GAO ANALYSTS MESSAGING CENTER

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BAND TOGETHER
COMMUNIQUÉ 

November 2, 2007

Union Notices

  • Ratification of Interim Council Proposal

  • GC Memo on Use of Official Time for Union Elections

  • Call for COMMUNIQUÉ Contributions

  • Seeking Volunteers to Analyze Staff Performance Results

  • Committee Updates

  • GET ACTIVE Action Center

  • DISCLAIMER

 

Ratification of Interim Council Proposal

The proposed 39-seat Interim Council Structure has been ratified. Of 387 ballots received from GAO bargaining unit employees, 321 ballots concurred with the proposed structure and 66 ballots did not concur with the proposed structure. For more information, please go to www.gaoanalysts.org, under the menu item “Interim Governance.”

 

GC Memo on Use of Official Time for Union Elections

On November 1, 2007, GAO’s General Counsel issued a memorandum informing staff of restrictions on the use of official duty time for union election activities. The memo has been posted to GAO's Intranet site at http://weblogs.gao.gov/notices/archives/2007/11/use_of_official.html.

Call for COMMUNIQUÉ Contributions
The Communications Committee is soliciting contributions to the GAO union’s official newsletter. If you are scheduling a union-related meeting or have a union-related announcement and would like to ensure that the information is circulated throughout the bargaining unit, please forward the information to Shaunessye Curry (Chicago, currys@gao.gov ) or Regina Santucci (HQ, santuccir@gao.gov) by 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. CT) on Thursday, November 8 for inclusion in the next edition. The members of the Communications Committee are Shaunessy Curry (Chicago), Regina Santucci (HQ), John Bumgarner (Norfolk), Angela Pleasants (Denver), Rod Rodgers (GQ) and Kathryn Smith (HQ).

 

Seeking Volunteers to Analyze Staff Performance Results

The union is seeking volunteers with advanced skills in quantitative data analysis and statistical modeling to explore a possible data request and analysis of demographic disparities in ratings, performance scores, and/or promotions for GAO staff. If you would like to be involved in this effort, please contact Beverly Ross (HQ, rossba@gao.gov ) or Barry Kirby (Chicago, kirbyb@gao.gov ). 

 

Committee Updates

Legislative Committee - The Legislative Committee sent comments on the Comptroller General’s proposed “Human Capital III” legislation (HR 3268: The Government Accountability Act of 2007) to the Hill today (November 2, 2007). The comments and legislation are provided at www.gaoanalysts.org and will be sent by email to the bargaining unit. The committee plans to host a brown bag lunch to brief staff on the provisions of the legislation.  Stay tuned for more details.  Please contact any of the members of the Legislative Committee with any questions you may have.  The members of the Legislative Committee are Dan Meyer (Chicago, meyerd@gao.gov), Jacqueline Harpp (HQ, harppj@gao.gov), and Ronald La Due Lake (HQ, laduelaker@gao.gov).

 

AAPAS Committee - The African American Performance Assessment Study (AAPAS) Committee reports that, in response to union requests, the AAPAS contractor, the Ivy Planning Group, will provide the union with an interim briefing on the status of the study after phase two of the three-phase study. In addition, the union will receive the final report that Ivy provides to GAO's Executive Committee. The members of the AAPAS Committee are Mary Crenshaw (HQ, crenshawm@gao.gov), George Duncan (HQ, duncang@gao.gov), Angela Pleasants (Denver, pleasantsa@gao.gov), and LaSonya Roberts (HQ, robertslr@gao.gov).

 

Elections Committee - The Election Committee reports that the Notice of Election for Interim Council, together with an Election Timetable and Election Rules will be distributed by email on Monday, November 5, 2007.  The notice will include instructions for submitting nominations.  The Election Committee is still looking for volunteers.  Several individuals have expressed interest in serving on the Election Committee, but more volunteers are needed across all teams and field offices.  To volunteer, please contact Paul Wright (HQ, wrightp@gao.gov) or Terry Saiki (Seattle, saikit@gao.gov).

 

Get Active 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 Action Center if they haven't already done so.  Recent messages from GAO Analysts.

DISCLAIMER - Communications that are not sent directly from the IFPTE, or communications posted anonymously on the web, do not represent the views of IFPTE or the official position of the collective members of the GAO bargaining unit.