Chapter 8 emphasizes the people at the core of public administration by examining the civil service system. The rate of total government employment in the United States has been remarkably flat for the past forty years. In civil service systems, each position is identified in terms of the special knowledge the job requires, its level of difficulty, and the responsibilities that come with it. During the hiring and promotion process, preference is given to veterans, minorities, women, and the disabled. Government employees tend to sustain long careers in civil service. However, federal pay has lagged behind what employees would earn in similar private-sector jobs.

                Over time there has been a rise in the unionization of public employees and an increased use of collective bargaining to determine conditions of employment. Since 2000, there has been a slight downtick on average across all levels of government. The civil service system itself, along with budget decisions by elected policymakers, sets the basic conditions of work. Government differs from private enterprise in the scope of issues upon which employees and their unions bargain. Additionally, the civil service system must wrestle with the complicated issues of employees’ right to privacy and limitations on the political activity of government workers.