AFGE Week in Review (Sept. 14, 2009)

House, Senate Conferees Still Debate NSPS Bills: The fate of the Pentagon's controversial pay system may not be known until later this year when House and Senate conferees come up with the final version of the 2010 Defense Authorization bill. The House and Senate passed their versions of the bill in June and July respectively. The House version calls for a repeal of the National Security Personnel System and the transfer of Defense employees back to the General Schedule system within one year. It also bars the conversion of new employees hired after June 16, 2009 into NSPS. The Senate version gives DoD some leeway. Even though it technically repeals the pay portion of NSPS, it allows DoD to keep it if the Defense secretary objects to the repeal and promises to make significant changes to ensure transparency and fairness. While the Senate version prohibits the conversion of unionized employees into NSPS, it allows the department to keep its performance appraisal system and make that department-wide.

AFGE, which has waged legislative and legal battles against NSPS since the very beginning, continues its fight to end NSPS. The union is pursuing a class action EEO case against DoD after its internal analysis revealed widespread pay and ratings discrimination under the system. If you are under NSPS and believe you have been discriminated against, visit www.stopnsps.org and fill out a confidential online survey.

House Panel Approves Bill to Move TSOs under GS: At the urging of AFGE, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee last week passed a bill that would grant Transportation Security Officers collective bargaining rights and move them from the controversial pay system to the General Schedule that covers most federal employees. The bill, H.R.1881, passed on a 19-10 party line vote. It's now headed to the House floor. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I, told reporters he expected the House vote on the bill in the next two weeks. At the hearing where the bill was passed, nearly 30 TSOs who are AFGE members filled up the room and were recognized by committee chairman Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y. in his opening speech. Later, Kennedy walked over to shake hands with the employees, expressing his appreciation for their service to the country.  The bill had been approved by the House Homeland Security Committee in July.

OPM Proposes Sick Leave Expansion: The Office of Personnel Management last month issued a proposed rule change to allow federal employees to use sick leave to care for family members who have been exposed to or contracted communicable diseases such as H1N1 flu, smallpox, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and pandemic flu. Currently, federal employees can use sick leave only if they themselves have been exposed to a communicable disease. Under the proposal, an employee can use up to 13 days of sick leave to care for a family member who has been exposed to a communicable disease. If the family member has contracted a disease, the employee can use up to 12 weeks of sick leave to care for him/her. If the employee has used up his/her sick leave but has a family member who has been exposed to or contracted a communicable disease, OPM would advance him/her up to 13 days of sick leave. If employees themselves have been exposed to a communicable disease, OPM would advance them up to 30 days of sick leave. The proposal would also allow agencies to advance employees sick leave under certain other circumstances such as when they need medical, dental, or optical treatments or when they need to care for family members injured in military duty. Comments on the proposed rule, which was published in the Aug.26 Federal Register, will be accepted until Oct.26.

AFGE Member Wins AFL-CIO Political Hero Award: At its 26th convention in Pittsburgh, PA, the AFL-CIO honored Darlene Tinsley with the Political Hero Award for her outstanding work in advancing organized labor's political mobilization program.  Tinsley has been a member of AFGE since 1989 and currently serves as the Secretary-Treasurer of Local 3448.  In addition to her responsibilities as an officer, Tinsley carves time out of her busy schedule to volunteer. She was first inspired to volunteer after attending a political training event hosted by the AFL-CIO in 2004. Since then Tinsley has been on the move giving her time and energy to support issues that are important to AFGE members. Through manning the phone banks, participating in walk-knock-talk campaigns and other volunteer activities, Tinsley not only talks about change but is out in the field in order to make a difference. "If you're interested in a change for the better, not only for working conditions, but for America, you have to get out and volunteer," Tinsley said. She encourages all AFGE members to volunteer and emphasizes that "you can't just talk about it, you have to take action." With busy schedules, it is often difficult to find time to volunteer, but Tinsley states that any time you can contribute through contacting members, preparing mailings and other activities will be a tremendous help in implementing a positive change for the future.

AFGE TSO Member Speaks at AFL-CIO Convention: Shawn Williams, a member of AFGE TSA Local 332 and AFGE Women's Coordinator, spoke at the AFL-CIO Convention on Sept. 14. Williams talked about TSOs and AFGE's fight to win workplace protections and how the flying public will benefit from having a workforce with a high morale and whistleblower protections that come with a union contract. Williams also asked for the AFL-CIO's support to win a voice at work.

"For eight long years, TSOs have dealt with issues of health and safety, discrimination, intimidation, and lax oversight at the agency with only AFGE to stand between us and an unpredictable management," Williams said. "AFGE secured a promise from President Obama to ensure collective bargaining rights would be granted at TSA, and we will not rest until that happens. When we win, it will be a great day not just for my co-workers and me, and not just for AFGE. It will be a victory for the entire labor movement." 

Government to Hire 273,000 Critical Positions by 2012: According to a new study recently released by the Partnership for Public Service, federal agencies will hire nearly 273,000 new workers for mission critical jobs in the next three years. The majority of these jobs are doctors, nurses, pharmacists, law enforcement and immigration personnel, accountants, auditors, lawyers, IT specialists, engineers, program managers, and administrators. Homeland Security is expected to do more hiring than others – 65,730 new hires. The Veterans Affairs Department estimates it will hire 48,159 new employees while the Defense Department plans to recruit 43,514 workers. The organization estimates that during the Obama administration, new hiring will reach nearly 600,000 people, or almost one-third of the current federal workforce. For the complete list of jobs, visit http://data.wherethejobsare.org/wtja/home.

Congressional Budget Analysis Confirms AFGE's Charge that TSOs Are Underpaid: The Congressional Budget Office's cost analysis of the conversion of Transportation Security Administration employees from the current pay system to the General Schedule confirmed what the TSA union has been saying all along – that the employees have been low-balled and unfairly treated under TSA's Performance Accountability Standards System. The CBO's cost analysis, which was released Sept. 2, estimated that Transportation Security Officers would receive pay raises averaging $1,700 if they were transferred to the GS system as called for under the Transportation Security Workforce Enhancement Act. The bill, H.R.1881, passed the House Homeland Security Committee in July and is now being considered by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

SSA Ordered to Discontinue Online Promotion Program: An arbitrator recently 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. Witold Skwiercznski, AFGE's SSA General Committee spokesperson, 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.

September 2009 Editors Association Packet Is Available Online: Click on the following link to get the packet:  http://www.afge.org/Documents/2009_09_02_EditorsAssociationPacketSept09.pdf

Inside Government: AFGE activists shed light on issues facing their agencies last week on AFGE's radio show, Inside Government. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council 118 President Patrick Remigio discussed low staffing and funding levels, and efforts to have Council 118's contract enforced at the agency. Department of Defense Local 2024 Chief Steward Don Hands then shared his concerns about contracting out initiatives and the National Security Personnel System. AFGE Communications Specialist Michael Victorian discussed the union's Young & Organizing Unionists for the Next Generation (Y.O.U.N.G.) program. Listeners then heard from Local Presidents Robert Mayfield (2978), Ben Butler (2741), and Kim Kraynak (332). Mayfield and Butler highlighted issues facing D.C. government workers including the privatization of critical services. Kraynak shared her thoughts on the dire need for collective bargaining rights at the Transportation Security Administration.

Inside Government, hosted by AFGE Assistant General Counsel J. Ward Morrow, 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. 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.