
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, September 10, 1993                   TAG: 9309290312
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ALMA L. LEE
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IT'S ONLY FAIR TO REFORM THE HATCH ACT

AS PRESIDENT of the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1739, which represents 1,000 federal workers at the Salem Veterans Affairs Medical Center, I would like to respond to an editorial and a syndicated column printed in the Roanoke Times & World-News. Both pieces opposed reform of the Hatch Act (July 23 editorial, "Hatching trouble in Washington" and George F. Will column, Aug. 2, "Hatch Act reform? Watch out").

The Hatch Act reform is merely that - reform - not repeal. In fact, current legislation passed by the House and Senate actually increases safeguards to prevent corruption and abuse. It allows a balance to be struck between constitutional rights of federal workers and the need for the government to maintain an unbiased civil service. It does not open the door to political coercion.

The Hatch Act reform does not cost money and does not add to the deficit. It's merely a just and equitable measure, giving government workers the same constitutional rights enjoyed by every other American citizen.

Many communities such as the Roanoke Valley have talented federal employees who cannot be elected to serve on boards, councils and commissions. This represents an unfortunate waste of a valuable resource when we are unable to tap into this wealth of experience and expertise.

The central point of this reform is to expand the political freedoms of federal employees by permitting them to engage in partisan political activities, but only away from the job and on their own time. It extends basic constitutional rights to all Americans and removes the yoke of second-class citizenship from government workers that is imposed by the current and outdated Hatch Act.

Many changes have come about since 1939, the birth year of the Hatch Act. Conditions that led up to it have long since ceased to exist. This is evidenced by the fact that 41 states have passed laws relaxing similar restrictions on partisan political activities for state and local public employees. Civil and criminal statutes, such as the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, have been enacted since the Hatch Act. I know of no state that has experienced difficulty in maintaining a politically neutral public service and none has had an increase in cases involving political intimidation or coercion. If the newspaper's editorial staff and columnist Will had done their homework, they would have known this.

Hatch Act reform is neither a Democratic nor a Republican issue, but an issue of political democracy and individual freedom. It's simply a matter of fairness.

\ Alma L. Lee is president of the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1739, Veterans Administration Medical Center in Salem.

by CNB