year. Some departments are only alloted 3% who can expect a raise.
Since it is such a small number, it has been abused by managers and is used to reward “Yes-men” and good ole boys, with minorities and women sprinkled in for appearances.
It has also lead to a surge of ill-concieved “pet projects” that are developed to impress the boss.
In the Federal Air Marshal service it lead to pressuring Air Marshals into filling out intelligence reports to meet a phony quota as a pre-requisit for being considered for a raise. The quotas of course made the management look good so they could mention it for their cash bonus.
Needless to say many rank and file workers end the year without any reward for their outstanding performance.
Work rules have not been enforced since the day DHS was created. The Federal Air Marshal Service has abused overtime laws since the creation of DHS. It owes tens of millions in back pay to the men and women protecting the flying public.
The GOP provided substandard oversight at best during the last Congress and should hold part of the blame. Their attempts to suppress whistleblowers and workers rights contributed to the poor results
Nobody in the rank in file was suprised to see the results of the survey.
Posted by: apep | February 9, 2007, 2:44 am 2:44 am
What is it with this administration?
*Everything* is the media’s fault!
Gimme a break.
Posted by: Alex | February 9, 2007, 7:29 am 7:29 am
DHS is nothing more than welfare for the educated. Don’t blame the media or the American people if you can’t do your job.
Posted by: mprk | February 9, 2007, 8:04 am 8:04 am
I have been a DHS employee for over 14 years and have worked in a variety of law enforcement positions within the former INS and the current DHS. I am a college graduate with a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice. Many of the problems associated with the DHS can be traced to the former INS. The severe lack of leadership, wide-spread demoralization of employees, and rampant promotion of incompetents that was the “business as usual” attitude in the former INS has continued to define the DHS. The results of this survey are not a shock to those of us who are employed by the DHS. The DHS is just the old INS with a newer window dressing. It’s about time that the public was made aware of the deplorable conditions that exist within the DHS. The only questions is whether the public will place enough political pressure on the government to make the necessary changes to the “old guard” leadership structure that still exists in District offices around the country in order to effect the type of reformation that the agency needs. This is just the tip of the iceberg folks. Kudos to Mr. Ross! If you continue to dig deeper Sir you will be amazed and sickened at what you will find.
Posted by: Joe | February 9, 2007, 10:47 am 10:47 am
HSD was never needed to begin with. It was an excuse for the government to build a huge bureaucratic nightmare.
Instead, we could have easily used the tools we currently had (CIA, FBI, INS, …)
HSD is also in charge of the Ramos and Compean fiasco (which he doesn’t address). But tell me, who at INS is having a blast these days? These men on the border must be terrified, knowing their own supervisors will turn on their own.
ATF = Clinton’s Mess
HSD = Bush’s Mess
Every president needs a legacy. and this is what we get.
Posted by: JelloBiafra | February 9, 2007, 11:27 am 11:27 am
To say that those who work for DHS are engaging in “welfare for the educated” is the height of ignorance, no, more like stupidity. Those who work at DHS do the best they can to perform important work. Unfortunately, the resources provided to do that work are limited and the culture at DHS is one which focuses on positive PR spin rather than giving people the tools to do the work and then motivating them properly. Last time I checked, that was the job of management. The results of the survey reflect frustration and the simple fact that the agency is mismanaged. To blame the employees because they aren’t given resources and aren’t involved in designing the processes by which work is done is the height of knee-jerk conservative ignorance. As my mother used to say, “if you don’t have anything smart to say, then keep your mouth shut”. I learned my lesson, but some people obviously haven’t. That being said, do we really have to wait 40 years for things to get straightened out at DHS?
Posted by: Dirik Lolkus | February 9, 2007, 12:32 pm 12:32 pm
Of course DHS management blame the media.
It is the only forum through which the managements incompetance can be exposed.
As some mentioned earlier, the whistleblower act has been weakened under GOP.
Whistleblowers have no expectation that they will be protected for exposing gross negligence. (Something that was supposed to be encouraged after 9/11)
Look at the Federal Air Marshal blogs and you will see that drama played out.
It wasn’t until ABC news and others exposed the FAM service to the public that bad policies began to be reviewed.
The upper management in Offices responsible for oversight within DHS are all staffed by individuals who are old buddys with the various Dept heads.
Posted by: jumunji | February 9, 2007, 12:53 pm 12:53 pm
Just as in Iraq, the “contractors” walk away with Kings’ ransoms, while the front line “soldiers” do the dirty work for “serf” wages.
The GAO published a report that said 85% of the money “earmarked” for New Orleans debris hauling was eaten up by sub-chronies, er, -contractors, and 15% went to the subcontractor who actually did the hauling.
While the latest group slopping at the “earmark” trough is security gizmo manufacturers, those who actually inspect things get low wages, poor management, lame training, and public scorn.
Posted by: Alan | February 9, 2007, 1:05 pm 1:05 pm
Everyday, thousands of soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors risk their lives in Irag and Afghanistan. Working 12 to 16 hours a day, exposed to death by the minute, seeing what no one should ever have to see.
Why is it that their morale is high, that they are proud of what they are doing? Because they have leaders, gunnies and captains who stand by them, enduring what they do.
Where is the leadership in DHS? Leaders do not make excuses (such as it’s the fault of the media). Leaders lead, admit when they are wrong, and give credit to their men and women when they are right.
Posted by: gus | February 9, 2007, 4:32 pm 4:32 pm
Wasn’t Clark Kent Ervin the IG who was fired from DHS for his report on air marshalls being easily picked out at airports? Figures that ABC News would leave that out…
Posted by: SPENCER ADAMS | February 9, 2007, 5:01 pm 5:01 pm
Morale? Leadership? Management Skills? People Skills? The score sheet says 0 at DHS. I am a 5 yr employee of DHS. I have been told this is the way it is, deal with it. As a previous blogger stated, it is a Cilivian workforce not a military base and until they change that nothing will change. They are to busy looking for liquids if a real IED came through they would never catch it. Their focus is so way off it is unreal. Don’t stop at this investigation,continue to look deeper you will be amazed!
Posted by: Chris | February 10, 2007, 8:24 pm 8:24 pm
If you want to change DHS and make it better. You need to the officers who carry firearms and badges. Give them a pay increase, enough so that they can live comfortable and not rely on overtime as a means of income. As well as 6C coverage for the retirement. Get rid of the old guys who are so disgruntled that that complain every damn day they come to work and You’ll see a change for the better, and keep employee retention up.
Posted by: Joe | February 10, 2007, 10:56 pm 10:56 pm
The creation of the Department of Homeland Security was doomed from the beginning. It was a “knee-jerk” by the Bush Administration,
performed for the American people,
in response to the events of 9/11.
We are no safer now as a result of the creation of the MEGA agency, than we were pre 9/11. INS employees, blamed for allowing the terrorist into our country, are treated like step-children. Agriculture Inspectors were ripped from USDA in a lottery. We need to re-reorganize the merger of 22 agencies into DHS. This time not as a show for Americans, but covering all bases (including immigration issues) in national security.
Posted by: Gary L. Levenson, Curator Tioga Membership Alliance | February 10, 2007, 11:27 pm 11:27 pm
The truth about DHS. Customs and border protection (CBP) in particular. An Agency that is in complete disarray. With no guidance or direction, and no one to be held accountable for the state of affairs. CBP is hailed as our nations Guardians. CBP officers carry firearms have powerful and unique search and arrest powers, but we are not paid treated or considered law enforcement for retirement purposes. In CBP opinions and freethinking are discouraged by micromanaging. Bulling is common practice to keep employees who question in line. Poor training or inadequate cross training have employees confused. Employees are spread to thin with multiple tasks and responsibilities that were handled by people with specialized training. To offset the decline of employees exiting for better jobs, longer consecutive workdays in a row have been instituted. Ordering employees in on their days off has also occurred causing a problem with moral, mental awareness and troubled family life. Legally binding union contracts are broken whenever management sees fit. The list of atrocities is endless. In short DHS is a paper tiger agency afraid of it’s own shadow, and lawsuits to function properly. Outside entities like the traveling public, the ACLU, and other special interest groups are dictating policy to DHS. In turn this has DHS walking on eggshells so not to offend anyone while trying to perform the task off keeping our country safe. This produces false and unrealistic statistics about our nations security. Fixing the problem would call attention to DHS. DHS would rather let it fester than to admit any mistakes Another 911 is just around the corner.
Posted by: whistle blower act. | February 11, 2007, 6:39 pm 6:39 pm
Have the DHS fix the Mexican border and find all the illegal aliens in this country.
If they could do that simple task then maybe just maybe they could convince me that they could actually pretend to keep my family safe.
Posted by: Curtis O | February 12, 2007, 10:55 pm 10:55 pm
The other real issue here is the govt salaries are not competitive…In other words there are highly qualified people in corporate America that can straighten this thing out, but are reluctant because of pay and benefits. The Wall street structure is better fit to run a war than our generals are…
Posted by: Aaron C | February 13, 2007, 12:40 pm 12:40 pm
The US Coast Guard isnt any better off on the inside either. The top down management system isnt working. Morale is at an all time low. You cant express your true feelings or opinions without getting threatened “bad marks” and god forbid you should have any Morale or positive attitudes about anything. More workhours, more underway days, more multifaceted missions for which you are under trained and ill equipped. Sloppy search and Rescue but the slow response and wrong direction can be explained away by a good ol fashion news release and you will look like heroes, No problems in this agency either ! Just happy happy stupid stupid. And if you do criticize the command or the Coast Guard itself suddenly you start to feel the effects of a shortened career and miserable existence being silently enforced about you. Oh yeah they think there so slick. One of these days they will get what is coming to them, hopefully disbandment of another pork barrel organization.
Posted by: Hblogger | May 29, 2007, 12:57 am 12:57 am
I have to agree with the survey. I have worked for the government for 23 years now and am in one of the agencies in DHS. I must say it is the worst, misguided, poorly managed organization I have been in. There have been way too many middle management jobs created, there is a lack of job specialization which dilutes the overall effectiveness of the agency, and management only wants to further their own careers vs protect the American people. It’s sad. The personnel practices are rarely fair and promotions as well as reassignments are mostly based on who you know rather than what you know. I have never felt more like an expendable drone in my career than I do now. That’s why it’s such a miserable agency to work for. I am living it.
Posted by: JP | August 23, 2007, 11:06 pm 11:06 pm