Dear Senator (Representative) XXXXXX,

I am writing this letter with the hopes of making you aware of a dire situation involving certain federal employees. I beg you to step forward immediately to end this injustice. The employees I refer to are the Captains, Engineers, and Drivers of the federal wildland fire engines, particularly those within the Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service. I have served my country to the best of my ability, giving four years of my life in the United States Air Force and twenty-four years in the US Forest Service. I have never seen anything as presumptuous or outrageous as I have observed this last week. There is absolutely no time to waste and it may be too late to institute effective damage control.

Several years ago, by virtue of a long and hard fought battle, these same federal employees' position descriptions were audited. A determination was made that, through past accretion of duties, they deserved a higher wage grade level. This audit was in compliance with all rules and regulations. It was completed, approved, and signed at the highest Washington level. Within the last week, the Office of Personnel Management announced that the audit was somehow faulty and that all positions would need to be reduced to their prior levels. This newest change to the same regulations and rules was "interpreted" by a different, new human resources person. How can this be? I cannot imagine the state of our nation should the Supreme Court reverse its position on critical matters every few years to accommodate a new member's whimsical interpretations of the law.

I, personally, am unaware of any reduction in duties, authority, or responsibility of those holding the engine positions which would allow or convince this new human resource person to arrive at their erroneous conclusions. During the time that the engine captains have enjoyed the modest pay and grade increase, they have actually accumulated additional duties and responsibilities beyond those in existence at the time of the audit.

The effects of this new interpretation, if not immediately retracted, are immediate and devastating to the efforts of all federal wildland fire suppression agencies. The following are just three of the most critically affected areas.

* Existing employees in these positions suffer an instant bottoming out in poor morale and hasten their search for employment elsewhere. We already lose a large percentage of our trained federal firefighters to state and local wildland fire protection agencies. This ruling will contribute to an un-reparable loss of confidence (which has already begun) by not just those immediately affected, but all employees in our agencies. All employees viewing this travesty must wonder at their own vulnerability to the whims of the uninformed and ignorant desk sitters proposing legal interpretations. I feel sad, but safe, in predicting a large class action suit will also result from this decision. Regardless of the outcome of such litigation, it would be a lose-lose situation for all parties.

* The current nationwide process for hiring the hundreds of new employees needed to implement the National Fire Plan and to increase the wildland fire agencies engine personnel, as funded by yourself and your Congressional peers, has come to an agonizing halt. There can be no new employees hired to staff the engines until this issue is resolved. Existing employees will hesitate to accept new jobs as confusion and uncertainty rule. Potential, quality employees will doubt the legitimacy or trustworthiness of working for a federal government who would allow such a traitorous adverse action to their employees.

* Bottom-dwellers, those who would (and should) normally be passed over for hiring or promotion will gladly move into the vacancies. They will not hesitate to lead our young firefighters in battle. It will be these new hirees, having few skills, little experience, and no leadership abilities, making life and death decisions for our sons and daughters. There will be managers who have the insight and courage to refuse to hire these less than desirable. However, both alternatives result in our nation lacking the quality resources it was recognized we need to defend our citizens against the rampage of future fire season similar to last years.

The critical decisions made within the next few days by our agency leaders in Washington must be guided by you, our chosen representatives. These decisions will dramatically impact our short and long term capabilities. They will influence public perception (the media have already obtained this information), and the imminent decisions of thousands of qualified firefighters whether they should enter or continue a career in public service.

This year, you and your fellow members of Congress finally recognized the need to begin raising the levels of our national wildland fire fighting resources to their "most efficient level". Let not your will and our tax dollars be wasted, nor held ransom by one person's poorly informed interpretations. I implore you to use your influence and encourage your peers to help stop this insane bureaucratic attack on the wages and dignity of these courageous federal employees. These are the same devoted employees who sacrifice their families, health and lives, as they oppose wildland fires threatening the land, property, and lives of our citizens. I encourage you to attend, or send a rep to the hiring process at the US Forest Service Regional Office in Vallejo beginning on Jan. 12th. Give yourself the opportunity to observe, discuss and share first hand, the difficulties inherent in the existing hiring process and the serious ramifications of the emerging ruling.

I invite you to be a hero and protector of the federal wildland firefighters of America. You will find them an appreciative and an aggressively loyal bunch of folks. As impressively loyal as the firefighters are to their perceived friends, so are many of them slow to forgive an insult. I suspect you would gain and retain many more future votes were you to virtually lay hands on the scoundrel responsible for the current mis-interpretion of engine captain pay grade and impose upon them a severe public flogging, (a verbal one would be ok) along with, of course, a letter of reprimand and a permanent reduction in grade.

Thank you Sir (Madam), for your time.

Abercrombie