Army Base Custodial Budget Cuts Affect Veteran Employment

Multiple U.S. Army bases across the country have reduced custodial services due to budget cuts, raising concerns among nonprofit organizations who have employment contracts with the bases. Representatives from Global Connections to Employment Inc. (GCE), a Florida-based nonprofit that employs veterans and people with disabilities, are worried about their employees’ job security due to budget cuts at these bases including Fort Campbell in Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Fort Knox in Louisville, Kentucky, which employs more than 100 GCE employee, WHAS-TV reports.

GCE has been at Fort Knox since 2011 and Fort Campbell since 1998. The nonprofit employs individuals who are struggling to find work through the AbilityOne Program.

Chuck White, the GCE Project Manager at Fort Knox told WHAS that he learned the Army was looking for lower cost custodial contracts in February 2021. “We got word that they were potentially trying to drop our contract and bid out our services to the lowest bidder,” White said, adding 70% of his employees work in custodial services. “People with disabilities would not be protected under that circumstance.”

GCE sent out more than a hundred letters seeking help from community and state leaders. Although it received enough support to stop the Army from pursuing lower cost contracts, GCE is still concerned about its employees’ job security. “The latest word that we are getting is that they aren’t looking to get rid of our contract anymore, but they are going to cut our services dramatically to continue that cost-saving effort,” White said. He explained this will affect how many hours GCE custodians will work per week and income they receive.

White said GCE has been asked to submit a bid for next year’s contract for the reduced services. “It looks like this is going to be not a short-term answer to their financial problems, this is a long-term viewpoint that they’re taking,” he said.

Richard Myldy, a veteran custodial employee with GCE who came out of retirement to help support his daughters during the coronavirus pandemic, told WHAS that this situation has him worried. “A lot of people here, including myself because I have a disability, depend on this job for their livelihood,” Myldy said. “If the Army does away with this program, who’s going to accept these people? Who would accept me?”

The Army released a statement reading, “Any potential change concerning contract structure or which contract entity may perform the custodial services contract at Fort Knox in the future is under review.”