AFGE Week in Review (Sept.1, 2009)

Gage Re-Elected AFGE President: AFGE President John Gage on Aug. 26 won re-election as AFGE President at AFGE's 38th Convention in Reno, Nevada. National Secretary-Treasurer J. David Cox won re-election by acclamation. Augusta Thomas was elected National Vice President for Women and Fair Practices. Congratulations! 

AFGE Congratulates Elected/Re-elected Council Presidents: The following union leaders were elected during the AFGE convention: Ray Cantu (DECA); Mark Whetstone (CIS); Bruce Williams (GSA); Brian M. Leonard (Marine Corps); Claudette Young (DoEd); Demetrios Stroubakis (Coast Guard); Scott Blanch (Air Force Material Command); Bryan Lowry (BOP); Mark Whetstone (CIS); James Marshall (SSA C215); Witold Skwierezynski (SSA C220).

Missed the convention? Visit AFGE's Twitter page at www.twitter.com/afgenational to read our tweets from Reno. Visit www.afge.org for photos and complete coverage. 

AFGE Condemns DoD Board's Final Report on NSPS, Pursues EEO Class Action: AFGE criticized the Defense Business Board's final report which recommended a "reconstruction" of the National Security Personnel System instead of abolishing it. The report, issued Aug. 25, listed a series of fatal flaws in the system but stopped short of calling for its elimination, citing improved performance management. That angered AFGE, which pointed to several failed examples of NSPS's performance management as detailed by employees and managers during the board's hearing in June.  

AFGE is pursuing an EEO class action against DoD because of the inherent discriminatory nature of NSPS. AFGE's internal analysis of performance ratings, pay increases and bonuses paid in January 2009 to about 167,000 civilian DoD employees who work under NSPS showed that employees with the same performance ratings did not get the same pay raises and bonuses. Raises varied by as much as 10 to 20 percent while bonuses differed by 9 to 18 percent. The analysis also found racial discrimination in performance ratings and payouts for Hispanics, Asians, African Americans, American Indians, Hawaiians, and multiracials. The results of AFGE's analysis are in line with DoD's own May 2009 evaluation, which found similar discrimination in how pay was handed out. Specifically, DoD's evaluation revealed that higher level, higher paid employees received better ratings and payouts than lower level, lower paid employees

For more information on AFGE's fight against NSPS, visit www.defenseworkers.org. If you are under NSPS and believe you have been discriminated against, fill out a confidential online survey at www.stopnsps.org.

NSPS Chief Transferred to DLA: Brad Bunn will be leaving the position of NSPS program executive officer to become the Defense Logistics Agency's human resource director. The announcement from the Pentagon came the same day that the Defense Business Board released its final report recommending the overhaul of NSPS. To read the announcement, go to http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12926

OPM Retains Time-in-Grade Requirement: The Office of Personnel Management recently announced in the Federal Register that it would keep the requirement that federal employees serve a year in a grade before being considered for promotion. The notice cancelled the Bush administration's plan to repeal the time-in-grade rule announced last November. "It would be more productive to consider the merits of the time-in-grade issue as part of a more comprehensive review of pay, performance and staffing issues than to regulate this particular issue in piecemeal fashion," OPM said in the notice.

SSA Ordered to Discontinue Online Promotion Program: An arbitrator earlier this month sided with AFGE when he ruled that the Social Security Administration violated the master agreement when it unilaterally implemented an online promotion system, Internal Vacancies on-Line (IVOL). Under IVOL, which was implemented in 2007, employees are required to apply for jobs on-line and applicants are rated and ranked electronically in accordance with their responses to a questionnaire. AFGE Council 220 President Witold Skwiercznski repeatedly voiced objection to the new process as it marked a complete change in the rating and ranking of candidates for promotion. For example, it replaced promotion committees with an electronic questionnaire. Vacancies used to be posted on the SSA Intranet and employees were allowed to apply for jobs on work time, but they are now also posted on an Internet site and are accessible from an employee's home computer. AFGE received reports from around the country that employees have been discouraged from using work time to apply for jobs. SSA also didn't train employees on IVOL. Not every candidate was aware of the new promotion process. Some filed written applications and were disqualified from consideration. After SSA insisted it was not violating the master agreement and would continue with the implementation plan, AFGE filed a grievance. The arbitrator sided with AFGE and ordered SSA to immediately discontinue the program. The agency, however, can still announce vacancies on both the Internet and the SSA intranet and employees can submit either written applications or file them electronically. The electronic questionnaires, however, may no longer be used.   

EEO Judge Awards Attorney's Fees to TSA Union: An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission judge has ordered the Transportation Security Administration to pay AFGE $42,856 in attorney's fees for a case in which a Dulles TSA employee was discriminated against because of his disability. The suit resulted from the TSA's discriminatory transfer of a disabled Transportation Security Officer from a teaching position to a screening position four years ago. The TSO's disability required him to use a cane and limited his ability to walk and stand. The TSO successfully performed the duties of a TSA Approved Instructor and received an "exceeds" rating on his annual performance review. Despite this performance, the TSA arbitrarily transferred him from the teaching position to a screening position, which requires up to eight hours of standing. As a result of this illegal transfer, the TSO had no choice but to request disability retirement. AFGE subsequently filed a complaint with the EEOC on his behalf, alleging discrimination based on disability. In siding with AFGE, the judge stated that the testimony of several TSA witnesses raised serious questions about TSA's understanding of its obligation under the Rehabilitation Act. The judge awarded the TSO two years of back pay and $150,000 in damages for emotional pain and suffering. She also ordered TSA to train its management and HR team at Dulles on disability rights, and post a notice to all TSA employees at Dulles about the finding and their right to be free from discrimination at the workplace.

Inside Government: Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry, who recently spoke at AFGE's 38th Triennial National Convention, appeared last week on AFGE's radio show, Inside Government. Berry addressed OPM's investment in human capital, the use of new technologies, and AFGE's important role representing federal workers. Berry also highlighted OPM's recruitment and retention strategies to attract the best and brightest to the federal government. Federal Labor Relations Authority General Counsel Julia Clark, who also spoke at AFGE's convention, then updated listeners on her goals at FLRA – from eliminating the case backlog to restoring guidance and training materials. 

Listeners also learned about the latest AFGE membership benefits from AFGE National Benefits Coordinator Mark Williams and Union Sportsmen's Alliance Mid-West Coordinator Jim Klatt. Williams detailed a number of new benefits, including the Eldercare and Van Pool programs. Klatt then detailed the Union Sportsmen's Alliance benefit, which combines union brotherhood with the great outdoors.  

"Inside Government" is hosted by AFGE Assistant General Counsel J. Ward Morrow. 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 is available via iTunes podcast by clicking here. Users must install iTunes on their computers before accessing "Inside Government" via podcast. Listeners also can follow the program on Facebook ("AFGE Inside Government") and Twitter (afgeradioshow). For more information, please e-mail InsideGovernment@afge.org or go to www.federalnewsradio.com.

"Inside Government" is a one-hour weekly nationwide radio/Internet program dedicated to issues that impact federal and D.C. government employees. The show airs each Friday at 10 a.m. on Federal News Radio 1500 AM in Washington, D.C. and online at www.federalnewsradio.com.