Vets Champion — Dennis Beagle accepts the 2001 Privatization award at the 23rd annual PEF convention. Beagle successfully lobbied Congress to sustain vets programs. — Photo by Bill Sachs Blocked attack on vets’ services Beagle ‘2001 Privatization Buster’ By DEBORAH A. MILES Dennis Beagle, a member of the PEF Executive Board and former council leader of PEF Division 221 at the state Labor Department (DOL), has earned the 2001 PEF Privatization Buster of the Year Award for his defense of state services to veterans. “I was really thrilled to get this award,” Beagle said. “When some of your peers hand you an award, it’s just different. And I really enjoyed getting it from PEF Vice President Pat Baker and PEF Executive Board member Greg Case and their committee. It’s very special.” A retired lieutenant colonel from the Army Reserve and National Guard, Beagle is a safety and health inspector at DOL’s Industry Bureau in Buffalo. He received the award for his outstanding leadership at the state and national level, according to Baker and Case. In late 1998, Beagle was approached by a PEF steward and disabled veterans outreach program (DVOP) specialist at DOL concerned about a report on employment services to veterans that was prepared by a committee chaired by former US Sen. Robert Dole. The report criticized the quality and quantity of job placement efforts nationally by DVOPS and service to veterans from local veterans’ employment representatives (LVERs). Beagle later became aware of a bill introduced in the House of Representatives, HR 606, that would essentially eliminate the DVOP/LVER programs and replace them with private employment initiatives financed by the federal government. “I was unaware at this early juncture that there were a number of retired military officers who had formed private corporations targeting the vets’ programs funding in an effort to take over their functions,” Beagle said. He discovered that the legislation to modify the DVOP/LVER programs had been handed over to Rep. Jack Quinn’s Veterans’ Benefits Subcommittee. At first, Beagle found it difficult to gain access to the subcommittee chair, but he was determined to lobby against this privatization scheme. Persistence paid off Beagle eventually cultivated ties with Quinn’s district and Washington staff through numerous phone calls and developed a trusted working relationship with his chief of staff, who worked out of Buffalo. “Various witnesses kept appearing before Quinn’s subcommittee condemning our vets’ programs performance, while I lobbied Quinn’s people by phone and in person telling them otherwise,” Beagle said. In October 1999, Quinn finally extended an invitation to Beagle to appear as a witness in hearings on a new bill — the 21st Century Veterans’ Employment and Training Act. “The bill, HR 364, was odious, with contracting out provisions, but was not as bad as the earlier HR 606,” Beagle said. PEF Legislative Director Brian Curran advised Beagle to solicit the support of one of PEF’s affiliates, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). After reviewing his written testimony, SEIU rallied its support. Following his testimony, Beagle was invited to participate in a Washington work group to draft revisions for the legislation. “By now, some of the more onerous provisions had been deleted, but many remained. I vigorously attacked these remaining issues,” Beagle said. “I encouraged letters from PEF officials in Albany and from SEIU.” That pressure helped kill the legislation last year. But Beagle continues to monitor the situation and reports no new initiatives, so far, to take work away from the DVOP/LVER workers. Tips on privatization Beagle passed along some tips for stopping contracting-out or privatization of public services: • Take immediate action to oppose any contracting-out attempt. “The opposition has had a great deal of time to organize and strategize. They are usually way out in front of these issues,” he said. • Enlist the help and endorsement of others. “By pointing out that we had the backing of the 2 million member SEIU, I had a huge bargaining advantage with the elected officials. I also made alliances with other high governmental officials and like-minded officials from other organizations,” he said. • Seek bi-partisan support for your position. “Do not polarize the political parties and demonize one or the other,” Beagle said. “I got significant help from members of both parties.” The Communicator Home Page