AFGE 12 Claims Bush Cronyism at DOL

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
Battling against "rampant cronyism" it says has engulfed the Department of Labor under the Bush Administration, AFGE Local 12 filed a grievance this week against the appointment of Carrie Snidar, special assistant to former Department of Labor (DOL) Deputy Assistant Secretary Emily DeRocco. The action comes after last month's release of a Department of Justice (DOJ) audit revealed discrimination by DOJ Bush appointees against lawyers who appeared liberal. "The DOL is here to protect America's workers," said Local 12 President Alex Bastani, "yet its own hard-working employees are passed over because of these corrupt procedures." The grievance charges that DeRocco systematically favored unqualified "cronies" including Snidar, a sorority sister of DeRocco's. Snider - who Local 12 says did not have the educational or professional requirements routinely required for a Federal government analyst position - "is now responsible for overseeing millions of dollars of discretionary grants, a far cry from her administrative responsibilities as a special assistant to a Republican appointee," says Local 12. The Bush Administration "continues to reward political [loyalty] and ideology over intelligence, experience and competence and it has to stop," added Bastani.