Interim Union Dues Proposed

Rules Committee Update

Volunteers Needed

We Want Your Feedback

Call for Contributions

Union Contacts

Get Active Action Center – Give the IFPTE Feedback

DISCLAIMER

• If the interim dues are ratified, they will be temporary. Once we ratify our Union Constitution, there will be a more thorough review of our income and expenses to determine a more precise dues structure.
• Please note that your vote to ratify the dues does NOT make you a member of our union nor oblige you to pay dues. If this interim dues structure is ratified by a majority of those who vote, employees wishing to become dues-paying members of our Union will need to fill out a membership card.
• These dues will allow our union to start covering its own expenses, such as insurance and legal services, that other IFPTE locals have been funding for the past year or so.

In the coming weeks, more detailed information will be provided – as well as brown bag sessions – to allow you to make an informed decision about the benefits and responsibilities of union membership and union dues.

Benefits of a Union Contract Include Grievance and Arbitration Assistance

One of the important benefits of having a union contract is a binding dispute resolution process known as "grievance and arbitration."  This process would be created after negotiations between the GAO Union and GAO management culminate in a binding contract. 

A grievance is a complaint by an individual employee, the union or the employer, and may concern such issues as:

• a violation of a GAO Order or of a law protecting employees (e.g. antidiscrimination laws),
• employee health and safety,
• performance and promotion decisions,
• employee discipline, or
• substantive rights granted by the union contract, among other things.   

This dispute resolution process is designed to encourage employees, managers, and the GAO Union and GAO management to work through differences in a positive and productive manner. 

The process also provides for neutral third party adjudication-- i.e. Arbitration--if disputes cannot be resolved by agreement.  Arbitration is an adjudication process that relies upon professional arbitrators to hold evidentiary hearings and render decisions that are binding on all parties to the arbitration. 

However, in order to provide the benefit of a contract Grievance and Arbitration procedure, the union has to pay certain costs on behalf of its members.  Among the most significant expenses are the cost of professional services, such as legal advice and representation, mediators and arbitrators.  The union will typically engage legal counsel for advice and where appropriate, appear on the union’s behalf.  In the event the parties use a mediator to assist in grievance settlement or an arbitrator to adjudicate a grievance that can not be settled, the union and management will split the professional service fees charged by the mediator or arbitrator.  It should be noted that the GAO Union’s elected leaders are ultimately responsible for determining whether to pursue employee or union complaints that would involve the expenditure of union funds, in order to ensure that the union’s financial resources are allocated in the best interests of the bargaining unit and on a fair, non-arbitrary and non-discriminatory basis.

Rules Committee Update

The Rules Committee welcomes Dan Kaneshiro (Band I), who volunteered to fill an open seat on the committee.  The other Rules Committee members continuing to serve are: Sonja Bensen (FMCI), Steve Berke (SI), Gina Ruidera Hoffman (Norfolk), Kristi Karls (FMA), Lesia Mandzia (HC), Jeff Miller (IAT), Heather Rasmussen (PDP), Mark Ryan (PDP), Lorene Sarne (ASM), and Ken Stockbridge (Diversity/Non-Designated).

Volunteers Needed

Annual Feedback Survey Working Group

The Union has been notified that GAO is preparing to conduct its annual employee feedback survey within the next few weeks, probably by mid-June.  We have heard concerns about the survey from bargaining unit members focused on the quality of the questions, comparability with other federal agency surveys, and ensuring confidentiality in its implementation and analysis.  To explore ways to address these concerns we have created an employee feedback working group and are seeking participants with particular interest and expertise in this topic.  If you are interested in participating please contact Lorene Sarne (ASM) at 202 512-3760 or Lise Levie (EWIS) at 202 512-7030 as soon as possible.

Web Volunteers

As noted in the May 19th Communiqué we are looking for volunteers (HQ and Field Offices) to help improve our web presence.  We need your help, even if you have not been involved in Union organizing to this point. The volunteers selected must be in the GAO bargaining unit and must be able to:

• meet (on phone or in-person) with the other Web volunteers, using personal, non-work time, mostly during non-business hours;
• work cooperatively to design and develop a high quality website;
• deal appropriately with sensitive information; and
• make timely progress on website goals. 

We are particularly interested in volunteers with prior web design and/or development experience.

If interested, please send a paragraph explaining your interest by Tuesday, June 3rd at 6 p.m. (ET) to Stephen Ulrich (HC).  Web volunteers will serve at least until a permanent Union structure is in place.

Election Committee

Election Committee Volunteers Needed:  The GAO Employees Organization is forming our first formal Election Committee and we would really like you to think about volunteering.  Since the positions will be open to bargaining unit members, but not members of the interim council, your help would be most appreciated.  A minimum of one position is reserved for field office staff.  More details about the application process will be forthcoming next week, but in the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Sonja Bensen (FMCI) or Lise Levie  (EWIS).

We Want Your Feedback

We would like your feedback regarding articles you'd like to see, questions you’d like answered, or any other suggestions. Do you have a question or concern that you think others in the bargaining unit might share? Do you have a perspective on Union-management relations that you think might provide insight to others in the bargaining unit? Do you have an idea for a regular column? Do you know someone who should be receiving the newsletter, but isn’t?  This type of feedback will help to make the newsletter relevant and keep us from becoming just another “Delete” item in your mailbox!  Please send your comments to Lesia Mandzia (HC) or Charlie Willson (EWIS).

Call for Communiqué Contributions

If you are scheduling a meeting or have an announcement that would be of interest to the bargaining unit, please forward the information to Lesia Mandzia (HC) or Lise Levie (EWIS) by 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 5th, for inclusion in the next edition of the Communique.