The Foreign Service Journal, March 2017

60 MARCH 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA FAS VP. Contact: mark.petry@fas.usda.gov or (202) 720-2502 FAS VP VOICE | BY MARK PETRY AFSA NEWS Best Foot Forward Foreign Service officers in the Foreign Agricultural Service are too modest.We have failed to fully recognize the role of economic diplomacy in the broader foreign affairs context and to capitalize on opportunities to increase that role in the wider foreign affairs community. Although FAS is vitally important as a lifeline between our constituents and Congress, we also stubbornly resist the urge to go beyond the protected bubble of the D.C.-based agriculture com- munity.Why do we expend so little effort on going directly to our stakeholders to explain the importance of the Foreign Service and our work for the American people? The change in adminis- tration gives us the perfect opportunity to rethink this and directly engage with our stakeholders, including farm- ers, ranchers and the indus- tries that facilitate agricultural trade. This is a prime opportu- nity for us in two clear ways. First, the entire electorate is now engaged on the subject of the cost and benefits of trade. Though most produc- ers understand how the value of their food products is increased by the addition of foreign demand, I believe that rural non-farmworkers and the general public don’t see the link between that added value and the economic health of their communities. Second, people have expressed their concern about the size of government and the value it brings. Studies have repeatedly shown that one dollar invested by the U.S. government in market access or marketing of agricultural exports yields many multiples in economic activity that ripple across the economy. This is our chance to edu- cate the public about the work FAS does and why it benefits them. I feel that FAS FSOs have an obligation to spend more time inside the United States, sharing our experi- ences about how our work improves lives and is a good investment that needs to be sustained. Even though our friends in the Foreign Commercial Service have domestic offices and FAS does not, the reason they are much more effective in this regard is because they view direct interaction with stakeholders as an essential activity. Blaming FAS management for not making this a priority or not pushing FSOs to the forefront is missing the point; it is up to FAS FSOs to change our culture, to make stake- holder interactions a priority for our time and resources. We have a positive role to play in the ongoing national discussion about the benefits of agricultural trade and how it can be done better; we should waste no time in telling America our stories. n AFSA WI NS RE I NSTATEMENT OF FCS TO RET I REMENT PROGRAM In December, AFSA’s Labor Management team successfully reversed a decision by the Foreign Commercial Service barring FCS Foreign Service officers from participation in the Foreign Service Institute’s Retirement Program. In 2016, the FCS unilaterally eliminated participation in the Job Search Program for eligible FCS FSOs. The program prepares those planning to retire for life after the Foreign Service. Given the rigors of the up or out system established in the Foreign Service Act, members of the Foreign Service routinely face the stark reality of separa- tion well before they might choose to leave the Service, so the elimination of this helpful transition program was particularly unwelcome. In response, AFSA filed an implementation dispute against the FCS in September. In changing this condition of employment without providing AFSA notice and affording the union an opportunity to bargain over such a change, AFSA argued, the agency violated AFSA’s collective bargaining agreement and the agency’s past practice of permitting participation for eligible FSOs. For decades prior to the sudden change, FCS had provided Foreign Service employees eligible for retirement within five years the opportunity to participate in the program. As FCS mandatory retirements due to age will more than double in the 2018-2020 timeframe versus the prior three years (2015-2017), the opportunity to attend these sessions becomes all the more important. The dispute was settled when FCS agreed to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding with AFSA. The MOU provides that all Foreign Service employees may participate in the program, including those otherwise-eligible FS employees who had been denied participation prior to the filing of the implementation dispute. n —Colleen Fallon-Lenaghan, Labor Management Counselor NEWS BRIEF