Greetings,

BAND TOGETHER
COMMUNIQUÉ 

October 24, 2007

Union Notices

• Voluntary Early Out Offering
• Update on Legislative Efforts on GAO COLAs and GAO Reauthorization
• Briefing on African American Performance Assessment Study (AAPAS)
• Clarification of Interim Council Structure
• DISCLAIMER

Update on Legislative Efforts on GAO COLAs and GAO Reauthorization

On October 18th, IFPTE sent a letter to the Chairs of the House and Senate Legislative Appropriations Subcommittees requesting the inclusion of language in the Fiscal Year 2008 (FY-08) Legislative Branch Appropriations conference report guaranteeing all GAO workers the expected 3.5% Congressionally mandated COLA (the IFPTE letter can be accessed at www.gaoanalysts.org ).

IFPTE is concurrently working with Congressional Authorizers to address the issue of those GAO workers that did not receive COLAs in FY06 and/or FY07.   In particular, IFPTE is asking Authorizers to include language guaranteeing back COLAs, as well as other critical pay issues including but not limited to locality pay adjustment, through the Government Accountability Act of 2007.  IFPTE is contacting Members of Congress - namely Representative Danny K. Davis, Senator Joseph Lieberman, Senator Daniel Akaka,  and Senator Richard Durbin - on these compensation matters and all issues included in the GAO Reauthorization measure.

As both of these issues move through the process, IFPTE will continue to keep you apprised of the developments and the Union's work to bring GAO concerns before Congress.

GAO management invited the union to an initial briefing with the Ivy Planning Group, the company awarded the contract for the study GAO has commissioned regarding disparities in the job performance ratings averages between African American and Caucasian GAO employees.  Attached is a Project Overview handed out at the briefing. 

GAO union represented employees Mary Crenshaw (EWIS), crenshawm@gao.gov, LaSonya Roberts (FMCI) robertslr@gao.gov, and Angela Pleasants (PDP - Denver Field Office) pleasantsa@gao.gov, attended the briefing as designated union representatives, and raised employee concerns and posed employee questions.  The union has requested additional briefings as this study progresses, including briefings at least on the same schedule and scope as those provided to GAO management.  Additionally, the union will request documents related to this study as it progresses.  Employees should direct questions and concerns regarding the study to gaoanalysts@ifpte.org as well as the GAO employees listed above, who have agreed to attend future briefings on this study and represent employee interests.

Clarification on Interim Council Structure
Under the Interim Council structure as recommended, all PDP employees are grouped together for the purpose of electing 5 PDP representatives.  Only PDP employees are eligible to run for or vote for these 5 representatives.  Consequently PDP employees may vote for a total of 14 representatives, 5 to represent the PDP population, and 9 at-large representatives.

Get Active GAO Analysts Action Center - Give the IFPTE Feedback
As we get more volunteers, we have better ideas.  To assist Analysts in advancing their rights and representation within GAO, we have developed an advocacy tool to allow Analysts to send feedback on local union governance matters.  GAO Analysts are encouraged to sign up for the GAO Analysts Action Center if they haven't already done so.