BAND
TOGETHER
COMMUNIQUÉ
July 28,
2008
Union Notices
Interim Dues Structure
Ratified, with 75 Percent of Votes
Volunteers
Needed for Work Group to Evaluate the Personnel Appeals Board
We Want Your
Feedback
Call for Communiqué
Contributions
Union
Contacts
Get Active Action Center – Give the
IFPTE Feedback
DISCLAIMER
Interim Dues Structure
Ratified, with 75 Percent of Votes
The bargaining unit approved the interim dues
structure with the approval of 75 percent of those voting. Almost half of eligible
bargaining unit employees participated in the vote (834 of an
estimated 1800) with 627 voting to ratify the proposal and 207
voting against ratification.
As a next step, the Interim Council (IC) will begin
paying dues as soon as possible, in order to carry out a "beta
test" of the automatic dues collection process. As soon as this "beta
test" is complete, we will initiate the GAO Union membership
drive. However,
unless you are an IC member, you will not pay dues until after
the Constitution has been ratified later this summer, even if
you sign a membership form now. Also note that all bargaining
unit employees, regardless of Union membership, will be able to
take part in the Constitution ratification vote. Keep an eye out
for future communication and details on the benefits of Union
membership.
For
those who voted against this proposal, please take a moment to
share your concerns regarding the dues structure by contacting
your IC representative or sending an e-mail to gaoanalysts@ifpte.org
Volunteers Needed for Work Group to Evaluate the
Personnel Appeals Board
Effective immediately, the
Interim Council needs volunteers for a work group to evaluate
issues surrounding GAO’s Personnel Appeals Board (PAB),
which adjudicates disputes between employees and GAO management.
Some GAO employees, as well as a retired PAB general counsel,
have expressed concerns about the extent of PAB’s
independence from GAO management, as well as the difficulty
navigating internal and external processes when working with the
PAB. There is Congressional interest in making changes to the
existing PAB structure, and members of the Legislative Committee
have attended meetings with Hill staff to discuss this.
The IC extends an invitation to
members of the bargaining unit with particular expertise and
interest in merit systems protection processes to participate in
the Union’s work group,
which will include members of the Legislative and Grievance
Committees.
The group will aim to
develop a brief paper with recommendations for the consideration
of Congress by mid-September. If
you are interested in participating in this work group, or have
any questions, please contact Henry Sutanto (Diversity,
Non-Designated) at sutantoh@gao.gov.
We Want Your
Feedback
The
Communications Committee 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 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 Lesia Mandzia (HC) or Lise Levie
(EWIS) by 6 p.m.
ET on Thursday, July 24th, for inclusion in the next
edition.
Union
Contacts
If you have questions or comments, or need
assistance from the Union,
please email your Interim Council representative (listed
below). You can
also send questions and comments to ICquestions@gaoanalysts.org.
Members of the bargaining unit are welcome to observe
Interim Council meetings, either in person or by phone. In addition, members are
invited to submit or share thoughts at the beginning of the
meeting. Please contact your representative or another member of
the IC for more details, including the call-in number for those
who cannot attend in person. The Interim Council meets
each Wednesday at 3:30
PM ET in room 2T59.
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, IFPTE has developed an advocacy tool to allow
Analysts to provide feedback to the Union. GAO Analysts are encouraged to sign
up for the Action Center if they haven't
already done so at www.Unionvoice.org/gaoanalysts/home.html.
DISCLAIMER - Communications that are
not sent directly from the IFPTE or the GAO Union Interim
Council, 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.
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