AFGE Week in Review (Dec. 24, 2009)

Posted by admin in News You Can Use on January 6, 2010
AFL-CIO Members Flock in Droves to Airports in Support of TSOs, AFGE: Pilots, flight attendants, machinists, airline and airport workers were among the AFL-CIO-affiliated union members who gathered at 31 airports across the country last week to show support for Transportation Security Officers and the American Federation of Government Employees as AFGE and TSOs are in their final push for collective bargaining rights. Members of unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO – a federation of 57 national and international unions and the most powerful labor group in the country – turned out en masse during AFGE’s National TSO Solidarity Week. At the rallies, local AFL-CIO leaders took turns giving speeches supporting AFGE as the best union for TSOs and stressing the need for labor rights, better pay, and an end to the Performance Accountability and Standards System (PASS).

The following were some of the unions present at the rallies: the Airline Pilots Association, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, the International Association of Machinists, Teamsters, Steelworkers, SEIU, AFSCME, Unite Here, Ironworkers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the American Federation of Teachers, Steelworkers, CA Faculty Association, and Roofers.

New Law Suspends Pending A-76 Studies at Defense: President Barack Obama Dec.19 signed into law the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act which has a provision suspending all pending outsourcing studies at the Defense Department. The provision, urged by AFGE, comes as DoD insisted on carrying out pending studies even though every federal agency was forbidden earlier this year from starting new studies due to many problems. In response, DoD just announced the cancellation of all A-76 studies except three being conducted by the Navy, a finished study at Miramar and two studies in progress. Friendly congressional staff expect DoD to stop the Navy studies as well.

Agencies to Check Employees’ Credit History Before Issuing Charge Cards: According to the 2010 omnibus spending bill signed into law last week, federal agencies now must check the credit history of every employee before issuing them a government charge card. The requirement comes after the Government Accountability Office found abuse and waste by employees using these cards.

“Each executive department and agency shall evaluate the credit worthiness of an individual before issuing the individual a government travel charge card,” the law states. “Such evaluations for individually billed travel charge cards shall include an assessment of the individual’s consumer report from a consumer reporting agency. The department or agency may not issue a government travel charge card to an individual that either lacks a credit history or is found to have an unsatisfactory credit history as a result of this evaluation. This restriction shall not preclude issuance of a restricted-use charge, debit, or stored value card.”

AFGE Blasts USA Today over Pay Gap Story: AFGE President John Gage sent the following letter to the editor to USA Today:  

“It was disappointing to see the article “For feds, more get 6-figure salaries.” USA Today’s “analysis” spun data from the Office of Personnel Management to paint a lopsided, misleading picture of today’s federal workforce. Federal employees whose annual salaries are about $150,000 make up 2.8% of the federal workforce. The top earners in the federal government include the doctors who care for our nation’s veterans, the scientists making breakthroughs in crops that would increase the safety and reliability of the world’s food supply, and the researchers who work to find ways to defend our soldiers from improvised explosive devices and chemical warfare. The misleading presentation of data in USA TODAY’s report compares the very highest paid professionals in the federal government with private sector averages. Does USA TODAY believe that private sector wages for work in retail, manufacturing, construction and so on should match the market rate for doctors, scientists and lawyers?

The fact is that when it comes to averages, federal employees as a whole are underpaid relative to their private sector counterparts in nearly all parts of the country. The average pay gap, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is 25% with the advantage going to private sector employees – not hardworking and dedicated federal employees.”

Inside Government: Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., highlighted his public jobs bill last week on AFGE’s radio program, Inside Government. Congressman Ellison’s Put America to Work Act of 2009 (H.R. 4268) would create 1 million jobs nationwide in the public and non-profit sectors and focus on critical infrastructure and revitalization projects. The $40 billion initiative has attracted support from 49 other members of Congress. Listeners then heard from AFGE National Benefits Coordinator Mark Williams, who detailed the new Super Guarantee Program and Medical Bill Negotiation Service.

Also appearing on the show were AFGE Federal Protective Service Local 918 President David Wright and AFGE Communications Director Enid Doggett. Wright addressed the House Homeland Security Committee’s November hearing on the challenges at FPS, including an over-reliance on contract security personnel. Doggett summarized her department’s efforts throughout the last year, including a recap of “Inside Government,” communications strategies for AFGE’s fight to secure collective bargaining rights for Transportation Security Officers and the battle against the National Security Personnel System.

Inside Government, hosted by AFGE Assistant General Counsel J. Ward Morrow, is a one-hour weekly nationwide radio/Internet program dedicated to issues that impact federal and D.C. government employees. The show airs each Friday at 10 a.m. on Federal News Radio 1500 AM in Washington, D.C. and online at www.federalnewsradio.com. Programs are archived on the Federal News Radio Web site and can be heard on demand at http://www.afge.org/insidegovernment. Please note there will be a short advertisement prior to the start of the program. Listeners also can follow the program on Facebook (”AFGE Inside Government”) and Twitter (afgeradioshow). For more information, please e-mail InsideGovernment@afge.org or go to www.federalnewsradio.com.

AFGE Week in Review will return after the New Year. Happy Holidays everyone!