Federal Case
Government Workers Protest Outsourcing
Wednesday, May 21, 2003; Page A31
About 150 federal employees rallied near the White House yesterday to protest a Bush administration policy that requires federal agencies to consider hiring private companies to do work now done by federal employees.
Speakers at the rally, organized by labor unions and civil rights groups, contended that the Bush initiative, known as "competitive sourcing," will take federal jobs from minorities, women and veterans. They also said it will undermine the integrity of federal programs by putting them in the hands of profit-driven private-sector workers rather than federal civil servants.
President Bush believes that allowing private contractors to bid for work done by federal employees spurs efficiency and lowers costs whether or not the jobs stay in-house. Under his plan, agencies must allow companies to bid for work now done by at least 425,000 federal employees over the next few years. Federal workers can win the competitions if they prove they can do the work at the lowest cost. (See related story, Federal Diary, on Page B2.)
