David Axe
Security

Coast Guard Civies Go Union?

It’s Coastie Week here at DANGER ROOM, as far as I’m concerned — and for good reason. America’s fifth and smallest military service is in all sorts of trouble, with ships that are falling apart, replacement vessels that are over-budget and malfunctioning, and allegations that Coast Guardsmen have been mistreating civilian boaters. Now the 200,000-strong […]

It's Coastie Week here at DANGER ROOM, as far as
I'm concerned -- and for good reason. America's fifth and smallest military service is in all sorts of trouble, with ships that are falling apart, replacement vessels that are over-budget and malfunctioning, and allegations that Coast Guardsmen have been mistreating civilian boaters. Now the 200,000-strong American
Federation of Government Employees is actively courting those of the Coast Guard's roughly 7,000 civilian workers who aren't already union members.

F128010112Is it a good idea for a Coastie civie to go union? Let me answer by way of a case study.

Last year a Coast Guard civilian, Anthony D'Armiento, leaked key, unclassified documents related to the troubled, $25-billion Deepwater modernization scheme, documents that I eventually got my hands on (though not from D'Armiento directly). This story was the result.

The Coast Guard Inspector General's Office flipped when they discovered the leak, as The Washington Post reported:

D'Armiento was placed on leave Oct. 1 and told to cooperate with Coast
Guard investigators or face criminal prosecution, said Debra S. Katz, his attorney, in a letter to [DHS Inspector General Richard] Skinner and the White House. D'Armiento cooperated, but after he was told he could retrieve his office and home computers from Skinner's offices in Rosslyn on Oct. 29,
Paul Weare, an investigator for the DHS inspector general, attempted to question D'Armiento. When D'Armiento refused to answer, three guards appeared, one pointed a gun at his chest, denied him his equipment and threatened him with arrest if he returned, Katz said. ... *

Katz wrote that when D'Armiento declined to speak with Weare in an interrogation room and said, "I want my computer back now," Weare told him to "back off" and "get out of [his] face." After a guard drew his handgun, prompting D'Armiento to say he would call the police, a guard replied, "We are the police," Katz wrote.

So should Coastie civilians unionize? If unions mean more protection against the kind of behavior described above, then you bet your sweet bippy.