AFGE Week in Review (Aug. 3, 2009)

White House Issues First-Ever Insourcing Guide: In a historic victory for AFGE, the Office of Management and Budget, for the first time, issued guidance on insourcing in an attempt to stop the exodus of federal jobs to contractors and return these outsourced work to the government. According to the guidance issued July 29, every agency by Oct. 1 must identify areas where contractors are being overused and show how these jobs can be brought back in house, a step long proposed by AFGE. 

"Overreliance on contractors can lead to the erosion of the in-house capacity that is essential to effective government performance," OMB stated in the 11-page directive. "Such overreliance has been encouraged by one-sided management priorities that have publicly rewarded agencies for becoming experts in identifying functions to outsource and have ignored the costs stemming from loss of institutional knowledge and capability and from inadequate management

The White House's embrace of insourcing is monumental. For over a decade, AFGE has expended enormous efforts to slow the contracting bandwagon and convince Congress and the White House that federal employees are the best guardians of public services. With the publication of the Obama guidelines, we have entered a new era in which insourcing will be just as important an option for agencies as outsourcing, and tracking the cost and quality of work performed by contractors will be just as important as tracking the cost and quality of work performed by federal employees. AFGE is urging Locals to make sure their agencies are complying with the OMB directive. We must act now and come up with examples of government functions in every agency that should be brought back in house because they were performed by federal employees in the past, are inherently governmental and shouldn't have been contracted out in the first place, or have been poorly performed by contractors.  

Senate Panel Passes Bill to Strengthen Whistleblower Protections: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last week passed a bill that would strengthen protections for federal employees who expose fraud, abuse, and wrongdoing in the workplace. Specifically, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009, S. 372, would allow whistleblowers to appeal adverse Merit Systems Protection Board decisions to the federal circuit where they live and to a jury trial. It would close certain loopholes in existing laws and clarify what qualifies as a protected disclosure. Protections would also be extended to federal scientists and Transportation Security Officers. The bill's next stop is the full Senate.

AFGE Supports Obama's Picks for MSPB Top Posts: Former AFGE Assistant General Counsel Anne Wagner was tapped as vice chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board, while long-time AFGE ally Susan Grundmann will assume the top post of chair. MSPB is an independent quasi-judicial agency established to protect federal employees against abuses by agency management. Wagner spent nearly 20 years as an Assistant General Counsel for AFGE before being appointed in 2007 to the Personnel Appeals Board of the Government Accountability Office by the U.S. Comptroller General. She most recently served as General Counsel for that board. Prior to her appointment, Grundmann served as General Counsel for the National Federation of Federal Employees. Grundmann worked closely with AFGE's Office of General Counsel to repeal the National Security Personnel System.

"These appointments to the Merit Systems Protection Board send a clear signal that the Obama administration values the experience of people who understand the rights of federal employees," said AFGE president John Gage.

AFGE 10th District NVP Roy Flores Elected to AFL-CIO Executive Committee: AFGE congratulates 10th District National Vice President Rogelio "Roy" Flores for his election to the AFL-CIO Executive Committee. Flores has been the National Vice President for AFGE District 10 for the past thirteen years. Prior to holding the NVP position, Flores worked as an AFGE field staff national representative for over ten years. Additionally, he served as the executive vice president of the Federation of National Representatives, CWA Local 2385, where his responsibilities included negotiating employment conditions and wages for workers. In accepting an executive position at AFL-CIO, Flores joins one of the most prestigious labor boards in the country. He is among only a few Hispanics to serve on the AFL-CIO executive committee.

"We are pleased with the election of Roy Flores to the Executive Committee of AFL-CIO," said AFGE President and AFL-CIO Executive Board Member John Gage "With years of experience in assisting locals, Flores' expertise makes him the right person for the position. Roy will be an excellent addition."

AFGE Mourns the Loss of Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas: AFGE joins its brothers and sisters in mourning the loss of Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas, who was murdered July 23 as he was following a group of people who had crossed the border illegally into Campo, California. Agent Rosas was fatally shot several times by unidentified assailants who fled back into Mexico immediately after the shooting. The events surrounding his death are being investigated by the FBI. The tragedy highlights the extreme dangers that border patrol agents face while protecting the country from the illegal entry of persons, drugs, weapons, and other contraband. Border patrol agents routinely work alone in remote areas due to the lack of manpower. Agent Rosas is the 108th border patrol agent to lose his life in the line of duty, with 21 of those deaths occurring during the past decade.

AFGE Wins Grievance over Transit Benefits for SSA Employees: AFGE Local 3615 recently won a grievance against the Social Security Administration, which failed to follow Presidential Executive Order 13150 stating that qualified SSA employees be provided with an increased transit subsidy to cover commuting costs. SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue had claimed that there was no money available to subsidize an increase in transit benefits, but in the past month he has faced public scrutiny after sending SSA executive officials to an extravagant three-day "Management Tango" at the Arizona Biltmore.

"AFGE is pleased to see Asture made one right decision by choosing to grant SSA employees the transit subsidy they deserve," said AFGE President John Gage. "However, his perpetual disregard for SSA employees while he has been commissioner continues to be inexcusable."

AFGE, TSA Hold Historic Labor-Management Meeting: AFGE and the Transportation Security Administration met July 23 in a historic, first-ever formal labor-management meeting to discuss a number of workplace issues in an effort to jump-start a new working relationship between the agency and the largest TSA union. Nine AFGE Transportation Security Officer activists and Local Union leaders took center stage in the meeting with acting TSA Administrator Gale Rossides, Chief of Staff Art Macias and other TSA management officials. AFGE President John Gage led the AFGE delegation, which – in addition to TSO activists – included Staff Counsel Chad Harris, Legislative Representative Charity Wilson and National Organizer Peter Winch. Issues of discussion included testing, the Performance Accountability and Standards System; leave policies, disciplinary actions and field management culture; local organizing environment and next steps at the national level. AFGE also pushed for TSO collective bargaining rights.

"The past eight years with the Bush administration have been an uphill battle and we are finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel," Gage said. "With this meeting, TSA has acknowledged that AFGE is an integral piece of the agency's relationship with its employees, and that – in short – AFGE is here to stay."

The nine AFGE Transportation Security Officer activists and Local union leaders participating in the meeting were Don Thomas (Orlando), Justin McCrary (Dallas/Fort Worth), Ricky McCoy (Chicago), AJ Castilla (Boston), Cris Soulia (San Diego), Bob Marchetta (New York/New Jersey), Melissa Sandoval (Albuquerque), Kimberly Kraynak (Pittsburgh), and Bridget Knighton (Miami).

AFGE Demands Repeal of Dallas/Fort Worth TSA's Leave Policy: AFGE recently wrote to the Dallas/Fort Worth Transportation Security Administration demanding that the agency immediately end its unfair Attendance Control Program after several employees were penalized for taking justified unscheduled leave. In a letter to DFW Federal Security Director Cedric Alexander, AFGE said ACP is seriously flawed and demoralizes workers as employees will receive a letter of counseling if they take three unscheduled leaves in a three-month period regardless of circumstances or approval of their immediate supervisors. AFGE has received reports that employees at DFW with more than 300 hours of sick leave have been issued letters of counseling for taking unscheduled leave. These letters demoralize employees and hurt their chance of promotion.

Follow Us on Twitter!: AFGE is now on Twitter. From what's going on on Capitol Hill to our legal victories, get the latest AFGE news at http://twitter.com/AFGENational .

Inside Government: U.S. Reps. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., and Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., appeared last week on AFGE's radio show, Inside Government. Kennedy discussed health care reform, why it's important for Congress to act quickly, and what a final bill could look like. Kennedy also addressed the need to properly care for our nation's veterans – something he calls a "top priority." Hinchey then discussed his efforts to end A-76 privatization studies currently being conducted by the Department of Defense. Hinchey included language in the 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill that would protect nearly 6,000 military and civilian jobs, including at least 531 positions at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.

Also appearing on the show were AFGE Staff Attorney Chad Harris and National Organizer Peter Winch, who detailed the first formal labor-management meeting between AFGE and TSA management. Harris and Winch discussed several issues raised in the meeting, including TSA leave policies, representation rights, and the Performance Accountability and Standards System – TSA's controversial pay system.

"Inside Government" - hosted by AFGE Assistant General Counsel J. Ward Morrow - airs on Fridays at 10 a.m. EDT nationwide on Federal News Radio at www.federalnewsradio.com and 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C., area. Programs are archived on the Federal News Radio Web site and can be heard on demand at http://www.federalnewsradio.com or http://www.afge.org/insidegovernment. Please note there will be a short advertisement prior to the start of the program. The program also airs on Saturdays at 7 a.m. on KTKK 630 AM, "The Voice of Utah," in Ogden, Utah sponsored by AFGE Local 1592. For more information, please e-mail InsideGovernment@afge.org or go to www.federalnewsradio.com.