More than a year after USDA move to Kansas City, hundreds of positions remain vacant
When the deal was signed to move two U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies to downtown Kansas City in 2019, it was ballyhooed by local politicians, business leaders and then-President Donald Trump’s administration as a victory for the heartland.
It meant 500 new, high-paying federal jobs for the Kansas City economy, which local leaders argued were worth the $26 million in incentives over 15 years pledged by the city and state.
Then there were the optics: two major pieces of a cabinet agency — the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) — actually decamping from Washington for the Midwest, a move proponents argued would bring them closer to the farmers they serve and that Missouri Gov. Mike Parson touted as draining the swamp.
But only a little more than a third of the agencies’ employees agreed to move. More than a year later, roughly 200 jobs remain vacant. And as the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the attractiveness and cost-efficiency of working from home, it’s possible that some of the jobs promised for Kansas City may never be filled as federal workers push for long-term location flexibility.
ERS had 223 employees and 106 vacancies as of the end of March, according to a USDA spokeswoman. NIFA had 218 employees and 126 vacancies. The blank spaces in organizational charts raise questions about Kansas City’s long-term future as the home for the two agencies under President Joe Biden’s new administration.
During an appearance before the House Appropriations Committee this month, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack acknowledged the need to fill the jobs. But he hinted that some of the new hires would be in Washington rather than Kansas City.
“There’s an aggressive effort to fill those positions,” Vilsack told lawmakers.
“We’re going to keep an eye on it, as the president has instructed us to do so. And certainly it’s in our best interest to make sure we have as diverse and inclusive a workforce as possible,” Vilsack said. “And I’m confident that we’re going to get many of those positions filled, some of them will be filled in Kansas City, and some of them will be filled in Washington — in the Washington, D.C. area.”
The USDA reported in January to Port KC, the local agency that oversees its incentives, that the department had 334 full-time employees based in Kansas City between the two agencies — less than the projected number of 500 that was announced in 2019.
‘People are still doing multiple jobs’
The two agencies hemorrhaged staff in 2019 when the move was announced. Some went into the private sector. Others transferred elsewhere within the USDA or other departments in the federal government.
Others retired.
“They didn’t want to pick up their stakes and leave,” said Daniel Hellerstein, an agricultural economist who opted to retire from ERS rather than move. “You’re going to ask your wife to give up your job, pull your kids out of school?”
Hellerstein ended up returning as a part-time employee based in Washington under a program that allows the USDA to hire recent retirees in emergency situations.
The emergency in this case was the staffing shortage caused by the move.
“We’re not at full staffing, so we can’t be at full capacity. People are still doing multiple jobs, wearing multiple hats,” said Laura Dodson, a representative for the union that represents ERS employees and one of the handful allowed to remain in Washington.
Dodson said former Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, the architect of the move, overestimated the speed with which the agencies could fill the positions after the wave of departures.
”There’s just not that many ag economists,” she said.
At a recent town hall meeting with the employees from the two agencies, Vilsack sought to calm the waters, Dodson said.
He told them that the department had invested in Kansas City and remained committed to the location. But he also indicated he didn’t see why the agency would pass up hiring qualified people in Washington, Dodson said.
“What the union still wants is location flexibility,” Dodson said.
Employees at the two agencies have been working from home since last year — regardless of whether they’re in Washington or Kansas City. In upcoming contract negotiations, the union will push to make that a permanent option.
“I think the pandemic did show that working remotely is feasible,” Hellerstein said. “I’ve been into my office three times in the last year.”
Making working from home a permanent option would allow USDA to hire people across the country regardless of their location, but it could mean far fewer employees in Kansas City than originally expected.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, one of many local politicians who championed the move, told The Star he still expects the USDA to keep that promise.
“Kansas City made a substantial pledge to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, investing significant time and resources to bring operations for the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to the Midwest and Kansas City,” Lucas said.
“I would expect Secretary Vilsack, a native son of the Midwest, to know how important our region is to the agency’s mission and that the promised goal of 500 new jobs in Kansas City will be met.”
The total annual gross pay of the employees currently in Kansas City is more than $32 million.
“Kansas City has already seen a positive net benefit with the presence now, and filling more positions will grow that benefit,” said Jon Stephens, president and CEO of Port KC, who noted that the incentives USDA receives are tied to the number of new jobs in the city.
Tim Cowden, president and chief executive of the Kansas City Area Development Council, which helped land the USDA agencies in Kansas City, acknowledged that many organizations are placing a greater value on workplace flexibility after the last year. But he said he remains confident about the department’s long-term presence in the region.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that USDA will realize the many benefits of its Kansas City location decision for years to come,” he said.
Politicians point to pandemic
The relocation was generally opposed by congressional Democrats with two notable exceptions, Kansas Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids and Missouri Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, whose district houses the agencies’ new headquarters.
Cleaver blamed the slow pace in filling vacancies in Kansas City on the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused lockdowns around the country roughly six months after the move.
“My hope is an eternal presence of the USDA, but I also know that a large number of people refused to come to Kansas City with the move from the DC metropolitan area,” Cleaver said. “Just as they were getting ready to possibly start hiring COVID-19 hit.”
Cleaver said he’s still optimistic that universities in Missouri and Kansas can become a pipeline for new hires to the agencies.
Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, also said the pandemic had hindered the agencies’ ability to hire new personnel.
“This is NOT a Kansas City issue, nor is it a lack of a labor force. USDA in general has hiring speed issues,” Marshall said in an emailed statement. “We know there is some breakdown between USDA’s Business Center trying to handle HR issues, the hiring process and USDA’s Homeland Security Division which make onboarding a new employee take months after they have been offered the job.”
Marshall called on Vilsack to address inefficiencies in the hiring process. He said that if the USDA changes telework policies, as the union is proposing, that it must still prioritize locating employees in Kansas City.
Retiring Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt said last month that keeping the federal positions in Kansas City is one of his top priorities for his final two years in office. He reiterated that message on Tuesday when asked about the vacancies.
“I would hope that the former governor of Iowa would understand the cost of living advantages of being in the middle of the country as well as the advantages if you’re an ag research person of being within three hours of six land grant universities. It’s a great location. It was chosen because it would be a great location,” Blunt said, referencing Vilsack’s Iowa background.
“People made decisions both ways because that’s where those jobs were going to be and I’m going to continue to encourage Secretary Vilsack to move to fill those jobs there.”
This story was originally published April 25, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
