Leahy Presses Citizenship And Immigration Director

On Fair Wages For Vermont Service Center Employees

 

WASHINGTON (Friday, Nov. 30) – Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is pushing the director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to work with a private contracting firm to ensure that employees of the Vermont Service Center are provided fair and equitable pay.

 

In a letter sent Friday to USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez, Leahy expressed his strong concern that, if left intact, wage reductions proposed for contract workers will hurt employee morale and the efficient operation of the Vermont Service Center, and he urged USCIS to work with Stanley Associates to minimize planned wage cuts for approximately 200 Vermont workers.  Starting Monday, Stanley Associates will assume data entry, fee collection, and mail and file operations at the Vermont Service Center in St. Albans, where thousands of naturalization applications are processed each year.  The Virginia-based firm secured a federal contract through the Department of Homeland Security to manage operations at the St. Albans facility, as well as a facility in California.  Leahy chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal immigration agencies.

 

Also on Friday, Leahy called for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to invest the resources needed to reduce the backlog of naturalization applications received since October 2006.  More than 1.4 million applications have been received in the last year.  Over the summer, the USCIS increased application fees, spurring a surge in applications which the agency was not prepared to handle.  It is estimated that naturalization applications filed after June 1, 2007, will have to wait 16 to 18 months for processing, threatening the right of successful applicants to vote in the national elections in November.

 

The text of Leahy’s letter to USCIS Director Gonzalez is included below.  Click here for a PDF. 

 

Click here to to read more about Leahy’s letter to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff on the processing backlog.

 

November 30, 2007

 

The Honorable Emilio T. Gonzalez

Director

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service

Department of Homeland Security

20 Massachusetts Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20529

 

Dear Director Gonzalez:

 

I have recently been made aware of a troubling situation at the Vermont Service Center in St. Albans, Vermont.  As a result of Stanley Associates’ succession to a contract held by the Service Center Operations Team (SCOT) to provide data entry, fee collection, plus mail and file operations at the Vermont Service Center, approximately 200 long-time employees will receive serious reductions to their hourly wages.  Some of these employees stand to lose almost $3.00 per hour.  In a state like Vermont, which, though rural, has a cost of living above the national average, these wage reductions will have serious negative consequences to the men and women who work at the Vermont Service Center, as well as to their families. 

 

The Vermont Service Center is a source of pride for Vermont, and for the many employees who are responsible for the Center’s excellent reputation.  It would be truly unfortunate if these wage reductions resulted in a diminishment of employee morale and commitment, both of which are essential to the Center’s service quality.  The work performed by the Vermont Service Center’s employees is critical to our national security, and is a fundamental component of our national immigration system.  At a time when the agency has imposed higher fees and promised improved services, it is unacceptable that it then seeks, in effect, to cut the wages of workers performing essential functions.  This is especially true in light of the severe backlog of naturalization applications brought about in part by your agency’s recent fee increases. 

 

As you continue to look at this situation, I hope you will keep in mind the importance of treating these Federal contract employees fairly.  To this end, I urge you to work with Stanley Associates to try to come to a resolution that meets the needs and expectations of the dedicated men and women whose work is so important to the overall success of USCIS.  I look forward to hearing of any progress in the near future. 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

PATRICK LEAHY

Chairman