BAND TOGETHER
COMMUNIQUÉ

Nominations Sought for Finance Committee

The GAO Employees Association is currently seeking nominations for the Finance Committee.  The committee will have nine members, five who are members of the Interim Council (IC) and four Bargaining Unit (BU) Members.  Treasurer Kristi Karls will fill one of the IC positions, so four IC and four BU positions need to be filled.  If more than four apply for either the IC or BU positions, the IC will vote to select members.  If you are interested in serving on the committee, please send an e-mail to Elections Committee Chair Todd D. Anderson indicating that you are nominating yourself for a position on the committee. You may also include a statement about why you are seeking the position, but it is not required.  The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, August 8th at 8 p.m. eastern time.  If you have any questions about the committee, please contact Kristi Karls.

Update on Government Accountability Office Act of 2008 - Passes Senate

On August 1, 2008, the Senate passed the Government Accountability Office Act of 2008, H.R. 5683, with an amendment by unanimous consent.  The Senate version provides for a 4 percent increase to the retroactive payments to be provided to affected staff. The Senate version also includes clarifying language regarding retroactive payments and provides that retirement contributions that affected employees would have made during the retroactive period will be deducted from the retroactive lump sum payments affected employees will receive.  The bill now goes back to the House for approval.

Bill Introduced Regarding the PAB
On August 1, 2008, Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced the Legislative Branch Appeals Procedural Consolidation Act of 2008.  This bill provides for independent review of complaints by transferring jurisdiction from the GAO Personnel Appeals Board to the Office of Compliance, which handles such matters for all other legislative branch employees. As reported in the July 28, 2008 Communique, the Interim Council has established a work group to evaluate issues surrounding the GAO Personnel Appeals Board.

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, August 7th, 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.