Secret Service Joining Pickets at White House

WASHINGTON — In an unlikely twist, the uniformed Secret Service officers who stand guard outside the White House and the throngs of protesters who camp daily beyond its gates now have something in common--they are angry at their government.

Spokesmen for the uniformed Secret Service sentries announced Friday that off-duty officers will picket outside the White House Tuesday to protest what they charge are inadequate wages and poor communication with management.

“When we give our opinion, they ignore it,” said Peter England, president of the 400-member uniformed officers’ union. “The only way we can express it is in public.”

Secret Service spokeswoman Jane Vezeris says that the agency finds the idea of sign-carrying Secret Service men unsettling but expects no decline in security.

“I would expect everyone will perform their duties to the fullest extent,” Vezeris said. “I would hope and expect that, if they are unhappy, it would not carry over to their job. We have important jobs to do.”

Three Branches

The sentry force is one of three arms of the Secret Service, complementing the better-known plainclothes divisions that serve as presidential bodyguards and investigate counterfeiting. The uniformed officers guard the White House, the vice president’s residence and many federal buildings.

England said that the uniformed officers have not received merit pay increases since 1976 and have not been able to work out grievances with Secret Service management, which does not recognize the union’s standing.

‘Get a New Job’

“They say: if you don’t like it, get a new job,” said one officer, who has been on the force 15 years. “We’re essential personnel. We have to be here 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. The guys just want to feel like they’re getting a fair shake.”

Vezeris said that uniformed officers have received cost-of-living increases totaling 28.6% since 1980. In addition, she said, if a proposed pay increase is approved by the Treasury Department and Congress, the uniformed officers will have the highest base salary of any police department in the metropolitan Washington area. The base salary is now $20,552.

“It’s not that we’re not being responsive,” she said. “This agency has evolved since 1865. I don’t know if there’s a way to erase the board and start over again.”

However, England said that Tuesday’s demonstration may not be the last.