Depot work questioned

The director of the largest federal employees union is calling on the Pentagon to investigate work he says is being done improperly at the Anniston Army Depot, even as the Department of Defense issues warnings that contractors can't be used to replace furloughed civilian workers.  David Cox Sr., president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said he recently met with Frederick Vollrath, DOD's Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness and Force Management, to discuss concerns about work that's normally done by civilian employees being given to contractors or military personnel.  Asking that they  investigate in particular a direct conversion at Anniston Army Depot where the core depot maintenance workload is being illegally privatized. Anniston Army Depot, modifies and upgrades heavy and light armored vehicles and self-propelled artillery and small arms. The depot's 2,800 workers began 11 days of furlough this week, despite the fact the installation has enough paid-for work on the books to keep employees on the job through the rest of the year.  Officials at Anniston Army Depot referred questions about the unions allegations to its parent command, who would not respond.