4
Sacramento Conference
A report by I. A. DeFrance of the
Western Regional Conference of the
Civil Service Assembly of the United
States and Canada held in Sacramento,
California, May 19-20-21 and 22,
1946.
We arrived at Sacramento Sunday
afternoon on schedule after a pleasant
drive from Salem to Klamath Falls
Saturday afternoon and from Klam
ath Falls to Sacramento Sunday. Hotel
rooms were reserved and after a good
shower I registered for the Conference
at the Senator Hotel and located the
State office buildings I planned to
visit, the Retirement System and the
California State Employees Association
offices. The conference program dis
closed that three panel discussions had
been scheduled for each discussion
period to run simultaneously and also
that the breakfast round table discus
sions would be divided into ten
groups, each assigned a different topic.
Mr. Stewart and myself studied out a
schedule so that each of us could at
tend different discussions and cover
the most interesting parts of the con
ference. There were several interesting
discussions that we could not attend.
The conference was opened at 9:45
A.M. Monday by Conference Chair
man Roy A. Palm, Seattle Department
of Civil Service. The morning discus-
The P resident’s Message
(Continued from page 3)
lective bargaining so that employees
may be heard on matters concerning
the Civil Service; wages, hours, work
ing conditions, etc. We have asked for
a principle of parity pay. We are work
ing to secure group medical' and hospi
tal coverage for employees families.
None of these are selfish things and
they can be secured if we continue to
work hard and unselfishly.
sion was presided over by Louis J.
Kroeger, Personnel Consultant,
after stating the premise "Public Pe^V
sonnel Administration is not an end,
but a means to an end, and that end
is good government,” invited his panel
members to tear "Civil Service” to
pieces so that the delegates might hear
managements criticism and appraisal
and might study and consider correc
tive measures. The panel members were
officials responsible for management
of various Governmental functions
and they pointed out potential hazards
to be avoided particularly in the set
ting up of a new civil service system.
Some of the criticisms offered could be
recognized as forms of managements
old desire for high handed freedom of
action in personnel matters. Construe»
tive criticism stressed particularly Ci^fl
Service’s responsibility to be of assis?
ance to the operating departments and
to discard its concept of being a police
force. It was pointed out ( 1 ) that
false economy often makes a Civil
Service short-handed, short of funds
and incapable of promptly and proper
ly conducting positive recruitment
and personnel management, (2) that
the requirement of exdessive paper
work results in delays . and constitutes
a burden on the operating departments,
and ( 3 ) that hard and fast rules
should be modified when they handi
cap more than they help public ad
ministration. Mr. Kroeger remarked
after listening to the discussion that
he was amazed that Civil Service func
tioned so well and as successfully as i ^
does.
™
I did not attend the conference
luncheon meeting but with Mr. Stew
art called at California State Retire
ment System headquarters and visited
with director Chapman. The California
System covers more than 30,000 em-