AFGE Week in Review (Oct. 28, 2009)

Obama Signs Bill to Repeal NSPS: After six long years of congressional hearings and court fights, AFGE was finally able to shut down the Pentagon's National Security Personnel System when President Obama on Oct. 28 signed the fiscal 2010 Defense Authorization Act with a provision repealing the controversial pay system. The law requires the Defense Department to return the 205,000 NSPS employees to their previous pay systems by Jan.1, 2012. It guarantees that NSPS employees won't see any pay cuts and that they will receive the full pay hikes given to General Schedule workers. It directs DoD to work with the Office of Personnel Management to create a fair, credible and transparent performance appraisal system. It also gives DoD the authority to propose new personnel flexibilities that need to be approved by Congress.

AFGE President John Gage lauded President Obama and Congress' decision to shut down the system, saying NSPS was created in a poisonous atmosphere by ideologues seeking to destroy collective bargaining, federal unions and employee rights and protections.

"We look forward to working with the department to improve the performance management and hiring systems so that the needs of the taxpayers, war fighters, and employees can all be addressed," he said.

New Law Grants Sick Leave Benefits, Locality Pay: The 2010 Defense Authorization Act signed by President Obama also contains several provisions relating to federal employees. The law:

• Allows workers under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) to credit 50 percent of their unused sick leave toward their annuity. After a four-year phase-in period, FERS employees will receive full credit for unused sick leave.
• Moves federal employees in Alaska, Hawaii Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Island to the locality pay system and phases out their cost-of-living adjustments.
• Permits federal agencies to re-employ federal retirees on a limited, part-time basis without forcing them to take a cut in their annuity checks.
• Gives employees who work for the District of Columbia Courts, the Pretrial Services Agency, the Department of Corrections, and the Adult Probation and Parole Services credit for their time in service before the agencies were transferred to the federal government.

Obama Signs Historic VA Funding Reform Bill Sought by AFGE: President Obama on Oct. 22 signed a historic funding reform bill that authorizes funding for the Veterans Affairs Department a year in advance, ending AFGE's years-long fight for predictability, adequacy, and timeliness in VA health care funding. Congress also included a requirement that the Government Accountability Office audit VA's budget projections to make sure VA's funding is not politics-driven.

"The advanced funding will give the Department of Veterans Affairs up to a full year to plan for the most effective and efficient way of delivering medical care," said National Secretary Treasurer and retired VA nurse J. David Cox. "America's veterans deserve this. This is a step in the right direction for the agency."

VA Back Pay Claim Web Site Not a Hoax: It has been brought to our attention that VA General Counsel has stated that the Web site that allows VA employees to file back pay claims online at www.vabackpay.com is a hoax. Rather than a hoax, the Web site was set up this month after approval of the U.S. District Court specifically to notify VA employees of the pending litigation.

The Federal Court in Washington, D.C. ruled in July 2005 that Veterans Health Administration employees who took paid leave between Sept. 5, 1995 and the present time are entitled to overtime back pay plus interest if within one week they also worked on Saturdays and/or evenings with the total hours worked exceeding 40. Under the court ruling, "paid leave" is considered eight hours of work even though employees are not actually working. The court also decided that VA must pay Sunday premium pay to VHA employees who took paid leave between Sept. 5, 1995 and Sept. 30, 1997. The case affects both former and current VA health care employees.

Employees who want to receive back pay and interest must file a claim online or by mail before February 9, 2010. You can file your claim instantly and easily on the Internet by going to www.vabackpay.com.

AFGE's TSO Leadership in 2nd Meeting with Management: Leave restrictions, promotion, disciplinary actions and other personnel issues were discussed at the second labor-management meeting between the Transportation Security Administration and AFGE, which took place Oct. 16 in Washington, D.C. At the meeting, TSA officials admitted that several airports arbitrarily implement policies not endorsed by the headquarters and in violation of national policies. Changes in local policies are expected as TSA is working to get under control inconsistency between local and national policies.

BOP Officers Protest against Rising Violence in Federal Prisons: Nearly 100 federal correctional officers carrying body bags marched to the U.S. Capitol Building on Oct. 14 in protest of increasing violence in federal prisons and the Bureau of Prisons' refusal to act on it. The officers held a vigil with signs that listed the names of the prisons that the 325 assaults took place since June last year when AFGE member and correctional officer Jose Rivera was killed in the line of duty. The group ended the ceremony with shouts of "Who's next?"

AFGE has been trying to shine the light on federal prisons' poor management that has created a rising tide of violence that threatens employees, inmates and the communities surrounding federal prisons. AFGE has called for full funding and staffing for BOP, especially now that inmates outnumber officers by 150 to one while officers remain unarmed. The union also has requested the distribution of resistant vests and other protective equipment after the assaults on officers by homemade weapons have spiked.

Federal Protective Service to Be Moved out of ICE: After several years of lobbying by AFGE, House and Senate conferees recently agreed to transfer the Federal Protective Service out of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In the committee report accompanying the 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Act, FPS would instead be under Homeland Security's National Protection and Programs Directorate. The agency in charge of protecting thousands of federal buildings nationwide came under fire after congressional investigators found major security flaws at federal buildings, which AFGE had tried to draw attention to for years. AFGE had publicly criticized FPS's underfunding, mismanagement, and the disproportion of the number of contract guards and full-time employees – FPS has 1,200 full-time employees and roughly 13,000 contract guards.

"The transfer of FPS is the first critical step on the road to FPS reform, but there is much more to be done," said David Wright, president of AFGE Local 918 representing FPS employees across the country. "We look forward to working with the Congress to advance further important reforms later this year."

Earlier this year, AFGE commended President Obama for proposing the transfer of FPS from ICE to the NPPD, stating that "ICE was meant to be a big brother to FPS. We needed Wally Cleaver but unfortunately we got Eddie Haskell." The Senate proposed the transfer in its version of the 2010 DHS spending bill, but the House version preferred FPS under ICE.

POGO Launches Survey on Government Contracting: The Project On Government Oversight is inviting federal employees to take a Web-based survey designed to shed light on the federal government's policies and practices regarding its use of private sector contractors to perform services previously performed by government employees. More specifically, federal employees with the following types of positions or work experience are encouraged to respond to the survey: 1) executes, manages, or monitors a federal service contract, 2) administers a program that makes use of a federal service contract or otherwise works with private service contractor employees, 3) administers an acquisitions office or program, 4) prepares or determines the data contained in the annual Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act (FAIR Act) Inventory, 5) prepares or decides responses to FAIR Act Inventory challenges and/or appeals, 6) has final or high level authority for the collection, analysis, and reporting of department/agency-wide budget, acquisition, or personnel data, 7) has final or high level authority for conducting audits or investigations and issuing reports concerning fraud, waste, or abuse, or 8) works as an ethics officer.

The survey is posted on POGO's website at www.pogo.org and its link is entitled "Federal Service Contract Survey." The deadline for responding to the survey is November 30, 2009.  For more information, visit POGO's blog posted October 13 on its Web site.

AFGE Congratulates Obama on Historic Nobel Peace Prize: AFGE President John Gage issued the following statement after President Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize on Oct. 9 for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples:

"AFGE congratulates President Obama on the 2009 Nobel Peace prize, a well-earned and well-deserved honor. While the Nobel committee recognized President Obama for his work in international politics and nuclear disarmament, the committee also recognized that he brings vision and hope to the people of the world for a better future – a message that he brought to all Americans and the federal workforce last November.

We were proud to stand by President Obama in 2008 and we are proud still to stand by him today. We share his vision of good government, reforming our broken health care system, ensuring pay equality, and fully funding our government agencies so we can better service the American public. AFGE looks forward to continuing our work with the Obama administration as we celebrate the accomplishments of our great country, our great union and our president."

Inside Government: AFGE's radion show, Inside Government, last week featured White House Special Advisor Patricia McGinnis and former Transportation Security Officer (TSO) and AFGE activist Ron Moore. McGinnis, who advises the Obama administration on leadership programs for presidential appointees, discussed qualities that embody good government leaders and building successful federal programs. Moore, now a special interest columnist for Washington, D.C.'s Examiner.com, shared his book of poetry, "Washington Cats," written during a very trying period in his career. Moore also discussed AFGE's commitment to securing collective bargaining rights for TSOs, and how the union stood by him during his time of need. Hooks Book Events President Perry Pidgeon Hooks then discussed her fall lineup of public author events, which include Deepak Chopra, Steven Levitt, and David Baldacci. Federal employees interested in inviting authors to speak at their agencies can visit www.hooksbookevents.com for more information.

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.afge.org/insidegovernment. Please note there will be a short advertisement prior to the start of the program. 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.