Private Gain - Public Loss
By FORREST V. STEWART
Executive Secretary, Oregon State Employees Association
The increasing technical character of
the duties and the increasing number
of, professional and scientific persons in
public service makes essential and
necessary tq successful public admin
istration a reasonable tenure of em
ployment and an attractive salary pro
gram. Opportunity for career service
and other advantages are now being
liberally offered by private employ
ment much to the disadvantage of the
public service.
The distinctions between private and
public employment are becoming more
noticeable each year and even now the
many advantages offered by private
employment are drawing from public
Service its mpst capable and experi
enced personnel. This loss is serious to
the future welfare of the state and
Should be checked by improving the
standards of personnel management in
state service.
People „.in. public ser vice realize its
specialized nature which, due to the
increased scope of governmental ac
tivity and its complexity, often re
quires Special education or training.
Need for Employee Organization
The publiej however, is not aware of
these changing conditions and with the
gradually increasing complexity, it has
grown less and less familiar with them.
The public' employees are beginning to
realize that they, themselves, know the
conditions of their employment better
than the public or any other group and
that they cannot rely wholly upon a
disinterested and uninformed group for
adjustment of these conditions, but
must assume a more active responsi
bility for the improvement of the con
ditions themselves.
To do this effectively and without
any interruption to public service, the
public employee must associate him
self with his fellow public employees.
The' employment problems of public
service involve mote than individual
employee’s interests and requires work
ing out policies of general nature,
equally applicable to all classes of pub
lic employment.
Organization is as necessary for state
employees as it has been for other
groups. Life is fast becoming so com
plicated that without organisation, the
individual’s interests are overlooked
and lost in a maelstrom of divergent
interests.
The desired improvements in public
service can be attained then only as
fast as employees organize and support
the program. The employees must join
an organization and take an active part
by supporting and cooperating in its
operation. . »
AU Employees Should Be Organized
For an organization to be effective,
all employees must participate. With
out full employee participation much
effort is wasted in dragging along the
uncooperative minority. Those progres
sive employees whose desire it is to
improve their own status and at tlie
same time improve the state service,
deserve and should insist upon, full
cooperation of all employees in the
agency;
By welding all state employees to
gether to achieve a general advance
in the welfare of the employées of the
state, they will at the same time
achieve a more satisfied, efficient, and
skilled group of public servants. They
will also achieve an active, wide awake,
mutually advantageous, non-political
association in which state employees
may mingle on common ground and
assist each other in thé solution of
peculiar problems and functions not
only of vital interest to themselves but
indirectly to the vast body of tax
payers who, in the last analysis, will
profit most through the functions of a
competent and well trained public
personnel.
Public employees are human beings,