Agents Call Plan "More Work for Less Pay; Some Work for No Pay"

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The President of the Union representing U.S. Border Patrol Agents strongly condemned the pay reduction plan spearheaded by the Department of Homeland Security and included in the Obama Administration's budget request for 2013.  "This is the same bad idea CBP proposed last year. It made no sense then and makes no sense now," said NBPC President George McCubbin III. He also said, "it is because the size of the Border Patrol doubled and agents work around the clock that we have seen some success in our efforts to achieve genuine border security, but now DHS wants to undue that work."

The DHS plan would reduce overtime compensation that agents receive by an average of $7,000 per year.   It would do so not by reducing the amount of time Agents work but by reducing their compensation for that time.  In fact, the plan is so unfair it proposes that agents will be scheduled to work an additional two hours per day at regular pay, giving them a 50-hour workweek and any additional hours they are required to work will be for free.  Failure to work any of these hours could be grounds for termination. 

"Agents involved in a chase at the end of their shift could work an additional three, four or seven hours of overtime apprehending illegal aliens or criminal drug smugglers and receive no compensation for their efforts.  DHS's reward for the work would be a pat on the back and a cut in their pay."

"The fact is the DHS plan will force a square peg into a round hole.  Law enforcement officers cannot control when crime occurs.  Unscheduled overtime will always be a part of the job.   The question is whether Agents will get paid for it or not."  The Union offered an alternative to these drastic cuts, but the agency refused to listen to any of their proposals.  "We have a plan that saves the agency money over the current system but does not allow them to work us unlimited hours for free," said McCubbin.

"The American people will pay a heavy price if this plan passes Congress.   It will deplete the ranks of the U.S. Border Patrol and demoralize the Agents who remain.  Once that happens, it will take millions of our tax dollars to undo this mistake.  In the meantime our border security and immigration enforcement efforts will suffer."

The agents successfully defeated this proposal last year but expect DHS to pull out all the stops this year.  "We expect a knock down, drag out battle over this," said McCubbin. "It's just too bad the agency is choosing to wage war on their agents instead of on the criminals and terrorists we should be fighting together," McCubbin concluded.

SOURCE National Border Patrol Council

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