Good Afternoon,

[UNION]
Last Week for Nominations for Officers; Upcoming Candidate Forum and Briefings on GAO Act - from GAOanalysts.org

BAND TOGETHER
COMMUNIQUÉ

November 24, 2008
 
Union Notices
 
Nominations for Officers Close at 8:00 PM EST on November 28
Forum for Candidates Running for Officer Positions on December 2
HCO Briefings for Employees Eligible for Payment Under the GAO Act
How Do I Join the Union?

Candidates are asked to develop a nomination statement that will be printed in the Voters Guide for Officer Positions. Candidates should use these statements to describe their experience, knowledge of the issues, willingness to serve, and motivation for seeking office. If a candidate does not submit a statement, the phrase "candidate did not submit nomination statement" will appear by their name in the Voters Guide. The Elections Committee will process nominations and will produce the Voters Guide no later than December 3.  For further details on the open positions, the campaign and the election, please view the attached documents.

Forum for Candidates Running for Officer Positions on December 2
On December 2 at 12:00 noon EST in Room 2N30 a forum for the candidates running for officer positions in the Union will be held.  This forum will be transmitted to the Regional Offices via VTC.  This forum will be a time for the candidates to interact and discuss ideas related to the future of the Union.  More details regarding the forum will be forthcoming via email. 

HCO Briefings for Employees Eligible for Payment Under the GAO Act
HCO has scheduled briefings for employees eligible for payments under the GAO Act that will cover the schedule for processing payments and will explain how amounts have been calculated.  The Union will have two designated representatives (Jacqueline Harpp (harppj@gao.gov) and Jonathan Tumin (tuminj@gao.gov)) attend these briefings and will be available to answer any questions if you are not able to attend one of the four briefings offered by GAO.  The briefings are scheduled for:
 
December 1, 2008 from 2:00 - 3:30 for headquarters and field staff - Auditorium & VTC
December 2, 2008 from 11:00 - 12:30 for headquarters staff only - Auditorium
December 2, 2008 from 3:00 - 4:30 for field staff only - VTC
December 4, 2008 from 11:00 - 12:30 for headquarters and field staff - Auditorium & VTC

On December 5, HCO will be sending each eligible employee his or her individual calculation by email.  If you have any questions feel free to contact Jacqueline Harpp or Jonathan Tumin. 

How Do I Join the Union?
To join the Union, just fill out a membership form and give the form to an Interim Council representative.  You can also email the membership form to gaounionmembership@ifpte.org. If you chose to have dues deducted automatically, you need to fill out an additional form (GAO Form 676), which you can email to Workforcerelations@gao.gov or give to an Interim Council representative.  Field office staff can email or pouch the dues deduction form to Workforce Relations or give to an Interim Council representative. Information on the membership application and payment options and applicable forms are available on the GAO Union website at http://www.gaoanalysts.org.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact Chris Langford (langfordc@gao.gov or 202-512-6535), Chair of the Membership Committee.

If you have already joined the Union--thanks!--you should have received an e-mail acknowledging receipt of your forms. We are excited with our membership levels so far, but we want everyone to "join the band!"

Please Give Us Your Feedback and Contributions
Although the regular Communiqué is now a bi-weekly, the Communications Committee would still like your feedback regarding articles you'd like to see, questions you'd like answered, or any other suggestions!  Please send your feedback to Charlie Willson (willsonc@gao.gov).  If you would like the next Communiqué to include a Union-related announcement or the time and place of a Union-related meeting, please forward the information to Lise Levie (leviel@gao.gov) by 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 4, to be considered for the next Communiqué. 
 

Union Contacts
If you have questions or comments, or need assistance from the Union, please email your Interim Council Representative.  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 normally meets each Wednesday at 3:30 PM ET in room 2T59, however no meeting is scheduled for this week due to the Thanksgiving Holiday.  Thus, the next meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 3.

Union's Official Address for Confidential Mail
Did you know that you can mail items to the union without going through GAO?  The union now has a U.S. Post Office box for anyone who wants to be sure of confidentiality when sending mail to the union--for example, checks for payment of union dues.  Please send mail to the following address:
 
GAO Employees Organization
P.O. Box 50236
Washington, DC  20091-0236
 
If you are sending in checks, please also put "Attention: Treasurer" on the envelope.

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.