AFGE Week in Review (April 1, 2009)

Maryland Lawmakers Call for TSO Workplace Rights: Democratic lawmakers from Maryland Rep. C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger and Sen. Barbara Mikulski this week joined American Federation of Government Employees President John Gage and National Vice President for District 4 Joe Flynn in calling for workplace rights for Transportation Security Officers. Speaking at the union's legislative Lunch & Learn at BWI international airport March 30, Ruppersberger said TSOs are frontline workers in the war against terrorism and should be treated as such. He praised TSOs for a job well done and applauded Gage for his leadership in the union's efforts to win collective bargaining rights for TSOs. Sen. Mikulski sent a representative along with her letter addressed to BWI TSOs who are AFGE Local 444 members. Mikulski praised the employees for their courage to call for the right to form a union. She thanked AFGE for continuing to fight for full bargaining rights for its members despite many obstacles.

Gage told TSOs about AFGE's legislative effort to have a bill introduced and passed that would grant them workplace rights. Both Gage and Flynn gave interviews to the local media about the lack of collective bargaining rights and how that impacts workers' morale. Also present at the event were Fred Mason, president of AFL-CIO Maryland State and District of Columbia, and Ernie Grecco, president of AFL-CIO Metro Baltimore Council. The AFL-CIO—of which AFGE is a member—recently passed a resolution calling on the Obama administration and Congress to ensure that TSOs have the same rights as other workers in Homeland Security.

Key Democrats Ask DoD to Suspend Ongoing Outsourcing Studies: On the heels of the one-year, governmentwide ban on new outsourcing studies, leading lawmakers from the House Armed Services Committee last week asked the Pentagon to halt all ongoing job competitions immediately, pending further review by the new administration and Congress. In a March 26 letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Reps. Ike Skelton, chairman of the committee, and Solomon Ortiz, chairman of the panel's Readiness Subcommittee, said the department is still pushing for more outsourcing of federal jobs including those closely related to inherently governmental functions. They said the competitive sourcing program is being implemented by the same official who advocated strongly for competitive sourcing during the Bush administration. The lawmakers cited a 2008 Inspector General report, which stated that the Air Force felt pressured to conduct outsourcing studies and the Army was undergoing several efforts that affected its job competitions, such as Base Realignment and Closure, growing the Army and the war. Many of the department's outsourcing studies also dragged on for years, violating the time limits. Skelton and Ortiz also wrote to Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, asking him to conduct a comprehensive review of the competitive sourcing program.

House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha, D-Penn., sent his own letter calling for leftover outsourcing studies to be cancelled.

The lawmakers' call for the suspension of outsourcing studies was prompted by AFGE's complaint about the department's irresponsiveness to the union's and 12 lawmakers' requests to halt a job competition of 300 jobs at the Defense Logistics Agency even though DLA admitted that internal re-engineering would achieve quicker savings and efficiency.    

EEOC Violates Overtime Law: In a victory for AFGE, an arbitrator last week ruled that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission violated the Fair Labor Standards Act when the agency denied proper compensation for extra hours worked. Arbitrator Steven Wolf rejected the EEOC's claims that most extra hours worked were either without the knowledge of the manager or were completely voluntary and at the request of the employee for his or her convenience. The arbitrator agreed with employees that the extra hours were actually a forced volunteering activity. Despite the law that employees must have a true choice to elect overtime, the arbitrator concluded that the agency was "inclined, as a matter of policy, to deny it" and had a practice of "forcing compensatory time," making the choice a "fiction."

"The EEOC should stop balancing its resource constraints on the backs of its employees, but it is the nation's workers who will continue to suffer until the agency sees increases to its budget and addresses staffing shortfalls," said Gabrielle Martin, president of AFGE's National Council of EEOC Locals. The ruling stems from a grievance filed by AFGE in 2006. Visit www.council216.org for the full decision.

House Panel Passes Paid Parental Leave Bill: The House federal workforce subcommittee last week passed an AFGE-backed bill that would provide federal employees with four weeks of paid leave after the birth or adoption of a child. The Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act now advances to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

"Despite the protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act, federal workers are among those who must choose between a paycheck and meeting their family obligations because they currently have no parental leave," said AFGE Legislative and Political Director Beth Moten. "Under current law, no part of the leave under FMLA is guaranteed to be 'paid leave,' a fact that effectively prevents many workers from using FMLA at all. It's an unnecessary hardship that can be solved by this legislation."

The bill, H.R. 626, was introduced in January by Reps. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., Frank Wolf, R-Va., Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Danny Davis, D-Ill., and Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y. A week later, a companion bill, S.354, was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.

Congress Seeks Pay Parity: The House and Senate Budget Committees last week passed the 2010 budget proposal with language supporting equal pay raises for federal civilians and military members. President Obama's 2010 budget proposal calls for a 2.9 percent raise for service members and a 2 percent increase for civilian employees.  

"This budget language makes absolutely clear that this Congress is committed to federal employee pay parity and that we intend to approve adjustments this year that are equal across all sectors of the government workforce," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said in a statement. "As we fight two wars abroad and confront significant challenges here at home, both the armed services and the federal civilian workforce are critical to carrying out the responsibility of government to protect our nation and serve our citizens. Pay parity ensures that compensation adjustments reflect the equally valuable contributions civilian employees and military personnel make in service to this nation."

Inside Government: The Obama administration's push to make government and public service cool again was discussed last week on AFGE's radio show, Inside Government. Tim Clark, editor-in-chief of Government Executive, previewed the 2009 Excellence in Government Conference Series. The series, which will consist of three one-day conferences, will address key issues facing government, including transparency, recruitment and retention, labor relations, and the use of new media. The conferences are on April 20, July 20, and Oct. 5. Visit www.excelgov.com for more information.

Also appearing on the show was Alethea Long-Green, director of human resources studies at the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), who discussed ways NAPA works to help government operate more efficiently. Long-Green cited specific examples through projects completed at the departments of Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs. She also stressed the need for government to develop human capital and improve service delivery. Also a guest was CNN correspondent  Louise Schiavone, who addressed the fight on Capitol Hill to pass President Obama's proposed budget. Schiavone also shared her thoughts on the recent AIG bonuses, the outrage that ensued, and what the future may hold for those involved.

Inside Government airs every Friday at 10 a.m. EDT nationwide on www.federalnewsradio.com and 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C., area. The one-hour program, hosted by AFGE Assistant General Counsel J. Ward Morrow, discusses issues that impact all federal and D.C. government employees. Programs are archived on the Federal News Radio Web site and can be heard on demand at http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=300 or http://www.afge.org/insidegovernment .
The program also airs on Saturdays at 6 a.m. on News Talk 940 WMAC in Macon, Ga., sponsored by AFGE Local 987, and on Sundays at 9 p.m. on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM in Salt Lake City, sponsored by AFGE Local 1592.

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