State plans for long-term teleworking appear aimed at privatization
The bureaucratic language borders on indigestible and some of this is speculation, but the Dunleavy administration appears to be aiming at a future for state government in which key functions are privatized, with low-priced contract workers elsewhere in America or around the world.
Administration Commissioner Kelly Tshibaka, who has inserted herself into a wide variety of state and federal political issues, is clearly setting herself up to run for office, hoping to solidify her right-wing credentials. It’s easy to imagine her intending to use the privatization of state government services as the foundation for a U.S. Senate campaign.
Her department has what it is now calling a six-phase “pandemic preparedness plan,” which appears to be a plan to permanently reshape state government under the guise of the pandemic, digitizing “128 tasks and services in departments for full remote work enablement.”
Tshibaka want major cuts in state spending. Dunleavy wants major cuts in state spending.
In arguing against the oil tax initiative, Tshibaka posted a video on Facebook in which she said, “It wasn’t that long ago that our state operated on about half the budget it has now, for the same amount of population we have today. I think we can do that again.”
The details of her vision of a new state government may be hidden in the buzzwords and business school lingo justifying the spending of nearly $50 million in federal COVID-19 bailout money to prepare for the remote delivery of state services.
The public ought to be involved in this discussion, but it requires a code breaker to untangle the bureaucratic chatter. What’s clear is that the state wants a long-term plan to have about 6,000 employees working remotely.
Barry Jackson, a retired state contract and facilities manager in Anchorage, has spent many hours reviewing the questionable contracting practices used by Tshibaka and her department.
He says that once the Dunleavy administration has a plan for 6,000 state employees working remotely over the long term, it’s logical to think that it would take the next step—trying to privatize those jobs because many could be performed anywhere in the world, possibly at a much lower cost.
Jackson is a credible interpreter of bureaucratic intentions, given his long background in state government. His conclusions may come as a shock to Alaskans who haven’t heard what is happening.
In short, the department is using money from the federal COVID-19 bailout to “fund projects that are directly aimed at moving about 6,000 state employees out of state-owned facilities and into their homes, working remotely,” he writes.
“The plan is subsequently to either move those employees to work under the supervision of a contractor, with the end-game being to have those employees moved to a private corporation, or if the employees won't comply, then the emptied positions will be moved to a private company and filled through the private company,” he said.
“How do I know this? Because they have spelled it out in writing in a plan authored by a firm using Cares Act funding. This plan has been in operation since at least July of this year.”
“It is being actively executed as I write. The plan is not just for dealing with a pandemic; it is a fundamental and permanent change to the way the State of Alaska conducts its government functions,” he said.
He is deciphering this report, prepared by Alvarez & Marsal for Tshibaka as a road map for the future of state government.
Jackson sent me this summary:
If you can get past the consultant-speak, here are quotes from the plan and what they mean.
Page 1 - Project goals: "To implement a more resilient and cost-effective means to deliver government services".
This is consultant-speak for standardization, consolidation, and privatization of state services.
Page 2 - "Utilizing soft phones or call centers to maintain phone access worked well".
The current pandemic effort, conducted without an intention to make the remote work permanent, used these approaches.
Page 3 - "Smaller real estate footprint.”
State employees (or contracted employees) won't be occupying state office buildings. So, leases can be cancelled, and existing buildings can be sold. Real estate moguls, are you listening?
Page 5 - "Develop and implement the people, process and operating model necessary to sustain the PPP Common Services Platform".
"Sustain" is the key word here. The intention is to perform work remotely on a permanent basis going forward.
Page 5 - "Develop Change Management approach and strategy for employee and constituent adoption".
This means: Weed out employees who can't work this way; and placate constituents who complain.
Page 5 - "Delivery State of Alaska services through Digital Channels with a partially Remote Workforce."
The stated aim is to have a partially remote workforce of approximately 6,000 employees, or roughly half of the service delivery population of state employees.
Page 8 - "Smaller Real Estate Footprint".
Real estate moguls, if you weren't listening the 1st time, are you listening now? State buildings will be disposed of and will likely depress the statewide real estate market as buildings are sold cheaply and reutilized, if at all, by those who can afford to make use of and maintain them. Juneau, can you say "ghost town?”
Page 10 - "The future state operating model leverages shared Capabilities and Technologies to optimize people, process and technology and creates a reusable platform for digitizing services and processes across the State."
Here it is; this is not just for the pandemic response; this is a permanent change.
Page 12 - “State workforce able to more efficiently continue working remotely as needed.”
"IT capabilities organized and structured to efficiently use PPP Common Tech Platform to digitize services and processes rather than each department working on its own.”
This is standardization and consolidation, stated again.
Page 12 - "SoA (this means the State of Alaska) leverages new platform and organizational operating model to begin continuously improving constituent digital services and task automation.”
This means the organizational structure will be continuously grown by adding new targets for the delivery of standardized, consolidated, remotely conducted services.
Page 13 - The graph makes it clear that this effort is being conducted using Cares Act funding. The amount is $50 million, more than was allocated to all hospitals to combat the pandemic. The money began being spent in August, 2020 this year and will be expended by December 31, 2020.
Page 14 - "Provides a scalable prototype to be used for all digital services and internal process automations.”
This makes it clear that this effort is not merely to deal with a pandemic. It is intended for all amenable state services all the time, pandemic or no.
Page 15 - "Implement the policies, cultural practices, processes and technologies that are required to enable a highly productive remote workforce."
This means they will figure out which people can perform with the level of productivity that is defined by the advocates of privatization, and those that don't fill the bill will be let go.
Page 15 - "Enables State of Alaska employees (~6,000) to effectively and securely work from home".
There's the number I previously have referenced. How many state employees are ready to work from home? Internet Access? Digital phone? Printer? Scanner? A room in your home? An appropriate table and chair? Privacy to conduct state business? And on and on. Maybe a private organization would be better organized and equipped to do this kind of work? See what I mean? It is a small step from the planned remote working scenario to privatization.
Page 15 - "Creates standard operating procedures for remote workforce.”
Once procedures are standardized they are ripe for consolidation, expansion, and privatization.
Page 16 - Establish a Pandemic Preparedness Common Services Platform “operating team, including hiring or reassigning resources or hiring vendors.”
There it is: "or hiring vendors.” The initiation of privatization.
Page 16 - ". . .This project will require the acquisition of new application lifecycle management resources into OIT through either external hires or movement of resources from State Agencies.”
Read that again. “. . . through either external hires or movement of resources from State Agencies."
There it is. Privatization, pure and simple.
When the state announces that Jackson’s interpretation is incorrect, as it will, and that he is entirely wrong about the goal of the master plan, Tshibaka and Dunleavy should not stop with the blanket denial.
We need to hear from them about how many state facilities will be closed with 6,000 employees working remotely for the long term and what that would mean to Alaska and to the delivery of state services over the long term.
We also need to hear the details of Tshibaka’s vision of cutting state government expenses in half, where Dunleavy stands, and how the administration wants to make those reductions.
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