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May 18, 2012 NFFE Signs Statement of Support for Employer Support of Guard and Reserve; Encourages Local Participation Thursday, NFFE National President William R. Dougan joined David L. McGinnis, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, to sign a statement support for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). ESGR is a Department of Defense office dedicated to protecting the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 18, 2012 Attempt to Ban Official Time for Protecting Employees Falters After Pressure From Workers A recent amendment targeting official time, an essential component of effective labor-management relations in the federal sector, was defeated in the House of Representatives this week after an intense call-in and lobbying campaign from federal employees. The proposed amendment would have... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 18, 2012 Photos from the 2012 IAM Legislative Conference Are Now Available. See Them Here! Another legislative conference is in the books and hundreds of NFFE-IAM members are returning home from a very successful week of lobbying their elected officials in Washington, D.C. This legislative conference saw speeches from some of the most prominent figures in politics with appearances by... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 16, 2012 ACTION ALERT: May 16th Tell House to Vote NO on Amendment 38 to Ban Official Time Once again, politicians are trying to beat up on federal employees and their unions by eliminating official time for union representatives. This time is used to represent employees in grievance proceedings, unfair labor practices, and discrimination investigations. Without it, many will suffer.... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 16, 2012 ACTION ALERT: TODAY Tell the House of Representatives to Vote NO on Amendment 38 to Ban Official Time Once again, politicians are trying to beat up on federal employees and their unions by eliminating official time for union representatives. This time is used to represent employees in grievance proceedings, unfair labor practices, and discrimination investigations. Without it, many will suffer.... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 16, 2012 Senate Committee Approves Bill Extending Benefits to Same Sex Partners of Federal Employees The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs today passed S. 1910, a bill to extend federal benefits to same sex partners of federal employees. Formally known as the Federal Employees Domestic Partner Benefits and Obligations Act, the newly approved measure seeks to open... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 11, 2012 Five Percent Increase in Employee Pension Contributions Passes House Thursday, a bill containing a five percent increase in federal worker pension contributions passed the House of Representatives, bringing with it considerable risk for already cash-strapped federal families. Introduced by Republican Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), the Sequester... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 11, 2012 NFFE Position Papers for 2012 Legislative Conference Now Available! As you know, the 2012 IAM Legislative Conference is just around the corner. Next week, hundreds of NFFE-IAM members from across the country will come to Washington, D.C. and talk federal worker issues with their members of Congress. NFFE’s Legislative Department has assembled these position... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 10, 2012 A Letter From the Desk of the President: Honoring Our Nurses It is only appropriate that this week, in addition to recognizing public servants, we also recognize our nation’s dedicated nurses. As I write you today, tens of millions of nurses across America and the world are sharing with their fellow man an essential, yet rare, commodity: care. This... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 9, 2012 DC Young Trade Unionists Offer Scholarship for Course on Women in the Labor Movement The DC Young Trade Unionists are offering a scholarship for a young woman interested in attending the UALE Northeast Summer School for Union Women at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The program aims to “strengthen their students’ knowledge and understanding of the U.S. labor movement,... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 7, 2012 From the Desk of the President: Quietly Making the Difference More so than any Pubic Service Recognition Week I can remember, federal employees are feeling uncertain about what the future holds. It seems like every week a new attack on their pay, benefits, or jobs emerges from the media and Capitol Hill, casting a dark shadow over their work lives. In this... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 3, 2012 Proposed Bill Would Boost Automatic TSP Contributions to 5% for New Hires According to a recent article in the Federal Times, Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) plans to introduce a bill increasing the Thrift Savings Plan’s (TSP) automatic employee enrollment contribution rate from 3% to 5% for new hires. The increased contribution would automatically be invested into the G Fund... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 1, 2012 Deadline Fast Approaching for 2012 IAM Newsletter and Website Contest; Enter Your Publication Today! Don't forget that the deadline for the 2012 IAM Newsletter & Website Contest is rapidly approaching. All submissions must be received by the IAM Communications Department by Friday, May 11, 2012. The contest is open to all local and district lodges in good standing having publications that are... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 30, 2012 Government Gives Top Contractor Bosses $30,000 Raise in 2011; Sets Reimbursement Cap at $723,029 At a time when pay is frozen, retirement benefits are being trimmed, and massive job cuts are on the table, this story is certain to make every federal employee across America jump out of their seat. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) recently announced that reimbursement rates for... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 29, 2012 Congratulations to Morgan Huffman on Winning an IAMAW Scholarship! NFFE is proud to announce that Morgan Huffman, son of NFFE Local 1861 Herbert Huffman, was chosen as a winner of this year’s IAMAW Scholarship competition! The Executive Council of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) have selected Ms. Huffman out of a pool... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 26, 2012 Senate Votes to Slash Federal Workers' Compensation Program The Senate Tuesday rejected an amendment to the Postal Reform Bill that would have protected the federal employees’ workers compensation program. Failing by a vote of 46-53, Sen. Daniel Akaka’s (D-HI) Amendment 2034 sought to remove harmful language scaling back workers compensation benefits from... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 24, 2012 House Committee Approves Measure Permitting Semi-Retirement; Allows Employees to Roll Excess Leave into TSP The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform last week approved a bill, H.R. 4363, that would give federal workers approaching retirement the option to work part time before ending their career. An amendment to the measure would also allow for federal retirees to roll the value of their... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 23, 2012 Federal Retirement Critics Eat Crow as OPM Report Finds FERS Running Massive Surplus Many federal employee critics are quick to suggest that federal retirement benefits are bloated, overly generous, and unnecessary. Others are calling for their immediate repeal, and instead replacing them with defined contribution 401(k) plans. On Monday, however, the anti-federal retirement... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 20, 2012 Senate Budget Chairman Introduces Budget Proposal Including Deep Federal Workforce Cuts In an unexpected move Tuesday, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) reintroduced the Simpson-Bowles Plan as his committee’s budget resolution, rather than creating a new budget framework, as expected. Though the chairman himself has admitted the proposal is dead on arrival, he is... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 16, 2012 Get the Latest NFFE News and Updates on Our New Twitter Page: @NFFE_Union! The NFFE National Office is proud to announce that the union is taking its fight for federal worker rights to a new frontier on the web: Twitter. For those of you who are not familiar, Twitter is a social media site where users can connect with one another and share thoughts, stories, news, and... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 16, 2012 NFFE Forest Service Council Holds Training for Local Officers, Stewards in Wisconsin Twenty-seven NFFE Forest Service Council (FSC) officers and stewards met in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, April 10-12 for basic training in labor relations. A blend of new stewards and officers, in addition to a few, let’s say “seasoned” veterans, provided a great mix of energy and experience.... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 12, 2012 National President Dougan Talks Federal Jobs, Pay with News Channel 8’s Capital Insider Wednesday, NFFE National President William R. Dougan joined Washington, D.C. News Channel 8’s Morris Jones to discuss House Republican Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s FY 2013 budget proposal. As NFFE reported last week, the Ryan budget proposes $368 billion in federal workforce cuts by freezing pay... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 6, 2012 FEEA Stands Ready to Help Victims of Texas Tornadoes (A Message from FEEA) This week’s tornadoes devastated communities across North Texas and the forecast across much of the Midwest leaves the possibility of more severe storms in the coming days. FEEA reminds federal employees that disaster grants and no-interest emergency loans are available. If... Federal Employees Education & Assistance Fund more...
Apr 6, 2012 60 Minutes Investigates Devastating Impact of Federal Job Cuts on Florida Community; Could Your Community Be Next? This week, 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley investigated the impact of closing NASA’s space shuttle program on the citizens of Brevard County Florida – home of the Kennedy Space Center. Over several months of reporting, his findings were nothing short of devastating. Thousands of federal... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 5, 2012 NFFE-IAM Members Save Big with Union Plus; Find Out How You Can Start Saving Today! Did you know that as a NFFE-IAM member you have access to exclusive discounts on everything from auto insurance, to cell phone service, and family vacations? In fact, you have access to all of this and much, much more through Union Plus. Union Plus was created by the AFL-CIO to provide union... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 30, 2012 New 'Federal Employee' Newsletter Now Available! This year's first edition of the National Federation of Federal Employees' (NFFE) quarterly newsletter, the Federal Employee, is now available! Featuring an in-depth look at Congress' recent decision to cut $15 billion from federal pensions, NFFE examines other threats looming about your... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 30, 2012 House Passes GOP Budget Resolution Targeting Federal Pay, Jobs, and Retirement Thursday the House of Representative voted to approve an FY13 budget proposal containing a number of anti-federal worker provisions targeting pay, benefits, and jobs. The budget resolution, introduced the Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), passed by a mostly party-line vote of 228-191.... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 26, 2012 Interested in Starting a Newsletter at Your Local? Here’s Your How-To Guide! Newsletters are one of the most important communications tools a local union representative has in their toolbox. Local newsletters keep members and nonmembers informed of the union’s benefits, activities, and accomplishments. They substantially improve local visibility in the facility, making it... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 23, 2012 Reminder: 2012 IAM Legislative Conference Just Around the Corner Don’t forget that the 2012 IAM Legislative Conference is just around the corner. The annual conference will be held from Monday, May 14 until its adjournment at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 17 at the Hyatt Regency Washington, in Washington, DC. If your local is sending a delegate to this year’s... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 15, 2012 NFFE Members Join 40,000 in March on Wisconsin Statehouse on First Anniversary of 2011 Madison Labor Demonstration “We’re baaaack!” shouted Phil Neuenfeldt, President of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, as he welcomed Union activists and supporters to the Capitol square in Madison on March 10th. Over 40,000 protesters marched on the anniversary of last year’s massive demonstrations objecting to Wisconsin Governor... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 14, 2012 Roberts Amendment to Extend Federal Pay Freeze Fails in Senate Vote Tuesday, the Senate blocked an amendment to extend the federal pay freeze through 2013, prompting many in the federal workforce community to breathe a sigh of relief. The amendment, introduced by Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), was defeated soundly by a vote of 41 for and 57 against, leaving the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 12, 2012 Show Your Union Pride; Visit the NFFE Online Store! NFFE’s online store provides a huge selection of custom NFFE promotional items for members. Stocked with everything from t-shirts and hoodies to coffee mugs and laptop cases, the NFFE store has everything you need to show your NFFE pride in the workplace and beyond. All of these items are 100%... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 12, 2012 Here We Go Again: Republican Senator Introduces Amendment to Extend Pay Freeze Through 2013 The latest chapter in the ongoing negotiations over the Senate Surface Transportation Bill has opened, and the story being told is one that we’ve heard time and time again. Late last week, Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) introduced an amendment to the massive piece of legislation extending the federal... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 9, 2012 Amendment “Easing Workers into Retirement” Approved in Senate Thursday, the Senate passed an amendment to allow federal workers nearing retirement to move to part-time schedules as their retirement date nears. The proposal allows employees to continue their normal jobs (with reduced hours) in addition to mentoring younger employees as they prepare to take... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 7, 2012 Reminder: 2012 IAM Legislative Conference Just Around the Corner Don’t forget that the 2012 IAM Legislative Conference is just around the corner. The annual conference will be held from Monday, May 14 until its adjournment at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 17 at the Hyatt Regency Washington, in Washington, DC. If your local is sending a delegate to this year’s... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 1, 2012 NFFE Announces Monthly Recruitment Awards for February 2012 NFFE’s monthly recruitment awards honor the hard work and dedication of locals that demonstrate exceptional performance in recruiting new members. Winners will receive a certificate commemorating their achievement. To learn more about what your local can do to improve its recruitment efforts,... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 23, 2012 Progress Continues on Extension of Benefits to Same-Sex Partners of Federal Employees Over the course of the past several years, the Obama Administration and Office of Personnel Management have been working toward the goal of benefit equality for same-sex partners of federal employees. In a recent Washington Post piece, columnist Joe Davidson details some of the many measures... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 21, 2012 Congress Agrees to Hike Employee Pension Costs: What this Means for Your Paycheck Last week, both House and Senate lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to increase the amount that federal employees contribute toward their FERS pension as part of a deal to extend the popular payroll tax cut. Though the deal impacts just recent and new hires, the possibility of all federal employees... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 16, 2012 Son of NFFE Member Tim Jones Seriously Wounded On Duty in Afghanistan; Please Consider Donating to Family's Assistance Fund Tim Jones, NFFE member and Army retiree on the Sawtooth National Forest, learned that his 21 year old son, Terence "Bo" Lonnie Jones, was severely injured in the line of duty while on a foot patrol in Southern Afghanistan, losing both of his legs as well as sustaining injuries to his left arm and... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 15, 2012 National President Dougan Pens Letter to House Opposing Bill with Serious Implications for Federal Retirement Benefits On behalf of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) and the 110,000 federal employees our union represents throughout the United States and abroad, I am writing to strongly oppose H.R. 3813, a bill that would require massive increases in contributions to pensions for current and... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 14, 2012 49th NFFE National Convention Call Officially Released This week, National Secretary-Treasurer William D. Fenaughty officially released the 49th NFFE National Convention Call, requesting that delegates join us to convene in Portland, Oregon this fall. Mailed to every NFFE local on February 13, 2012, the convention call packet should arrive at your... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 14, 2012 Five Locals Win Free Trips to Washington, D.C. for Legislative Conference as NFFE Announces 2011 Recruitment Awards The NFFE National Organizing Department is proud to announce the winners of the 2011 NFFE Recruitment Awards, an annual competition honoring our union’s most dedicated recruiters. Locals are selected for awards in two categories: most new members recruited (as indicated by total 1187’s... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 13, 2012 Attention FEEA Emergency Grant Recipients: FEEA Wants to Hear Your Story Today! grant from the Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund (FEEA) in the past three years? FEEA is looking for recent emergency assistance recipients to share their first-hand accounts of how a little help can make a big difference for feds in need. Help others get the help they need by sharing... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 13, 2012 NFFE Civilian Conservation Corps Leaders Meet With Congress, White House, on Future of Job Corps Centers Larry E. King, NFFE Forest Service Council Job Corps Vice President (CVP), and Lance A. Hamann, Local 1840 President, were in attendance at the National Job Corps Association (NJCA) annual legislative meeting held in Washington D.C. last week. NFFE is currently planning an ongoing organized... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 9, 2012 National President Dougan Talks Federal Retirement Cuts with Federal News Radio National President Dougan joined In Depth with Francis Rose on Federal News Radio earlier this week to discuss the serious retirement cuts being considered in Congress this week. Among the cuts proposed in the bill (H.R. 3813) are a 1.5% increase in the amount current employees pay toward their... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 9, 2012 REMINDER: 2012 IAM Scholarship Deadline is Fast Approaching The deadline for the 2012 IAM Scholarship Program’s application is approaching fast, and all NFFE-IAM members and families are encouraged to apply. All applications must be received by February 24, 2012. There are three different scholarship applications, one for each scholarship: the IAM Child... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 9, 2012 House Committee Votes to Triple Pension Contributions for Current Employees; Slash Benefits for New Hires The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform voted this week to advance a bill that would mandate FERS and CSRS employees increase their pension contributions and create a new federal retirement tier with even less affordable benefits. H.R. 3813 – also known as the “Securing Annuities... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 7, 2012 SURVEY: NFFE’s Young Federal Leaders Program Wants to Hear from You! At a time when resources are tight, workplaces are shrinking, and hundreds of thousands of federal employees are nearing retirement, it is important that young federal employees step up to the plate and take on leadership roles in their union. With NFFE’s emerging Young Federal Leaders (YFL)... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 7, 2012 National President Dougan Pens Letter to House Committee Urging Opposition to Federal Retirement Cuts Tuesday afternoon, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, a committee that writes laws governing the federal workforce, will consider a bill (H.R. 3813) with a serious impact on your retirement security. In response to this attack of your retirement benefits, NFFE National... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 6, 2012 Congress Targets Your Wallet Once Again with New Bills Freezing Step Increases; Reducing Workforce Two new bills targeting your pay and jobs were introduced last week, adding more measures to the litany of anti-federal worker bills already under consideration in Congress. As you recall, lawmakers voted to extend the federal pay freeze through 2013 on February 1st, sending the bill over to the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 3, 2012 National President Dougan Talks Pay Freeze Extension with NBC 4 News, Washington, DC Last night NFFE National President William R. Dougan joined NBC Channel 4 News here in Washington, DC to discuss this week’s House vote to extend the federal pay freeze. Watch as he joins reporter Erika Gonzalez to discuss the impact of a potential freeze on federal workers all across America.... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 2, 2012 Enroll Now for Federal Employees Programs at the IAM’s Winpisinger Education and Technology Center The IAM Government Employees Department is conducting two programs in the first half of 2012 at the William W. Winpisinger Education & Technology Center in Southern Maryland, and the enrollment deadline for both classes is approaching. First up is the “Federal Employees Collective Bargaining... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 1, 2012 ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress to Say NO to a Pay Freeze Extension Tonight Once again, Washington politicians are trying to reach into your wallet to pay for their mistakes. Tonight, February 1st, 2012, the House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 3835, a bill to extend the current pay freeze by another year. We need you to become a part of the solution and stand up... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 30, 2012 House to Vote on One-Year Pay Freeze Extension This Week Using Questionable Legislative Maneuver This Wednesday, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on H.R. 3835, a bill that would extend the two-year federal pay free by an additional year. Introduced by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) late Friday afternoon, the bill may be considered on such an expedited schedule due to a legislative... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 25, 2012 Your Retirement: Congress Debates Future of Federal Pension Benefits at House Hearing At a House Federal Workforce Subcommittee hearing Wednesday, Chairman Dennis Ross (R-FL) and Ranking Member Stephen Lynch (D-MA) were joined by a panel of experts to discuss the state of federal employee retirement benefits. Though no strong conclusions were reached, the debate focused sharply on... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 23, 2012 Major Change Coming as NFFE Shifts to New Model of Unionism with 2012 Organizing and Recruiting Strategic Plan This fall, NFFE leadership from throughout the country gathered at the IAM’s Winpisinger Center to develop a new plan for the future of our union’s organizing and recruitment efforts. By week’s end however, NFFE left the Center with a commitment to fundamentally transform the way our union does... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 19, 2012 SURVEY: NFFE Considering Retiree Program; Give Us Your Feedback! NFFE is considering the formation of a NFFE retirees program, and we would like to hear from you whether there is interest in this concept. A NFFE retiree program would be good thing for this union because many retired NFFE members want to remain connected with the union, but currently don’t have... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 17, 2012 Celebrating 50 Years of Collective Bargaining in the Federal Government In recognition of the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s signing of an Executive Order extending collective bargaining rights to federal employees, NFFE National President William R. Dougan issued the following statement: “Recognizing the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s Executive... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 12, 2012 Reconnect with Your Community with the New Service Toolkit! The labor movement has a long and proud tradition of community service. Well before we won a seat at the negotiation table, unions made it a priority to care for their sick and wounded, provide for the families of injured workers, and establish vibrant communities. Each day unionists continue to... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 11, 2012 New 'Federal Employee' Newsletter Now Available! Last year's fourth edition of NFFE's quarterly newsletter, the Federal Employee, is now available! Featuring a review of NFFE's fundamental shift in recruitment strategy, this issue looks into the possibilities presented by this whole new way of doing business. Click here to see what's inside. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 9, 2012 Applications for 2012 Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarships Now Available. Submit Yours Today! NFFE is proud to announce that applications for the 2012 Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarship competition are now available! Applicants for the scholarship must be a NFFE-IAM member in good standing or a spouse or child of a member in good standing. Dependant applicants should be full-time... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 3, 2012 Dougan Joins President Obama in Oval Office for ‘Flags for Feds’ Bill Signing Just before federal workers headed home for the holidays, National President Dougan joined President Barack Obama in the oval office on December 20th to deliver one final parting gift. That gift was the official presidential signing of the Civil Service Recognition Act, a bill authorizing federal... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 3, 2012 What is the Pay Freeze Costing You? Use This Handy Calculator to Find Out! Have you ever wondered how much the two-year federal pay freeze will cost you a year, ten years, or twenty years down the line? Concerned about what you would lose were Congress to succeed in freezing pay for another year? Thanks to our brothers and sisters at the International Federation of... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 2, 2012 IAM Announces Dates for 2012 Basic Newsletter Development Class This is the Official Call for the 2012 Basic Newsletter Development course at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center at Placid Harbor in Hollywood, Maryland. The class will be held March 18-23, and is the only Basic Newsletter Development course scheduled for 2012. The Basic... International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers more...
Jan 2, 2012 IAM Announces 2012 Photography Contest; Submit Your Photos Today! This is the official announcement of the 2012 IAM Photography Contest. It is open to all IAM members in good standing. Entries should catch IAM members at work in unposed photos. Winning entries will win a cash prize and will appear in the 2013 IAM Calendar. Two dollars from each calendar sale is... International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers more...
Jan 2, 2012 IAM Announces Opening of 2012 Newsletter and Website Contest; Enter Your Publication Today! This is the official announcement of the 2012 IAM Newsletter & Website Contest. It is open to all local and district lodges in good standing having publications that are regularly distributed or mailed to members and/or maintain regularly-updated IAM websites. This contest will consider... International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers more...
Dec 16, 2011 Congress Reaches Funding Agreement to Avoid Shutdown; Pay Freeze and Retirement Cuts Still in Limbo as Politicians Debate Payroll Tax Cut Extension Federal workers can breathe a sigh of relief because Congress was able to reach a tentative agreement to fund the government. The outlines of the agreement are still murky, but sources suggest that the measure will fund three-quarters of federal agencies through September of next year. Though... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 14, 2011 House Passes Republican Bill Freezing Federal Pay, Slashing Retirement; Obama Promises Veto Tuesday the House passed a Republican bill, H.R. 3630, which included a one-year pay freeze extension and major cuts to federal retirement benefits. The bill passed along a mostly party line vote of 234-193. Shortly before its passage, President Obama issued a Statement of Administration Policy... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 12, 2011 ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress You Are Not a Political Bargaining Chip! Here we go again. Washington politicians are trying to play politics with federal workers over extending the payroll tax cut. As you read this they are considering a pay freeze extension, cuts to your retirement plan, and the elimination of hundreds of thousands of federal jobs. Congress needs to... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 8, 2011 NFFE Joins Twenty-Five Federal Organizations in Letter Opposing Pay Freeze Extension, Staff Reductions Yesterday, NFFE and 25 other organizations representing federal workers and managers came together to send a letter to Capitol Hill urging elected officials to take pay freeze extensions and workforce reductions off the negotiating table. The letter – mailed to both party leaders in the House of... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 2, 2011 Bill to Freeze Federal Pay, Slash Workforce, Gets Soundly Defeated as Federal Unions Press Senate Wednesday evening, a flurry of activity in the federal labor community began as reports emerged that Republicans in the U.S. Senate would introduce a bill to pay for the extension of the payroll tax cut by freezing federal pay and reducing the workforce. The following morning, that proposal,... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 2, 2011 The Hill Op-Ed: GOP Effort to Freeze Federal Pay for Five Years Unfair by William R. Dougan Some Republicans in the Senate are pushing a proposal to extend the current pay freeze for federal employees another three years, for a total of five consecutive years, to offset the cost of extending the payroll tax credit. While we agree that continuing this middle class tax cut is an absolute... The Hill more...
Nov 28, 2011 President Obama Reauthorizes Labor Management Partnership Executive Order Federal workers and managers had much to give thanks for this holiday as President Obama announced Wednesday his reauthorization of a 2010 executive order calling for labor-management partnerships throughout the government. The President announced that the labor-management partnership order would... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 22, 2011 Broken Government: Super Committee Fails to Reach a Deal on Reducing Deficits, Major Fallout for Federal Workers Expected Yesterday the Congressional Super Committee, a bipartisan group of 12 legislators tasked with finding $1.2 trillion in spending reductions by November 23rd, officially threw in the towel. You heard that correctly – two days before their deadline was reached they decided that burning the midnight... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 16, 2011 NFFE Recognized With Ten Awards in 2011 IAM Newsletter and Website Contest Yesterday, the IAM announced the winners of the 2011 Newsletter and Website Contest, an annual competition that recognizes excellence in print and digital union publications. Building on the past two years' stellar performances, NFFE locals and the national office again came out strong, winning a... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 11, 2011 A Veteran's Day Message From the Desk of the President Veterans Day is a day of remembrance to honor America's veterans, living and dead, for their sacrifice in serving our country. We remember and honor those who stepped up when circumstances demanded and answered the call to defend our country and protect the rights and privileges we all continue... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 10, 2011 FEEA by the Numbers: Feds Helping Feds in Need Did you know that half of all pledges to FEEA CFC #11185 stay where they’re donated? The Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund depends on CFC pledges to fund the majority of its annual scholarship program and makes sure at least 50% of the money donated in each of FEEA’s 27 regions stays... Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund more...
Nov 4, 2011 Key House Committee Passes Measure to Cut Federal Jobs by 10% Over Three Years As the holiday the season draws nearer, it looks like there will be little to be cheerful about for federal employees watching Congress. On Thursday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government reform approved H.R. 3029, a bill that would reduce the federal workforce by 200,000 jobs by 2015.... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 3, 2011 National President Dougan Writes Letter to House Committee Opposing “Critical Blow” of Proposed Federal Job Cuts This morning NFFE National President William R. Dougan wrote a letter to the members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform urging them to oppose a measure they will be considering today, which would slash 200,000 federal jobs by 2015. Introduced by South Carolina Republican... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 2, 2011 Cut-Off Dates Near for Federal Employees Classes at the Winpisinger Center The IAM Government Employees Department is conducting two programs in January 2012 at the William W. Winpisinger Education & Technology Center in Southern Maryland, and the enrollment deadline for both classes is approaching. First up is the “Federal Employees Basic Program” being held Jan.... International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers more...
Oct 31, 2011 IAM Announces 2012 Communications Trainings at the Winpisinger Center This week the IAM officially announced a number of exciting communications trainings for union members. Hosted at the William W. Winpisinger Education & Technology Center in Hollywood, MD, the IAM will host four separate trainings for over a hundred NFFE-IAM members throughout the new year. The... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 31, 2011 NFFE Local 2109 Claims First Place in 2011 IAM Photo Contest NFFE is proud to congratulate the members of NFFE Local 2109 at the Watervliet Arsenal in Watervliet, NY, who came in First Place with their submission to the annual IAM Photo Competition. The winning photo was taken by long-time Local 2109 member and arsenal employee William Martin. Featuring... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 27, 2011 NFFE NVP Timothy Ostrowski Joins Rep. Paul Tonko to Put an End to Wasteful Spending on Overpaid Contractor Executives Last week, NFFE National Vice President Timothy Ostrowski joined House Representative Paul Tonko (D-NY) at a press conference in Troy, NY announcing the Congressman’s support for the Stop Excessive Payments to Government Contractors Act of 2011, H.R. 2090, a bill that would lower the cap on... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 26, 2011 New NFFE-IAM Federal Workers Video Now Available Online; Watch it Here! NFFE is proud to announce the online debut of the IAM’s latest federal employees video. Featuring NFFE-IAM members from San Francisco to New York and everywhere in between, the video shines a much-deserved spotlight on the invaluable contributions that federal employees make to our nation’s... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 21, 2011 Federal Retirees to See First COLA Increase in Two Years For the first time in two years, our nation’s 1.9 million retired civil service employees will receive a cost of living adjustment. Consistent with the release of September’s Consumer Price Index figures, most federal retirees will receive a COLA of 3.6%. After two years of deflationary pressure... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 19, 2011 Union Leadership Gathers at Winpisinger Center to Review Organizing Strategic Plan; Plot New Direction for NFFE (Photos) Last week, leaders from throughout NFFE gathered at the IAM’s William W. Winpisinger Center in Placid Harbor, MD, to discuss the possibility of fundamental change to our Union’s organizing and recruiting strategy. The timing for a revised organizing strategic plan could not be better: Today... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 18, 2011 House Republicans Tell Super Committee to Slash $375 Billion in Federal Worker Pay and Benefits, Jobs In a letter to the congressional “super committee” last week, House Committee on Oversight and Government Darrell Issa (R-CA) laid out a long list of proposals targeting federal workers for huge cuts to their jobs, pay, and benefits. The recommendations, which read like a ‘greatest hits’ album of... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 18, 2011 Congressional Democrats Rally to Defend Besieged Federal Workers; Independent Senator Targets Pay, Retirement As House Republicans issued a letter calling for massive reductions in federal pay, benefits, and workforce size last week, Congressional Democrats sent a letter of their own calling for “super committee” members to defend federal workers from the irresponsible cuts. The first to speak up was... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 5, 2011 Health Premiums for Federal Employees to Increase 3.8% in 2012 The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced last week that federal workers’ health care premiums will increase by 3.8 percent next year. The increase will cost employees an additional $4.25 per pay period on average, or $110.50 in total new payments per year. For federal employees entering... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 4, 2011 An Urgent Message on Protecting American Jobs You don’t hear from me often. I spend most of my time on Capitol Hill, meeting with members of Congress, making the voices of working people heard in front of lawmakers and educating them about what’s important. But today, I have a really important favor to ask of you. It will take about three... AFL-CIO Legislative Department more...
Oct 3, 2011 Survey Shows Government Contractor Bosses Make 70 Percent More than Federal Executives On the heels of a recent report that found that government contractors cost taxpayers nearly double the amount of federal workers, a new survey has found a big part of the reason for this gap: Contractor executive pay. According to a survey by the Human Resource Association of the National... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 3, 2011 New 'Federal Employee' Newsletter Now Available! This year's third edition of NFFE's quarterly newsletter, the Federal Employee, is now available! Featuring a review of the latest budget pressures to hit federal agencies, this issue looks into the policies driving the federal workforce's very uncertain future. Click here to see what's inside. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Sep 22, 2011 White House Calls for End to Gross Overcompensation of Government Contractor Executives In Washington these days there have been hundreds of proposals put forward to reduce the growing national debt, many of which target large cuts to the federal workforce. The politicians who introduce them claim that they are tackling government waste and inefficiency. Most of the time, however,... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Sep 20, 2011 White House Proposal Would Increase Employee Pension Contributions by 150 Percent As part of its comprehensive plan to reduce the federal budget issued yesterday, the White House proposed to increase federal employees’ pension contributions. The proposal seeks to increase worker-financed contributions by 150 percent over the next three years. This change would cost federal... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Sep 19, 2011 Apply Now for Over a Hundred Union Plus Scholarships! For over 15 years, Union Plus has awarded more than $3 million in scholarships to help union families pay for college. Scholarships range from $500 to $4,000. Now you or your student can complete and submit a 2012 Union Plus scholarship application entirely online. In 2010, 130 union members and... Union Plus Benefits more...
Sep 15, 2011 Independent Study Shows Reckless Privatization of Federal Jobs is a Raw Deal for Taxpayers A comprehensive study released this week confirmed what many federal workers throughout government have known for a long time: federal employees almost always deliver a better value to taxpayers than service contractors. The report was published by the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), an... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Sep 13, 2011 Congress Gets Lavish Benefits While Advocating Deep Cuts to Federal Worker Retirement, Compensation It has been the subject of countless discussions online, in the media, and around the water coolers at federal workplaces throughout the nation: Do members of Congress get a better deal than federal employees? Well today, we have an answer to that question, and that answer is yes. According to a... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Sep 12, 2011 Mark Your Calendars for NFFE’s 49th National Convention With only one short year remaining until the 49th National Convention of the National Federation of Federal Employees, it is time for NFFE Locals to start making preliminary plans to attend. The next convention will be held from October 1-4, 2012 at the Benson Hotel in Portland, Oregon. This... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Sep 6, 2011 FEEA Offers Assistance to Feds Impacted by Irene and FAA Furloughs; Now it's Our Turn to Give Back The first half of 2011 has been busy for the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund. After severe spring weather impacted federal employees throughout much of the southern U.S., FEEA gave more than 40 grants worth over $22,000 in April and May. Need did not abate in June or July, and... Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund more...
Aug 25, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Updated New Member and Recruitment Kits Now Available NFFE National is proud to announce the new and enhanced new member and recruitment kits. These kits have been created to facilitate your efforts in recruiting and welcoming new members into our union. The kits provide information about the benefits of becoming a new member, as well as trinkets... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 23, 2011 White House Budget Office Issues Memo Requesting Agency Budget Reductions of 5-10% for FY 2013 With Congress and the Administration reaching a deal to raise the debt ceiling earlier this month, the job of implementing the trillions in spending reductions appears to be well underway. In a memorandum issued to the heads of all federal departments and agencies last week, Office of Management... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 18, 2011 National President Dougan Heads West to Visit Indian Health Service, Forest Service Locals National President Dougan and National Business Representative Steve Flory hit the road last week, visiting seven Locals in five days in the Northwest, Rocky Mountains and Northern Great Plains. Meeting with both Forest Service and Indian Health Service (IHS) Locals, their mission to was to... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 16, 2011 Longtime Union Advocate Liz Pittaluga Named New National Business Representative; Service Areas Redrawn to Improve Representation NFFE is very proud to welcome our newest National Business Representative, Elizabeth “Liz” Pittaluga. A longtime unionist and Machinist, Pittaluga brings decades of labor relations and federal workforce experience to the job of serving the NFFE membership. A machinist and later electronics... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 12, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Following Through with New Members While getting a new member to sign an 1187 form and officially become part of your Local is a big step, it’s important to remember that your work doesn’t stop there. Both from an administrative and a personal side, it is vital that you follow through on bringing your new members into the union.... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 10, 2011 Meet Melissa Grenier and Shannon McNichols, Winners of the 2011 Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarships NFFE would like to congratulate Melissa Grenier of Menands, NY and Shannon McNichols of Harrisville, MI on winning this year’s Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarships! Each will receive $1,000 dollars toward furthering their collegiate education. The scholarships, named for late NFFE National... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 5, 2011 Second Shoe Drops: Senators Propose Massive Federal Job Cuts, Salary Freezes, as Part of Debt-Ceiling Package When Congress and the Administration came to an agreement to raise the federal debt limit earlier this month, both parties agreed to formulate a bipartisan committee to find $1.5 trillion in additional savings by year’s end. The idea was to bring both parties together to hammer out a responsible,... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 5, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Tools to Help You Help Your Local As NFFE representatives, our duty is grow our Locals and provide them with the quality representation that our members expect of us. However, carrying out these essential union functions can often be a challenge. Official time is hard to come by, and even when we do get some, it never seems to be... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 4, 2011 FEEA Stands by FAA Employees with Emergency Assistance Loans With 4,000 FAA employees furloughed and set to receive just half a paycheck next week, we want to be sure employees know FEEA is here to help. No-interest loans of up to $1,000 will be available as soon as a reduced or missing paycheck occurs. If you are among the furloughed employees, please... Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund more...
Aug 3, 2011 Take a Minute to Share Your Story on the ‘I am a Federal Employee’ Blog! Over the past several months, dozens of federal employees have shared their stories of public service with the new 'I am a Federal Employee Blog,' at www.iamafederalemployee.org. Everyone from DoD civilians, VA nurses, federal firefighters, and others have spoken out and told the world that they... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 2, 2011 Federal Employee Benefits Survey to Take Place this Summer The Office of Personnel Management will be issuing the 2011 Federal Employee Benefits Survey (FEBS) this summer for the first time since 2006. Please see the letter below for details on the survey. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 1, 2011 Let's Make a Deal: Congress, White House Reach Compromise to Raise Debt Limit, Avoid Default Sunday evening, President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner announced that a deal had been reached to raise the federal debt limit and avoid a catastrophic default. The deal, long rumored to contain provisions impacting federal retirement and compensation, included no immediate... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 26, 2011 Local 1384 Volunteers Help Tornado Victims in Western Massachusetts Members of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), Local 1384, at Hanscom recently gave up a vacation day to carpool to Springfield, Mass. Their mission was to volunteer at the Salvation Army center there, helping to distribute food and other items to those left homeless by the... United States Air Force more...
Jul 26, 2011 Debt-Ceiling 101: The Federal Debt Limit and How it Impacts Your Job In the past several weeks, there has been a great deal of chatter and speculation regarding the government hitting the federal debt limit. More recently, the focus has turned to the U.S. defaulting on its debt, as members of Congress refuse to come to a common sense agreement to raise the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 22, 2011 Local 1998 Members Give Back with Food Drive to Benefit Underprivileged Families Faced with relentless attacks on federal employees in the media and Congress, NFFE members from around the country are taking a pro-active approach to changing the public’s perception of the labor movement by organizing community service projects. Earlier this month, stewards of Local 1998 at... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 20, 2011 NFFE Launches Communicators’ Toolkit; Find Out How You Can Improve Your Local Communications Today! In a world where information travels fast and misinformation travels faster, it is essential that Unions are making their message heard on air, in print, or simply in the workplace. To help Locals get the word out, NFFE is proud to announce the introduction of the Communicators’ Toolkit – your... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 19, 2011 New Budget Proposal Offers Deepest Cuts Yet to Federal Workforce, Benefits Monday, Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma released a far-reaching budget proposal that seeks to cut $9 trillion dollars from federal programs over the next decade. To fund these massive reductions, the Senator proposed the deepest cuts yet to federal agencies and their workers. The... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 18, 2011 White House Launches Third Annual SAVE Award; Submit Your Idea Today! Last week, the White House announced the launch of its third annual SAVE award, a yearly competition that seeks cost-cutting ideas from federal employees. Since the SAVE Award was created in 2009, federal employees have submitted more than 56,000 ideas on how to promote efficiency and reduce... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 15, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Share your Stories NFFE National in Washington, D.C. has been working hard to bring you the latest news, tips, and tricks in organizing. Now, it’s time to hear from you! What’s working at your Local? Locals have been ramping up their efforts with organizing and it’s paying off, big time. Scores of federal... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 14, 2011 President Dougan Takes on Anti-Federal Worker Congressman in National Newspaper NFFE National President William R. Dougan wrote a letter to the editor of prominent national newspaper Roll Call debunking a recent op-ed by Republican Congressman Dennis Ross of Florida. In his article, Ross called for a ten percent reduction in the federal workforce – a move that would amount... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 8, 2011 The Importance of 1187s As a Local officer or steward, you should be prepared to sign up a new member at any time. If you miss an opportunity to get a prospective member to join, you might not get a second chance. It is a great habit to have 1187s printed off and in your union office at all times. These 1187s can be... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 7, 2011 Breaking the Bank: Washington’s Attack on Your Retirement Security and What You Can Do to Stop It "The federal retirement system we have today is secure. If you work hard for twenty, thirty, or forty years, you can earn enough to rely on. But it seems like members of Congress are forgetting about federal employees; they’re forgetting about the little guys who are doing the work of the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 5, 2011 Members of Congress Pay Out Over $6 Million in Staff Bonuses while Supporting Pay and Benefit Reductions for Federal Workers In a political climate where Washington politicians are clamoring to cut federal pay, benefits, and retirement security, the hypocrisy that follows is truly something to behold. According to a CNN investigation on Congressional compensation, more than six million dollars in bonuses were paid out... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 1, 2011 New 'Federal Employee' Newsletter Now Available! This year's second edition of NFFE's quarterly newsletter, the Federal Employee, is now available! Featuring the recent attacks on federal retirement security, this issue gives you the tools and information you need to fight back. Click here to see what's inside. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 1, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Give Your Members a Stronger Voice It is important for members and prospective members to understand that the union gives them a voice not only in the workplace, but throughout the nation. NFFE has jump-started a movement to counter the attacks on federal employees. To do this NFFE has created a blog called, “I am a Federal... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 30, 2011 FEEA: Responding to Man-Made Disasters Since 1986 On April 19, 1995, a bomb detonated outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, destroying much of the building, including its daycare center. More than 160 people lost their lives that day, 99 of them civilian federal employees, targeted because they worked for the U.S.... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 24, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Unions Support the Federal Community You can also share the many ways that NFFE is working at the National level to promote and support federal employees. One example of this is NFFE’s involvement with the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA). FEEA was founded in 1986 through the collaboration of union leaders and... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 24, 2011 Tell Us Your Story with the ‘I am a Federal Employee’ Blog! To counter the recent attacks levied against federal employees by members of Congress and the media, the staff at the NFFE National Office has created a new blog, www.iamafederalemployee.org. This blog highlights the importance of federal employees to our nation and the sacrifices they make in... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 23, 2011 FEEA: 25 Years of Scholarships When FEEA began serving the civilian federal employee community in 1986, the cost of a college education was, on average, less than $20,000/year, including room and board, at the top private universities. Even then, federal families were hard pressed to afford to put themselves or their children... Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund more...
Jun 22, 2011 Administration Announces Caps on Federal Employee Merit Awards The Office and Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget recently informed agency leadership that merit bonus awards for federal employees would be capped starting in FY 2012. At the senior executive level, awards must not exceed 5 percent of an individual’s salary. The awards... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 21, 2011 Coalition of Federal Unions Pen Letter to Biden Defending Federal Pensions In response to reports that the Congress and Administration were considering pension cuts as part of a deal to raise the national debt ceiling, a coalition of federal Unions last week penned a sharply worded letter urging the exclusion of retirement benefits from any potential compromise. Along... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 17, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: It Pays to be a Union Member As you’ve probably learned from personal experience, one of the most common excuses potential members give for not joining the union is that they cannot afford the dues. In the current economic climate, this is an even bigger challenge. Fortunately, you can show them why they can’t afford NOT... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 17, 2011 FEEA: 25 Years of Helping Feds with Everyday Emergencies Recent severe weather across the southern U.S. has focused attention on communities hard-hit by tornadoes and flooding. Residents of the Alabama and Missouri towns recovering from F4 and F5 tornadoes have a long road ahead of them, as do those living along the flood plains of the Mississippi... Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund more...
Jun 16, 2011 Local 2189 Co-Sponsors Car Show During Employee Appreciation Day On Saturday, June 4, 2011 Local 2189 at the Red River Army Depot hosted a car show during the facility’s Employee Appreciation Day. The car show was located at Eliot Lake, which is located inside of the depot. The event was co-sponsored by Morale, Welfare, and Recreation, which is a network of... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 10, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Show Your Union Pride Successful Locals are visible Locals. How can a prospective member join your Local if they don’t know it exists? And you, as a Local officer or member, are your Local’s best advertisement. There are several ways you can increase the visibility of your officers and members. One of the easiest... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 7, 2011 Key House Republicans Introduce Bill to Cut 200,000 Federal Jobs by 2015 Three high-ranking Republican members of the House of Representatives yesterday introduced the 2011 Reducing the Size of the Federal Government Through Attrition Act, a bill that would force agencies to hire only one new employee for every three who retire. Introduced by Darrell Issa (R-CA),... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 6, 2011 FEEA: 25 Years of Feds Helping Feds – How It All Began During the summer of 1986, federal budgets were being cut, the federal workforce was being reduced and many elected officials were particularly critical of federal employees. It was not a “warm and fuzzy” time to be a fed. Until G. Jerry Shaw called Bob Tobias and invited him to lunch. Shaw was... Federal Employees Education and Assistance Fund more...
Jun 3, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Connecting with the Community A Local that is visible not only in the workplace, but also within the community, is a great way to show potential members why it is important to get involved and join the Union. There are limitless ways a Local and its members can become engaged with the community. Start by choosing a service... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 2, 2011 Union Official Time Comes Under Fire at Congressional Hearing At a the House Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and Labor Policy hearing Wednesday, chairman Dennis Ross (R-FL) and fellow Republican Phil Gingrey (R-GA) advocated for H.R. 122, a bill that would severely diminish Union official time. The inappropriately titled “Federal... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 27, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Reach Out to New Employees One of the simplest and most effective ways to get a person to join the union is to ask them. You might be surprised how many new members would sign up if someone just invited them to. While talking to a co-worker about the union is important any time, you’re more likely to successfully recruit... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 25, 2011 NFFE National President Dougan to Deliver Testimony Tomorrow at Congressional Hearing on “Rightsizing the Federal Workforce” NFFE National President William R. Dougan will be the sole Labor representative testifying before the House Federal Workforce Subcommittee at Thursday’s hearing on “Rightsizing the Federal Workforce.” Dougan will defend the scope and mission of the federal workforce as House Republicans Cynthia... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 25, 2011 From the Desk of the President: Honoring the Fallen on Memorial Day May 30, Memorial Day, is a day to honor those who have died while serving in the military. Following the Civil War, a nation divided recognized and honored their dead; Decoration Day honored the Union dead while the Confederate Memorial Days honored fallen Confederate soldiers. From these... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 24, 2011 Administration Circulates Memo Recommending Cap on Merit Bonuses A White House memo addressed to all department and agency heads was leaked last week containing guidance on the distribution of performance awards for federal employees. According to the memo, the Administration would cap bonuses for Senior Executive Service employees at five percent of aggregate... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 20, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Get to Know the Legislation that Affects You Lobby Week has passed, but every day, legislation is popping up across the country proposing such injustices as ending official time, furloughing public employees, and extending probationary periods for federal employees, just to name a few. What can you do? Stay on top of the legislation and... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 19, 2011 Legislative Conference a Huge Success as Members from Across the Country Stand for Federal Employees The 2011 NFFE-IAM Legislative Conference was a huge hit for NFFE-IAM members. The weeklong conference saw NFFE-IAM members bring the voice of our nation’s federal workers to the halls of Capitol Hill. The conference was held at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, just blocks from the home of... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 18, 2011 NFFE National Office Phone Systems are Back Online The NFFE National Office's phone systems are now back online. Thank you for your patience. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 18, 2011 Treasury Borrowing from Civil Service Retirement Funds as Nation Hits Maximum Debt Ceiling: How this Impacts Your Retirement Benefits Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced that the government had reached the national debt-ceiling, the maximum amount it may borrow to fund its obligations. In a letter to key leaders in Congress, Geithner explained that he will be borrowing funds from the Civil Service... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 16, 2011 Federal Pensions Reportedly in the Crosshairs as Debt Ceiling Negotiations Take Shape; Employee Contribution May Increase Seven-Fold Details began to emerge this weekend from White House and congressional negotiators with regards to the shape of a long-term deficit reduction plan to coincide with the raising of the national debt ceiling. After weeks of negotiations, it appears that lawmakers will return to a familiar source to... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 13, 2011 NFFE Local 1 President Patricia La Sala Fights Back Against Lawmakers’ Attacks on Federal Employees in Washington Post Feature Article Thursday, NFFE National Vice President Patricia La Sala was featured in a Washington Post story on her efforts to fight the negative attacks on federal workers emanating from Capitol Hill. Along with hundreds of other NFFE-IAM members from across the country, La Sala took her members’ message to... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 13, 2011 President Dougan Writes Letter to Senate Opposing Inclusion of Anti-Federal Worker Cuts in Budget Resolution On behalf of the National Federation of Federal Employees and the 110,000 federal employees our union represents throughout the United States and abroad, I am writing to urge you, in considering the Senate Budget Resolution, to oppose the drastic cuts to federal employee pay and benefits offered... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 9, 2011 Lobby Week 2011 Has Arrived; NFFE Members Bring Voice of Federal Workers to Capitol Hill Lobby Week 2011 has arrived! This year, state and federal lawmakers have unfairly targeted federal workers and the middle class in what they call “deficit reduction measures.” Lobby Week has never been more critical for NFFE members due to attempts made by misguided lawmakers on Capitol Hill... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 6, 2011 From the Desk of National President Dougan: Honoring America's Nurses Almost 3 million nurses in the United States dedicate their lives to helping others every year. The National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) has the privilege of representing several thousand of them, working in Veterans Affairs and Indian Health Service clinics throughout the country.... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 29, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Go for Your Goal! When you think about organizing within your Local, it is important to decide exactly what you want to accomplish. While “increasing membership” is the end result we all want, your Local will be far more successful at recruiting if you set a number of smaller, quantifiable goals. Goals need to be... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 28, 2011 Reminder: Registration for 2011 IAMAW Newsletter and Website Contest Ends May 13 Just two short weeks from now, applications for the IAMAW’s annual Newsletter and Website Contest will be due. By May 13, all District and Local lodges must submit the proper entry forms in order for their website and/or newsletter to be considered in this year’s competition. Over the years, NFFE... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 22, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Draft Your Local Organizing Strategic Plan We all know that membership density brings clout within an agency and at the bargaining table, but for some Locals, it’s difficult to know where to start. There are a number of steps and strategies that your Local can utilize in order to increase your organizing success. Some pointers, like... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 20, 2011 House Majority Passes Budget Bill Targeting Federal Pay, Retirement; Democrats Unanimously Oppose Friday, House Republicans passed a budget plan for fiscal year 2012 with all but four Republicans and without the support of a single Democrat. The budget includes provisions that would freeze federal employees’ pay through 2015, require federal employees to contribute much more to their... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 19, 2011 National President Dougan, AFL-CIO President Truma, Talk Future of Labor Unions on C-SPAN Early this month, NFFE National President William R. Dougan was invited to Wayne State University in Detroit, MI to participate in a panel discussion about the future of labor unions in America. Joined by notable labor leaders such as AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and United Auto Workers... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 15, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Get Your Organizing Committee Up and Running Organizing Committees create a great foundation for your Local to start working on recruitment and building a stronger presence in the workplace. A committee should be made up of people that are engaged in the Local, but not necessarily just the officers. The best place to start is at your... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 14, 2011 House Committee Approves Bills to Double Federal Worker Probationary Period, Target Tax Delinquent Employees The House Federal Workforce Subcommittee yesterday approved two bills that could have a significant impact on the federal workforce if passed into law. The first measure, H.R. 1470, would double the probationary period for new federal hires to two years from the current one-year period. This... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 12, 2011 NFFE Forest Service Council Elects Mark Davis as Council President Last week, as the prospect of a government shutdown drew closer and closer, members of the NFFE Forest Service Council elected Mark Davis as their next President. NFFE congratulates Davis for his new role, and wishes him the best of luck as the leader of NFFE’s largest Council. We would also like... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 12, 2011 House FY12 Budget Proposal Lowers Taxes for Wealthy While Cutting Federal Workforce, Freezing Pay On Tuesday April 5, 2011, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) unveiled his budget proposal for fiscal year 2012, titled “Path to Prosperity.” Following in the footsteps of his home state’s Governor, Scott Walker, Rep. Ryan’s budget includes more misguided attacks on federal employees... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 11, 2011 Government Shutdown Averted as Congress Reaches Tentative Budget Deal Federal employees everywhere breathed a sigh of relief Friday night as Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced a tentative agreement to fund the government through the remainder of the fiscal year. Finalized with less than two hours to go,... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 8, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Know the ABC's of Your CBA Though sometimes overlooked, one of the most valuable recruiting tools available to you is a copy of your Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Familiarizing yourself with your CBA will arm you with the necessary knowledge to become a more effective recruiter. Your CBA explains in detail what... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 7, 2011 Shutdown Updates: Get the Latest on Your Agency's Shutdown Plans Want to know what your agency is planning to do in the event of a government shutdown? The Washington Post has been collecting the most up-to-date information on shutdown plans across the federal government. Click "More" to see what your agency has in mind. Washington Post more...
Apr 7, 2011 White House Supports Back-Pay for Furloughed Federal Employees; Congress Non-Committal At a White House press briefing Thursday, OMB Deputy Director for Management Jeffrey Zients said that the Obama administration supports providing retroactive pay for furloughed federal employees, should a shutdown occur. Though it is important that the Administration is taking a stand, there are... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 7, 2011 NFFE Member Ron Thatcher Featured in CNN Report 'I'm a Non-Essential Employee' NFFE member and U.S. Forest Service employee Ron Thatcher of Libby, Montana was featured in a CNN story this afternoon detailing the struggles facing non-essential employees as the government rests on the verge of shutting down. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 6, 2011 Key Lawmaker Says 900,000 Federal Workers to be Furloughed in Shutdown; Pay Reimbursement Highly Unlikely On a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Rep. Jim Moran estimated that at least 900,000 federal employees would be furloughed in the event of a government shutdown. Furthermore, the Virginia lawmaker said the prospect of furloughed workers receiving back-pay would be “highly unlikely,”... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 5, 2011 OPM Issues Guidance, FAQs on Furloughs in the Event of Shutdown If the current continuing resolution expires at 12:01 a.m. on April 9, 2011 without passage of an FY 2011 appropriations bill or a further continuing resolution, Federal departments and agencies will be required to execute contingency plans for a lapse in appropriations (more commonly referred to... Office of Personnel Management more...
Apr 4, 2011 ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress to Quit Playing Politics with Your Job! For the past several months, talks of a government shutdown have grown louder and louder as members of Congress have battled it out over legislation to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal year 2011. The result of this long-winded debate has been a series of stop-gap spending measures... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 1, 2011 New 'Federal Employee' Newsletter Now Available! This year's first edition of NFFE's quarterly newsletter, the Federal Employee, is now available! Featuring the recent struggle in Madison, WI and the larger assault on workers' rights, this issue puts it all in perspective and shows you what you can do to fight back. Click here to see what's... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 1, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Education is the Key Access to education is a key component in building a strong union. NFFE-IAM members have access to an array of classes and opportunities at the IAMAW’s William W. Winpisinger Education & Technology Center. The Center has a range of classes for new and old members. Located in Placid Harbor,... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 29, 2011 House Republicans Reject Tentative Budget Deal; Potential for Government Shutdown Higher than Ever For the past several months, talks of a government shutdown have grown louder and louder as members of Congress and the Administration have battled it out over legislation to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal year 2011. Republicans insist on cutting tens of billions of dollars from... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 25, 2011 A Message from President Obama Honoring 100th Anniversary of Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire On March 25, 1911, a fire spread through the cramped floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in lower Manhattan. Flames spread quickly through the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors -- overcrowded, littered with cloth scraps, and containing few buckets of water to douse the flames -- giving the factory... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 24, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Visit the NFFE Website Early and Often NFFE’s award-winning website, www.nffe.org, is an invaluable resource for members and potential members alike. The website is not solely an organizing tool, but the recruitment assistance it can provide should not be overlooked. Anyone can visit the NFFE website and learn everything from who we... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 21, 2011 Republican Senators Introduce Legislation to Eliminate Federal Pensions Last week, Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) introduced the Public-Private Employee Retirement Parity Act, S. 644, a bill to eliminate federal pensions for all new government hires starting in 2013. Under the deceptively named bill, new employees would no longer receive the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 18, 2011 NFFE Recognizes 2010’s Best Organizers with Trips to Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. Locals throughout the National Federation of Federal Employees put a great deal of effort into increasing Local awareness and building membership in 2010. After a successful reception honoring 2009’s best organizers, NFFE National decided to once again reward a handful of Locals with a free trip... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 18, 2011 Congress Passes Three-Week Spending Bill to Fund Government; Avoids Shutdown By a vote of 87-13, the Senate Thursday approved a shot-term spending measure that will fund the government for an additional three weeks. The bill will keep agencies operating through April 8, avoiding a potential government shutdown for the second time this month. The legislation originated in... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 10, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Utilize New Member and Recruitment Kits A number of resources, including both information and supplies, are available to NFFE Locals to aid with recruiting efforts. Some great examples are NFFE’s recruitment and new member kits. New Member Kits can be given to new union members as soon as they sign up, or can be delivered a short time... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 10, 2011 Wisconsin Senate Republicans Admit Budget was Never the Issue, Vote Exclusively to Eliminate Collective Bargaining Rights Last night, Wisconsin’s 19 Republican State Senator’s revealed their true intentions by passing a bill with an 18 to 1 vote that would strip collective bargaining rights from public sector workers. Governor Walker and his Republican colleagues in the Statehouse initially argued these provisions... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 8, 2011 National President Dougan and VA Council President Redding Visit Atlanta VA Medical Center, CBOC’s Last week, NFFE National President William R. Dougan and VA Council President Robert Redding visited NFFE Local 2102, representing physicians, pharmacists, nurses, social workers, and other health professionals at the Atlanta VA Medical Center and surrounding Community Based Outpatient Clinics... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 7, 2011 NFFE Members and Other “Outside Agitators” Hold the Line in Wisconsin NFFE-IAM member Tim McKenzie (holding IAM sign), and many of his fellow Minnesotans were among the tens of thousands of demonstrators in Madison, WI on Saturday. Protests continued against Republican efforts to strip collective bargaining rights from public employees and were bolstered by the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 7, 2011 Federal Times Op-Ed by William R. Dougan: Federal Labor-Management Partnerships can Solve Problems; Time to Move from Process to Real Dialogue Federal unions greeted the December 2009 signing of President Obama's executive order re-establishing federal labor-management partnerships with much optimism. After eight years of limited access and minimal dialogue between unions and agency leadership under the Bush administration, the promise... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 4, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Talk to at Least One Person Each Day About the Union One of the best ways to get the word out about your Local is to talk face-to-face with people in your bargaining unit who are not yet members. This may seem obvious, but people are more likely to join when they are approached by someone who is already a member and understands the benefits of... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 3, 2011 Let’s Make a Deal: Congress Votes to Fund Government for Two More Weeks, Avoids Shutdown The Senate voted 91-9 Wednesday morning on a measure to the fund the government for an additional two weeks, avoiding a potential shutdown and keeping federal employees on the job. After the current continuing resolution expires this Friday, lawmakers will have until midnight on March 18th to... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 3, 2011 NFFE National Vice President John Obst Speaks out in Wisconsin Newspaper “What does democracy look like?” shouted one protester. “THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!!” chanted thousands of Union Sisters and Brothers in Madison, Wisconsin as they demonstrated against Republican Governor Walker’s pledge to strip collective bargaining from public employees. Madison’s only... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 2, 2011 New on NFFE.org: The NFFE Legislative Action Center As a citizen of the United States of America, you have the right to seek help from your elected representatives in addressing your concerns -- including policies that affect your conditions of employment as a federal employee. In a political climate where elected officials are targeting the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 1, 2011 NFFE Local 276 Marches in Solidarity with Wisconsin Workers Since Republican Governor Scott Walker introduced a bill to strip state employees of their right to bargain collectively, workers rights advocates and union members from across the country have descended on Madison, Wisconsin, to stand up for their rights. Joining the thousands of protestors at... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 25, 2011 2011 FEEA and Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarship Application Deadline Just One Month Away; Apply Now! This is a reminder that all applications for the 2011 FEEA and Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarships must be postmarked by one month from today - March 25th - in order to be considered. Applicants for the Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarship must be a NFFE-IAM member in good standing or a... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 24, 2011 Protestors Rally in Washington, D.C. in Solidarity with Wisconsin State Employees (Photos) Wednesday, over a thousand protestors gathered in Washington, D.C. in front of the D.C. offices of the Wisconsin and Ohio governors as part of a worker solidarity rally. NFFE joined students, workers, and union members from several states in a show of support for workers who are battling to... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 24, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: What is Your Bulletin Board Saying about Your Local? Your members have a right to know everything that is going on. Bulletin boards can give them a quick snapshot of what the union is doing at the Local and National level. The most crucial information that should always be on display is the Local union office and officers’ contact information. Be... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 23, 2011 On the Ground in Madison: NFFE National Vice President John Obst Shares His Rally Experience “DON’T TAKE MY RIGHTS AWAY – I’M NOT DONE WITH THEM YET!!” read one of the most poignant signs held by thousands of protesters who have peacefully “overrun” the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison. Newly elected Republican Governor Walker used exaggerated claims of a budget crisis to demand that... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 21, 2011 House Passes Funding Measure with $61 Billion in Cuts; Amendments to Freeze Federal Step Increases, Ban Union Official Time, Fail In the early hours of Saturday morning, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the FY 2011 Continuing Resolution, a bill to fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year, ending September 30th. The highly contentious legislation slashes the federal budget by a whopping $61... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 18, 2011 From the Desk of the President: A Message for Madison What we are seeing this week in Madison, Wisconsin is the beginning of something unlike anything we have seen in generations. Governor Scott Walker, and his anti-union colleagues in the State Senate, have launched what is undoubtedly the first of many attempts by some state governments across the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 17, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Keep an Up-to-Date Bargaining Unit List One important component of successful organizing is obtaining a copy of your list of eligible members on a regular basis. After all, in order to recruit new members, we need to know who to talk to! Bargaining unit lists are helpful to have on hand during formal organizing drives, so you have a... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 17, 2011 National President Dougan Pens Congress in Opposition to Amendment Freezing Step Increases, Bonuses Yesterday, NFFE National President William R. Dougan penned the a letter to the House of Representatives, opposing the Issa amendment to the 2011 Continuing Resolution. The amendment would bar all merit-based raises and bonuses for high-performing federal employees. The letter went as follows. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 16, 2011 Lawmaker Introduces Legislation to Freeze Federal Hiring, Slash Workforce Through Attrition Last week, Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced the Federal Workforce Reduction Act of 2011, H.R. 657, a bill that would freeze federal hiring and slash the workforce through attrition. Co-sponsored by 27 other Republican lawmakers, the bill will place an indefinite hiring freeze on... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 15, 2011 House Representatives Maloney, Hoyer, Connolly, Introduce Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act Last week, House Representatives Carolynn Maloney, Steny Hoyer, and Gerald Connolly introduced the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act, a bill to extend four weeks of paid leave to parents of newly born, adopted or fostered children. Under present law, new parents are entitled to up to... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 11, 2011 Republicans Up the Ante, Pledge to Cut an Additional $26 Billion from Federal Agency Budgets Responding to growing pressure from conservative members of the party, House Republicans yesterday announced that they will pursue an additional $26 billion in cuts to federal agency budgets this fiscal year. Combined with the $74 billion in cuts announced earlier this week, Republicans seek to... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 10, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Use Sign-in Sheets in Your Union Office and at Union Events One extremely valuable, but often overlooked, tool that every NFFE Local can utilize is the sign-in sheet. Sign-in sheets should be kept near the entrance to your union office, and also be brought to every union-sponsored event. These sheets will provide you with an important record of the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 9, 2011 House Republicans Target U.S. Forest Service, Park Service, HUD, for Deep Budget Cuts This morning, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) released a list of 70 budget cuts committee Republicans will propose for the remainder of FY 2011. This round of cuts are just the start of what will total $74 billion in reductions between today and February 14th, when the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 4, 2011 House Budget Chairman Announces $74 Billion in Cuts for Remainder of FY 2011; Fears of Government Shutdown on the Rise Yesterday, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), announced that House Republicans intend to slash $74 billion dollars from the federal budget for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2011. Though a detailed proposal will not be released until February 14th, sources suggest $32-$40 billion of... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 4, 2011 Organizing Tip of the Week: Order NFFE Visibility Materials, Free of Charge! Thanks for reading the first installment of NFFE’s Organizing Tip of the Week! Going forward, NFFE will post one piece of recruitment advice every week so that all NFFE members can be equipped with the same knowledge as some of our union’s most experienced organizers. This week, we are asking all... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 28, 2011 Portland, Oregon Selected to Host NFFE’s 49th National Convention! The National Executive Council is proud to announce that the 49th NFFE National Convention will be held next year in the city of Portland, Oregon. Scheduled for October 1-4, 2012, the union’s quadrennial Convention will take place at the historic Benson Hotel in downtown Portland. The NFFE... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 26, 2011 President Calls for Five Year Spending Freeze, Government Reorganization, in State of the Union Address In his State of the Union address last night, President Obama laid out his vision for our nation’s future, and what role the federal government would play in making that vision a reality. Though specifics were sparse throughout the nearly hour-long speech, he announced two major initiatives that... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 21, 2011 2011 IAMAW Newsletter and Website Contest is Back; Enter Your Local Publications Today! This week, the IAM announced the beginning of its official Newsletter and Website contest, an annual competition honoring excellence in Local and District labor journalism. Over the years, NFFE Locals have consistently brought home top awards for their communications efforts. In fact, last year... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 21, 2011 Spotlight on FEHB: What Washington Has in Mind for Your Health Benefits Late last year, the President’s Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, an advisory group of 18 current and former members of Congress tasked with identifying policies to reduce the federal budget deficit, issued a highly anticipated report detailing their vision for our nation’s fiscal... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 14, 2011 New Legislation Calls for Mandatory Two-Week Furloughs for Federal Employees Second-term Congressman Mike Coffman (R-CO) yesterday introduced legislation to impose two weeks of mandatory leave on the federal workforce. Starting in 2012, Coffman’s proposal would impact all federal employees, with the exception of those working in national-security, health, or law... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 12, 2011 Republican Lawmaker Introduces Legislation Calling for Pay Freeze Extension, Workforce Reduction Late last week, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) introduced the inappropriately titled Cut Unsustainable and Top-heavy Spending Act. The legislation seeks to reduce the number of workers providing federal services and calls for significant pay cuts to the already significantly underpaid federal workforce.... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 11, 2011 Georgia Congressman Introduces Bill to Bust Federal Employee Unions Recently, Georgia Congressman Phil Gingrey (R-GA) introduced the 2011 Federal Employee Accountability Act (H.R. 122), a bill intended to eliminate union representation for federal workers. This disingenuously-named bill would abolish official time for union activities, robbing federal employees... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 10, 2011 Register Now for Federal Workers Class at the Winpisinger Center The IAM will conduct the 2011 Federal Employees’ Basic Program at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center (WWW), in Hollywood, MD, during the week of March 13-18. The program will involve training in areas specific to the Federal Sector such as collective bargaining, the Hatch... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 7, 2011 Five Issues to Watch in the New Congress With Republicans formally taking control of the House of Representatives this week, federal employees can expect a new attitude from Congress toward the civil service. Both before and during the 2010 midterm elections, many members of the new majority embraced proposals targeting the federal... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 4, 2011 Applications for 2011 Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarships Now Available; Fill Yours Out Today! NFFE is proud to announce that applications for the 2011 Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarship competition are now available! Applicants must submit a completed application package postmarked no later than March 25, 2011. Submitting an application will also automatically register applicants for... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 22, 2010 New 'Federal Employee' Newsletter Now Available! This year's fourth edition of NFFE's quarterly newsletter, the Federal Employee, is now available! Featuring the two-year federal pay freeze, this edition explains how the freeze will affect your bottom line today, and your retirement security tomorrow. Click here to see what's inside. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 22, 2010 Union Plus Scholarship Deadline January 31 A good education is more important now than ever. Some 121 union members and union family members were awarded $150,000 in scholarships this year, ranging from $500 to $4,000. The scholarship program is open to students attending or planning to attend a college or university, a community college,... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 21, 2010 National Office Releases Holiday Schedule The NFFE National Office will be closing for the Holidays from December 23-24 and 30-31, 2010. Have a wonderful holiday season. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 16, 2010 Federal Pay Update: Senate Considers Two-Year Pay Freeze in New Legislation Just a week after the House approved a two-year freeze on federal pay, it appears that the upper chamber of Congress intends to follow suit. The Senate on Tuesday introduced its own annual spending measure, known as an omnibus spending package, which includes a pay freeze like that found in the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 9, 2010 Federal Pay Update: House Approves Two-Year Federal Pay Freeze Last night, in its appropriations measure to fund the government for FY 11, Congress voted in favor of a two-year federal pay freeze. The measure, identical to the version proposed by the White House last week, will freeze federal pay for two years government-wide. The pay freeze will now be... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 8, 2010 House Members Call on Colleagues to Reconsider Proposed Pay Freeze Tuesday, House lawmakers issued a letter to House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI), requesting that the White House’s proposed two-year federal pay freeze be reconsidered. In the letter, signed by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Donna F. Edwards... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 6, 2010 NFFE National Officers' Pay Freeze Announcement As you know, the White House last week proposed a two-year freeze on civilian federal employee pay. This freeze will place a tremendous strain on the bottom line of many of our members, a reality that we here at NFFE National cannot and will not overlook. For this reason, I have issued an order... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 3, 2010 Federal Workers in the Crosshairs as Fiscal Commission Issues Highly Anticipated Deficit Report Tuesday, the President’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, an advisory group of 18 current and former members of Congress tasked with identifying policies to reduce the federal budget deficit, issued its highly anticipated report prescribing solutions to America’s budget... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 1, 2010 What the Proposed Pay Freeze Would Mean for the Federal Workforce Monday, the White House announced its proposal to freeze the pay of all civilian federal employees for two years. The freeze will impact annual cost of living adjustments, rendering increases to 0% for fiscal years 2011 and 2012. Fortunately for federal employees, the freeze will not impact... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 1, 2010 Federal Pay Update: Locality Pay Frozen in 2011 In the wake of announcing a two-year pay freeze for civilian federal workers Monday, the White House yesterday announced that it will be temporarily freezing locality pay as well. In a letter to Congress, the president informed legislators that the White House would withhold from extending... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 30, 2010 From the Desk of the President: A Call to Action on Federal Pay Freeze Yesterday, the White House announced its intent to freeze the pay of all civilian federal employees for fiscal years 2011 and 2012. If adopted by Congress, this proposal would result in 0% pay adjustments for federal workers for the next two years. Though this proposal was labeled as a pay... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 23, 2010 Telework Legislation Sails Through House; Advances to Obama’s Desk Last week, the House passed the 2010 Telework Enhancement Act, H.R. 1722, a bill that requires agencies to develop telework programs for eligible employees. Passed by a 254-152 vote margin, the legislation now advances to the President Obama’s desk, where his signature would finally deliver a... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 22, 2010 Spotlight on Federal Pay: New House Leadership Calls for Federal Pay Freeze As the opening of the 112th Congress grows nearer, calls to cut federal spending and slash the deficit have reached a fevered pitch. With the budget deficit looming large, lawmakers from both chambers have called for belt-tightening measures, many of which unapologetically target federal workers.... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 19, 2010 A Letter From the Desk of the Legislative Director: What the Next Congress has in Store for Federal Employees The 2010 elections are over, and as you probably have heard, there are major changes in the makeup of Congress. The Republican Party has taken control of the House of Representatives, and GOP leadership has declared that cutting federal workers pay and benefits is a top priority. In the first... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 16, 2010 IAM Announces 2011 Communications Trainings at the Winpisinger Center This week the IAM officially announced a number of exciting communications trainings for union members. Hosted at the William W. Winpisinger Center Education & Technology Center in Hollywood, Maryland, the IAM will host 5 separate five trainings for several hundred NFFE-IAM members throughout the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 10, 2010 A Veterans Day Message From the Desk of NFFE National President William R. Dougan Veteran’s Day is a day of remembrance to honor America’s veterans, living and dead, for their sacrifice in serving their country. It provides an opportunity for us to remember and honor the sacrifices our veterans have made in defending our country and protecting the rights and privileges we all... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 9, 2010 In Landmark Decision, MSPB Finds Federal Career Intern Program in Violation of Veterans Preference Rights In a ruling issued last week, the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) found that the Federal Career Intern Program (FCIP) was in violation of Veteran’s Preference laws, a decision holding major implications for the controversial program. The decision mandated that the program be placed under... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 8, 2010 National President Dougan Talks Post-Election Political Landscape with Federal News Radio This morning, NFFE National President William R. Dougan joined Tom Temin and Amy Morris on Federal News Radio’s Federal Drive, to discuss the aftermath of the recent Congressional elections. Covering key issues such as telework and temporary hiring authority, Dougan discussed the challenges and... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 3, 2010 President Obama Appoints National Secretary-Treasurer William D. Fenaughty to Federal Salary Council Recently, President Barack Obama appointed NFFE National Secretary-Treasurer William D. Fenaughty to serve on the Federal Salary Council (FSC), an advisory body responsible for making recommendations on locality pay for workers under the General Schedule. A civil servant and union representative... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 2, 2010 NFFE Forest Service Council, Management Representatives, Gather for Union Training in Reno, Nevada Last week, Local 1771, Region 5, and the NFFE Forest Service Council hosted its 16th annual Union Officers and Stewards Training in Reno, Nevada. As this event marked the first time in several years members, as well as management, assembled together to confront the complex challenges facing... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 29, 2010 NSPS Transition Office Meets its Goal; Majority of NSPS Workers Now Transitioned into Existing Pay Systems The Department of Defense (DoD) has exceeded its goal of transitioning the majority of National Security Personnel System workers back under existing pay systems. According to the NSPS Transition Team’s website, just under 172,000 of the 226,000 NSPS-covered workers have been reassigned.... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 26, 2010 Telework Update: President Obama Issues Statement Promoting Telework Expansion In honor of National Work and Family Month, President Obama yesterday issued a statement promoting workplace flexibilities such as telework, alternative work schedules, and paid leave. His hope for the federal government and private sector is that employers will adopt policies that allow workers... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 25, 2010 NFFE Takes Home Nine Awards in 2010 IAM Communications Contest Last week, the IAM announced the winners of its annual Newsletter and Website Contest, a competition that honors excellence in both print and digital labor journalism. Out of a field of hundreds of Locals and Districts, one name appeared time and time again: NFFE. All together, NFFE Locals and... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 20, 2010 2010-2011 Organizing Strategic Plan Ready for Action; Read it Here! The NFFE National Organizing Steering Committee is proud to announce the release of the 2010-2011 Organizing Strategic Plan, a plan that we believe will take this unions organizing success to the next level. Building on the accomplishments of last year’s plan, the 2010-2011 edition makes key... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 15, 2010 Federal Workers Alliance Calls for FLRA Budget Boost in FY12 In a letter to President Obama last week, the Federal Workers Alliance (FWA) called for a modest increase to the Federal Labor Relations Authority’s (FLRA) budget for fiscal year 2012. In his fiscal year 2011 budget, the President called for $26 million, a figure that the FWA says must be raised... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 11, 2010 Telework Gains Momentum as Congress, Administration, Call for Action Ever since a freak snow storm buried our nation’s capital under two feet of snow last winter - shutting down the federal government for four days in the process - telework has been a topic of great interest in Washington. In recent months and weeks, members of Congress and the Obama... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 1, 2010 New 'Federal Employee' Newsletter Now Available! This year's third edition of NFFE's quarterly newsletter, the Federal Employee, is now available! Click here to see what's inside. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Sep 29, 2010 200 Convene in Los Angeles for DoD New Beginnings Conference From September 20-23, about 200 representatives of federal unions, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) met in Los Angeles, CA to brainstorm ideas for potential changes at DoD regarding performance management, hiring, and workplace incentives. Called the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Sep 21, 2010 Congressman Proposes Legislation Mandating Two-Week Furloughs for Federal Workers Late last week, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) introduced a bill that would subject federal workers to a two week furlough this coming year, a move he says will save the government $5.5 billion. When the bill is read closely, however, it is clear that it is less about reducing the deficit and more... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Sep 17, 2010 Happy 93rd Birthday NFFE! On Friday, September 17 NFFE celebrated its 93rd year of fighting for federal workers. Ratifying its constitution on this date in 1917, NFFE was the first union to represent exclusively non-postal federal employees. Throughout our near century-long existence, NFFE has played a major role in... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Sep 10, 2010 NFFE Organizing Strategic Plan Review Set for Next Week at the Winpisinger Center; Give Us Your Feedback! The week of September 12-17, members of the NFFE National Organizing Steering Committee will come together in person for just the second time to reevaluate the union’s now year-old Organizing Strategic Plan. Set at the William W. Winpisinger Education & Technology Center in Placid Harbor, MD, the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Sep 8, 2010 Reminder: Registration for Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarship Motorcycle Run Ends September 10 Registration for the first annual Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarship Fund Motorcycle Run ends this Friday September 10th. The run, organized by late NFFE National President Richard N. Brown’s sister Kimberly Carl, is scheduled for Sunday, September 19th. Encompassing a 45-mile route throughout... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Sep 3, 2010 A Labor Day Message from National President William R. Dougan Labor Day was first proclaimed a federal holiday by President Grover Cleveland in 1894. Coming off the heels of the Pullman Strike and others before it, in which hundreds of striking workers were killed by federal law enforcement and private union-busters, the first Labor Day was a somber... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Sep 1, 2010 National Federation of Federal Employees: A Century of Progress Ratifying its constitution on September 17, 1917, the National Federation of Federal Employees is the oldest union representing exclusively non-postal federal employees. For nearly a century, NFFE has played a significant role in nearly every important federal workforce policy. In honor of its... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 27, 2010 Congratulations to Bryanna Gordon and Rachel McFalls on Winning Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarships! Today, NFFE would like to congratulate Bryanna Gordon of Hamilton, MT and Rachel McFalls of Brandon, MS on winning the first annual Richard N. Memorial Scholarships. Each was awarded with $1,000 toward furthering their collegiate education this school year. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 25, 2010 IAM Announces Latest Communicator Class at the Winpisinger Center; Ask About it Today! The IAM this week officially announced that the next Local Communicator Class will be held December 12-17, at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center at Placid Harbor in Hollywood, Maryland. Offered by the IAM Communications Department, this basic course is geared at Local... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 24, 2010 NFFE Local 589 Members Call for Change at Jackson VA Medical Center After years of frustration with understaffing, mismanagement, and a hostile work environment, NFFE Local 589 physicians are calling for change at the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery VA Medical Center. In recent months, Local officials have joined together with other unions at the facility to fight back... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 13, 2010 NFFE Local 1 Raises Hundreds at Successful MNPL Party This past Saturday, NFFE National Vice President and President of Local 1 Patricia LaSala, held an immensely successful fundraiser for the Machinists Nonpartisan Political League (MNPL), the political arm of NFFE-IAM. Raising hundreds of dollars over the course of the daylong event, Local 1... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 12, 2010 Congress Takes another Swipe at Federal Workers as Senator Proposes Workforce Cap and Reduction Bill Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) last week introduced S. 3747, the Reduce and Cap the Federal Workforce Act, a bill that seeks to reduce costs by diminishing the size of the federal workforce. The bill would first require federal agencies to report their workforce levels as of February 16, 2009 to the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 6, 2010 Senate Panel Passes Expanded Collective Bargaining For VA Health Care Providers On Thursday, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee approved a bill (S. 3486) that would extend collective bargaining to Department of Veterans Affairs Title 38 health care providers over issues concerning compensation. Under current statute, VA employees under Title 38, including registered... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 5, 2010 First Annual Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarship Motorcycle Run Set for September 19; Register to Ride Today Registration begins today for the first annual Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarship Fund Motorcycle Run, which will be held on Sunday, September 19th, beginning in Watervliet, New York. The run, organized by late NFFE National President Richard N. Brown’s sister Kimberly Carl, encompasses a... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 2, 2010 1.4 Percent Civilian Pay Adjustment Survives Senate Committee; Advances to Full Senate Despite repeated attempts by certain members of Congress to freeze federal pay, the Senate Appropriations Committee last week upheld the 1.4 percent pay adjustment for civilian federal employees by approving the Fiscal Year 2011 Financial Services and General Government spending bill. Originally... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 27, 2010 New Executive Order Promotes Increase in Employment of Individuals with Disabilities On the twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, yesterday President Obama issued an Executive Order requiring federal agencies to increase their efforts to recruit and retain individuals with disabilities. In doing so, he aims to increase the employment of disabled workers by... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 20, 2010 President Obama Calls for Improved Federal Workplace Safety in New Executive Memo President Barack Obama issued an Executive Memorandum yesterday announcing the Protecting Our Workers and Ensuring Reemployment (POWER) Initiative, a program which seeks to improve worker safety and lower costs related to workplace injuries. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 16, 2010 National President Dougan Appointed to the Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health Yesterday, NFFE National President William R. Dougan was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis to serve as a member of the Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH), an advisory group that helps plan, develop, and organize federal health and safety programs... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 16, 2010 Members Chosen for NFFE National Forum on Individuals with Disabilities; Work to Begin this Fall Today, NFFE is proud to announce the 12 members of the new NFFE National Forum on Individuals with Disabilities, a working group of union representatives tasked with identifying and promoting ideas to help improve the quality of employment for disabled members of the federal workforce. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 13, 2010 Local 1998 VP Rob Arnold Appointed to Succeed Colin Walle as NFFE National Vice President NFFE is proud to announce the selection of Rob Arnold as NFFE’s newest National Vice President (NVP). He will succeed National Vice President Colin Walle, who has served as an NVP since his election at the 2008 NFFE National Convention. Walle recently left the Seattle Passport Agency for work in... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 8, 2010 White House Launches 2nd Annual President’s SAVE Award; Submit Your Ideas Today! Today, the White House announced the launch of its second annual President’s SAVE Award, a contest that calls on federal employees to submit their ideas for saving money and improving performance at their agencies. The winner of this year’s contest will be rewarded with a trip to the White House... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 7, 2010 Hundreds of NFFE Items Available at New Online Store! We are now proud to introduce NFFE’s new online store, which provides a wide selection of custom-made NFFE promotional items for members. The new online store has literally hundreds of different items for members to choose from including shirts, hoodies, jackets, hats, athletic wear, and other... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 7, 2010 FLRA and FMCS Announce Additional Labor-Management Partnership Order Trainings The two-day training program is designed to enhance participants’ knowledge of bargaining rights and obligations under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute. Participants should attend the program with their bargaining counterparts so that management and union representatives... Federal Labor Relations Authority more...
Jul 1, 2010 New 'Federal Employee' Newsletter Now Available! This year's second edition of NFFE's quarterly newsletter, the Federal Employee, is now available! Click here to see what's inside. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 30, 2010 Washington Post -- Congress to consider plight of temps with '1039 appointments' With all of the right jabs aimed at the pay of federal employees in recent weeks, you might not realize the lengths Uncle Sam will go to avoid fully compensating some members of his staff. Among those are staffers with the infamous "1039 appointments." Congress will consider their plight at a... The Washington Post more...
Jun 28, 2010 NFFE Welcomes Hundreds of New Members, Business Representative Roosevelt Littlejohn, to the Union Through recent discussions with the IAM, NFFE is proud to announce that it will now represent approximately 450 new members working in various law enforcement capacities throughout the Mid-Atlantic States. NFFE would also like to welcome Roosevelt Littlejohn, an experienced Business... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 24, 2010 Legislation Positively Impacting VA Employees Signed Into Law; New Bill to Address VA Compensation Problems Introduced Recently, President Obama signed into law the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010. The National Federation of Federal Employees lobbied Congress hard for a number of critical provisions that were ultimately included in the final version of the bill. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 23, 2010 Local 2189 Holds Immensely Successful Organizing Drive; Increases Membership 12 Percent Last week, a team of representatives from the NFFE National Office traveled to Texarkana, TX and conducted an organizing drive alongside NFFE Local 2189 members at the Red River Army Depot. Over the course of a very busy four days, the team worked with Local officers and stewards, talking to... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 18, 2010 Senator’s Amendment to Freeze Federal Pay Fails; More Attempts Likely to Come Thursday, the Senate rejected an amendment to the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act, which sought to freeze federal employee pay, eliminate bonuses, and cap the size of the federal workforce. Introduced by Senator John Thune (R-SD), the amendment was defeated in a 57-41 party line vote. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 9, 2010 Legislative Director Erwin Talks Federal Pay on Federal News Radio This morning, NFFE Legislative Director Randy Erwin sat down with Federal News Radio's Mike Causey to discuss the latest developments in federal pay and the NSPS transition. Discussing recent attempts by Republicans in Congress to freeze or even reduce federal pay, Erwin discussed the likelihood... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 4, 2010 Obama Issues Memo Extending New Benefits to Domestic Partners of Federal Employees Wednesday, President Barack Obama issued a memo detailing new regulations directing agency leaders to extend certain employee benefits to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian federal employees. The memo was issued following the conclusion of a year-long investigation by OPM regarding which... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 2, 2010 Watervliet Arsenal Continues to Build on Memorial Day For nearly 200 years, the Watervliet Arsenal has been well known for its ability to create, build, and manufacturer military hardware. This past Memorial Day, the Arsenal workforce applied those skills to a larger purpose by helping to build a foundation of 'values' within the local community, a... United States Army more...
May 28, 2010 From the Desk of the President: Honoring America's Fallen Heroes Memorial Day commemorates the men and women who died while in military service. Our nation was founded in conflict, and throughout our great history when called upon to serve our country, the men and women of our military have not hesitated to answer the call. And in rushing to protect our... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 26, 2010 Local 178 Organizing Committee Charts Course for Big Summer Campaign At a meeting of the Local 178 Organizing Committee yesterday, Local President Lisa Foust, accompanied by National Secretary Treasurer William D. Fenaughty and National Business Representative John Griffin, laid out an ambitious plan for growing membership in the coming weeks and months. With the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 21, 2010 Photos from the 2010 IAM Legislative Conference Now Available! Photos from this year’s IAM Legislative Conference, also known as Lobby Week, are now available on the NFFE website! Click here to view the photos from this year’s conference. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 19, 2010 Congressional Budget Office Releases Report on Domestic Partner Benefits Bill; President Dougan Calls for Action Expanding full benefits to domestic partners of federal employees will cost a total of $101 million dollars in direct spending over the next five years, according to a recent report issued by the Congressional Budget Office. The bill, formally known as the Domestic Partnership Benefits and... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 12, 2010 National President Dougan Receives Good Scout Award for Labor Yesterday, NFFE National President William R. Dougan was honored by the National Capital Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America with the Good Scout Award for leadership in the labor movement. The awards, given to four people each year, honor individuals from both the public and private sectors... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 11, 2010 2010 Legislative Conference has Arrived Yesterday marked the beginning of 2010 Legislative Conference, as NFFE-IAM representatives from around the country descended on Washington, D.C. for the IAMAW’s annual legislative meeting. Building on the legislative successes of 2009, NFFE-IAM members look to keep the ball rolling on some of... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 6, 2010 From the Desk of the President: Honoring America's Nurses May 6 is National Nurses Day, beginning a week of celebration for all Americans to remember and honor the service of all nurses throughout our great nation. Their dedication and selfless service in caring for our elderly, our ill, our injured and our wounded warriors returning from Afghanistan... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 30, 2010 NFFE Local # 1 Members Attend Conference on Improving Medical Care for Veterans Earlier this month, NFFE Local 1 representatives joined 3500 VA workers from across the nation at the Primary Care Medical Home Conference in Las Vegas, NV, to discuss a new model of care for our nation’s veterans. The objective of the conference was both ambitious and deliberate: To improve... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 28, 2010 NSPS Transition Ahead of Schedule; Majority to be in Existing Pay Systems by End of 2010 This week, the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) Transition Office announced that plans to move the 226,000 covered employees into existing pay systems are well ahead of schedule. According to NSPS transition leader John H. James, the majority of workers are expected to be transitioned by... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 23, 2010 Welcome to NFFE.org: New Website Training Now Available! NFFE Communications is proud to announce the release of a new, comprehensive virtual tour of the national website, www.nffe.org. The training is available to both members and non-members so that every federal worker can see the value of union representation. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 21, 2010 National President Dougan Signs Partnership Agreement with NAVSEA Brass; Establishes Labor-Management Relations Council Monday, NFFE National President William R. Dougan signed a partnership agreement establishing the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Labor-Management Council. The signing ceremony and initial meeting represents an opportunity for all participants to come to a consensus on the goals and... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 21, 2010 Legislative Director Erwin Talks TSP Annual Leave Investment Bill on Federal News Radio This morning, NFFE Legislative Director Randy Erwin sat down with Federal News Radio's Mike Causey to discuss Federal Employees and Uniformed Services Retirement Equity Act of 2010 (H.R. 4865), a bill that allows civilian and military federal employees to invest the cash value of accrued annual... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 9, 2010 National President Dougan Calls for Full Bargaining Rights for VA Workers in Congressional Testimony Yesterday, NFFE National President William R. Dougan submitted testimony to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health, urging the extension of full collective bargaining rights for Veterans’ Administration workers. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 8, 2010 FLRA and FMCS to Provide Regional Trainings on Partnership Order In a press release issued yesterday, the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) announced that it was partnering with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to offer training on the implementation of Executive Order 13522, Creating Labor-Management Forums to Improve Delivery of... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 7, 2010 NFFE Local 1 Member, Former Astronaut Millie Hughes-Fulford, Profiled in San Francisco Chronicle Last week, NFFE Local 1 member Millie Hughes-Fulford was profiled in the San Francisco Chronicle, Northern California’s largest newspaper, for her research on outer space and its impact on the human immune system. On Monday, April 5th, space shuttle Discovery launched into orbit, carrying her... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 1, 2010 NFFE Attends White House Forum on Workplace Flexibility This week, the White House held a first-of-its-kind forum on workplace flexibility, inviting leaders from business, labor, government, advocacy groups, and average working people to share their ideas on how to build a better workplace for the 21st century. The forum kicked off with remarks by... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 31, 2010 NFFE Civilian Conservation Corps Representatives Lobby their Elected Officials in Washington, DC Last week, seven representatives from NFFE Locals 1840, 1855 and 1697 came to Washington, DC to lobby their members of Congress on issues impacting USFS Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) centers nationwide. Lead by the Forest Service Council’s CCC Vice President Larry E. King and NFFE Legislative... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 31, 2010 GovExec Magazine -- The Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday reminded agencies that the clock is ticking on a three-year grace period for a rule that bars federal employees from stockpiling compensatory time off. Employees have until May 22 to use up comp time they accumulated in lieu of overtime pay before the... Government Executive Magazine more...
Mar 26, 2010 New 'Federal Employee' Newsletter Now Available! This year's first edition of NFFE's quarterly newsletter, the Federal Employee, is now available! Click here to see what's inside. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 19, 2010 Deadline for Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarship, other FEEA Scholarship Applications, Approaches Applications for this year's annual FEEA Scholarship comptetition must be postmarked by Friday, March 26th, in order to be eligible for the Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarship and hundreds of others. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 17, 2010 President Dougan, Vice President Ostrowski, Discuss Federal Issues with Members of Congress NFFE National President William R. Dougan and National Vice President Timothy Ostrowski met with key leaders at a Congressional breakfast last week to discuss a broad array of issues impacting the nation. Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Congresswoman Betty Sutton (D-OH) were on hand to listen... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 4, 2010 Deadline Nears for 2010 Legislative Conference The cut-off date for reduced room rates for the IAM 2010 Legislative Conference is April 1, 2010. The Conference will be held May 10-13 at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, D.C. The Conference will kick off on Monday, May 10 at 1:30 p.m. with opening remarks by Headquarters GVP Rich Michalski, who... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 24, 2010 Legislative Director Erwin Discusses the NSPS Transition on Federal News Radio This morning, NFFE Legislative Director Randy Erwin sat down with Federal News Radio's Mike Causey to discuss the latest news in DoD's effort to transition covered workers from the controversial National Security Personnel System (NSPS) back into existing pay systems. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 19, 2010 NFFE Recognizes Locals’ Organizing Success with Free Trips to Washington, DC for Lobby Week NFFE is excited to announce that five Locals are being rewarded for their efforts and commitment to building their membership. These Locals, nominated by their respective business representatives and approved by NFFE’s National Organizing Committee, will each receive a free trip to Washington,... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 17, 2010 Richard N. Brown Memorial Scholarship Application Now Available The Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA), a non-profit organization that provides scholarships and emergency assistance to federal employees and their families, is now accepting applications for its annual scholarship competition. Last year, NFFE and FEEA teamed up to dedicate a... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 12, 2010 Enter Now for the 2010 IAM Newsletter and Website Competition! The IAM is now accepting entries to its annual Newsletter and Website Contest, a competition that awards excellence in both print and digital labor journalism. The contest is open to all locals and districts in good standing that have regularly distributed publications for its members and/or... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 5, 2010 Legislative Director Erwin Discusses the Federal Workers Alliance on Federal News Radio This morning, NFFE Legislative Director Randy Erwin joined Fed Talk’s Bill Bransford and other panel members on Federal News Radio to discuss the newly formed Federal Workers Alliance (FWA). Alongside fellow FWA founding members Matthew Biggs of the International Federation of Professional and... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 28, 2010 White House Calls for Discretionary Spending Freeze; Impact on Federal Workers Unclear In last night’s State of the Union address, President Obama proposed a three-year discretionary spending freeze on federal funding that is not related to national security. For agencies not exempted from the budget freeze, it is too soon to tell what the impact for each will be. The freeze is... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 28, 2010 Double your Donations to Help Haiti with Union Plus Survivors of the massive earthquake that struck Haiti need your help. The city is devastated. The number of dead and injured is estimated to be more than 100,000. Your donation will help rush life-saving relief supplies including food, clean water, medical supplies, blankets and tents to the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 21, 2010 NFFE Wins Election to Represent Forest Service Human Resource Management Employees Yesterday, employees in the U.S. Forest Service Human Resources Management (HRM) department in Albuquerque, NM voted in favor of representation by the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE). Nearly 65% of the bargaining unit turned out to vote yesterday, a very high turnout for a union... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 20, 2010 National Office Announces the Launch of NFFE Facebook Page Today, the National Office is proud to announce the launch of the newest tool in its growing communications repertoire, the NFFE Facebook page. Facebook, a vast social networking site wherein individuals and groups can interact online, is a powerful tool for communications, organizing, and... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 20, 2010 GSA Council Negotiating Team Prepares at the Winpisinger Center The popular Negotiation Preparation for Bargaining Committees class at the IAM’s William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology got off to a busy start in 2010 when members of the NFFE-IAM GSA Council Negotiating Team met last week to prepare proposals for the upcoming contract negotiations with... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 15, 2010 National President Dougan Joins President Obama, Business Leaders, for Forum on Modernizing Government Thursday, NFFE National President William R. Dougan attended the White House Forum on Modernizing Government, an afternoon event focused on improving the efficiency of government services. Participating were some of the greatest minds in the federal and private sectors, including federal labor... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 12, 2010 New 'Federal Employee' Newsletter Now Available This year's fourth edition of NFFE's quarterly newsletter, the Federal Employee, is now available! National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 6, 2010 Register Now for 2010 Federal Employee Classes at the Winpisinger Center NFFE and the IAM Government Employees Department will hold a pair of “Federal Employees Basic Programs” on February 7-12, 2010 and March 14-19, 2010, at the William W. Winpisinger Center in Placid Harbour, Maryland. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 6, 2010 Legislative Director Erwin Discusses 2009 Legislative Victories with Federal News Radio This morning, NFFE Legislative Director Randy Erwin sat down with Federal News Radio's Mike Causey to discuss some of the biggest victories federal employees on Capitol Hill this past year. Covering issues such as the FERS sick leave benefit, the repeal of NSPS, and this year's pay... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jan 6, 2010 Washington Post-- "For many in Forest Service, benefits kept just out of reach" When it comes to providing employee benefits, Uncle Sam strives to be a model employer. But there's rust on his halo. Take a look at thousands of Forest Service workers who get no health and retirement benefits, despite years of service to the federal government. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Dec 1, 2009 NFFE Welcomes New General Counsel Stefan Sutich This week NFFE welcomes the newest member of the National Office staff, General Counsel Stefan Sutich. He succeeds NFFE’s former General Counsel Susan Grundmann, who is now serving the Obama Administration as Chairman of the Merit Systems Protections Board. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 24, 2009 Support Growing For Paid Parental Leave Bill At a Monday morning press conference on Capitol Hill, a number of family advocacy groups urged congressional support for the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act (FEPPLA), H.R.626/S.354, a bill that would extend four weeks of paid parental leave to federal workers caring for their recently... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 19, 2009 Domestic Partnership Benefits Bill Advances in House The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Wednesday passed the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, H.R. 2517, a bill that would extend spousal benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 11, 2009 A Veterans Day Message from National President Dougan Veteran’s Day is a day of celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. It provides an opportunity for us to remember and honor the sacrifices our veterans have made in defending our country and... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 6, 2009 Federal Workers in Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. Territories to get Pension Increase and Locality Pay Nearly 20 years after the passage of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act, legislation that established the federal locality pay structure but left those stationed in Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. territories out of the system, federal workers from these areas will soon be getting justly... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Nov 5, 2009 Legislative Director Erwin Talks the Issues on Federal News Radio Yesterday morning, NFFE Legislative Director Randy Erwin sat down with Federal News Radio's Mike Causey to discuss some of the latest developments for federal employees on Capitol Hill. Covering issues such as the FERS sick leave benefit, the repeal of NSPS, and this year's pay adjustment, the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 30, 2009 With Defense Bill Passed, FERS Employees to Receive Retirement Credit for Unused Sick Leave This week, President Obama signed the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act. While a full repeal of the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) dominated headlines, one largely underreported aspect of the bill – and arguably one of the most important for federal employees throughout the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 23, 2009 Senate Approves Defense Bill Repealing NSPS; Bill Advances to Obama’s Desk Late Thursday, the Senate approved the final version of the 2010 Defense Authorization Act, advancing the key legislation to the White House for President Obama’s approval. Passed by a margin of 68-29, the annual appropriations measure carries with it a series of crucial federal employee... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 21, 2009 NFFE Locals Move Forward with New Organizing Plan; Seeing Gains Since its publication last month, there has been a great deal of discussion and enthusiasm regarding NFFE's new Organizing Strategic Plan. Many Locals have begun submitting questions and comments about the document, as well as specific organizing plans and targets for their Locals for the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 16, 2009 Certain VA Employees May be Eligible for Back Pay Current and former employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) may be eligible for back pay. The United States Court of Federal Claims ruled that the VA should have paid certain employees the customary weekend premium pay of 25 percent, or night premium pay of 10 percent, whenever they... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 16, 2009 Domestic Partner Benefits Bill Gains Momentum in Senate Friday, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs held a hearing on the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act (S. 1102). Introduced this past May, the legislation would provide same-sex domestic partners of federal employees access to the same benefits as their... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 14, 2009 Congress Clears Bill to Put VA on a Two-year Budget Cycle Yesterday, the U.S. Senate cleared a bill that would put veterans’ health care programs on a two-year budget cycle. The measure (HR 1016), which cleared by voice vote, would authorize appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical care programs one year in advance of the... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 9, 2009 House Approves Defense Authorization Bill Repealing NSPS; Senate Nearing a Vote The House of Representatives passed the conference report on the FY 2010 Defense Authorization Act, which includes provisions to repeal the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) and convert the over 200,000 employees enrolled under the program back into existing pay systems. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 7, 2009 One Giant Leap Forward for Federal Employees: 2010 Defense Authorization Act Conference Report Includes Slew of Federal Workforce Priorities Today, in a news release issued by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Chairman Carl Levin and Ranking Member John McCain announced the contents of the Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act conference report, which contained a series of crucial federal employee initiatives. The... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Oct 2, 2009 IAM Launches GoIAM 3.0 at 2009 Communications Conference Delegates from across the U.S. and Canada met in Vancouver, British Columbia, to discuss the union’s strategy for staying on the forefront of 21st century communications. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Sep 18, 2009 NFFE Goes Green with New-Look Federal Employee After months of hard work, today NFFE is proud to introduce the new and improved Federal Employee newsletter. Working in conjunction with our new printer, Harris Lithographics, NFFE has redesigned the Federal Employee to better reflect the union’s brand and deliver a sleeker, more professional... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 28, 2009 NFFE Welcomes New National Business Representative David Stamey This week, National President Dougan announced that David Stamey will become NFFE’s newest National Business Representative, filling the slot vacated by now-Assistant Directing Business Representative James Davis. Stamey, a 21 year veteran of the federal workforce and 15 year NFFE member, holds... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 28, 2009 President Dougan Talks Pay Reform at Blacks in Government Conference Yesterday, NFFE National President William R. Dougan sat on a panel with several other federal employee representatives to discuss federal pay reform at the Blacks in Government (BIG) conference in Baltimore, Maryland. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 24, 2009 NFFE Local 1998, National Office, Win Big in 2009 IAM Communications Contest Recently, the IAM announced the winners of its annual Newsletter and Website Contest, a competition that honors excellence and innovation in both print and digital media. Out of a field of hundreds of Locals and Districts, one name appeared time and time again: NFFE-IAM. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Aug 12, 2009 Senate Unanimously Confirms FLRA Nominees Friday, the Senate confirmed by unanimous consent the appointments of Julia Akins-Clark as General Counsel and Ernest DuBester as Member to the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Both appointees have extensive backgrounds in federal labor relations, each having served federal employees in some... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 27, 2009 Key Federal Workforce Initiatives Suffer Setback in Congress Last week, an effort to advance several key federal workforce initiatives in Congress suffered a major setback after the amendment was withdrawn from consideration in the Senate’s version of the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Authorization bill. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 21, 2009 National President Dougan Talks the Issues with USDA Leadership Last Thursday, NFFE National President William R. Dougan sat down with key Department leadership at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC, to discuss key issues affecting USDA employees across the country. National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 14, 2009 A Message from National President William R. Dougan In accordance with the Bylaws of the National Federation of Federal Employees, National-Secretary Treasurer William R. Dougan will succeed the late Richard N. Brown as NFFE National President. Having resumed business on July 14, 2009, following the funeral proceedings, William R. Dougan released... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jul 10, 2009 Congress Sending Mixed Messages on Pay Parity This week, key committees in both houses of Congress approved figures for this year’s federal pay adjustment, however they arrived at very different results. Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee endorsed a 2.9 percent civilian federal employee pay adjustment for fiscal year 2010. This... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 26, 2009 Key House Members Support Pay Parity; Call for 3.4 Percent Civilian Pay Adjustment In a letter sent Tuesday to House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI) and Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee Chairman Jose Serrano (D-NY), Congressmen Edolphus Towns (D-MD) and Stephen Lynch (D-MA) urged the observance of the principle of pay parity in their... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 26, 2009 House Takes Strong Stand Against NSPS By a vote of 389-22, yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelming passed H.R. 2647, the 2010 Defense Authorization Act, containing an amendment that could spell the beginning of the end for the National Security Personnel System (NSPS). National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 15, 2009 Tobacco Bill Passes without Key Federal Retirement Provisions; NFFE Leadership Vows to Fight On This past Friday, the House of Representatives voted 307-97 in favor of the Senate’s version of H.R. 1256, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which lacked many critical provisions for federal employees. Passed by the chamber last Wednesday and then by the House the following... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 10, 2009 Washington Post -- "Struggling to Boost Forest Service Morale" When cowboys and school kids sing "Home, home on the range. . . . Where seldom is heard a discouraging word," they probably aren't thinking about employees of the U.S. Forest Service. But on the nearly 200 million acres of forests and grasslands the service manages, there are plenty of... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 5, 2009 Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act Overwhelmingly Passes House Thursday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 258-154 in favor of H.R. 626, the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act (FEPPLA). The bipartisan bill, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and cosponsored by 55 others, extends four weeks of paid leave to federal employees with a... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 4, 2009 Obama Administration Backs Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act Wednesday, the Office of Management and Budget issued a Statement of Administration Policy in support of H.R. 626, the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act. The bill, introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), would extend four weeks of paid leave to federal... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Jun 3, 2009 NFFE Local 2109 Hosts New York Congressmen at Watervliet Arsenal Last Friday, NFFE Local 2109 members welcomed Congressmen Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Scott Murphy (D-NY) to their facility, the Watervliet Arsenal in Watervliet, New York. Joined by NFFE National President Richard N. Brown, National Vice President Timothy Ostrowski and Assistant Directing Business... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 15, 2009 Lobby Week 2009 a Huge Success This week, NFFE-IAM members from across the nation packed into the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. for four days of networking, speeches, and political activism. Throughout the conference, NFFE members heard speeches from key figures in Congress and Labor, all the while lobbying... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 15, 2009 DoD, OPM Release New Details on NSPS Review The office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense released new details concerning the pending review of the much-maligned National Security Personnel System. In the news release, Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn called on the Defense Business Board, an independent advisory body to the DoD... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 8, 2009 House Resolution Passed Honoring Public Servants With Public Service Recognition Week in full swing, the House of Representatives passed H.R.299, a resolution honoring the contributions of millions of public servants nationwide. The bill, introduced by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), recognizes the often thankless tasks carried out by public... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 7, 2009 House Committee Approves Federal Employee Parental Leave Bill Wednesday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee passed the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act, H.R. 626/S.354, a bill that will give federal workers a minimum of four weeks paid leave to care for a newly born, adopted, or fostered child. Under current law, expecting parents... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 1, 2009 Bill Introduced Seeking Indefinite Freeze to Competitive Sourcing This week on Capitol Hill, Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) introduced a bill calling for an across the board suspension of public-private job competitions. The Correction of Longstanding Errors in Agencies Procurements Act (CLEAN UP Act), S. 924, also contains an in-sourcing provision urging... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
May 1, 2009 OPM Director Introduces Plan to Increase Telework among Federal Employees Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director John Berry introduced this week his plan to jumpstart agency telework programs, giving tens of thousands of federal employees the opportunity to work from home. Today, only five percent of the 1.9 million workers employed by the federal government... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 24, 2009 OPM Director Berry Testifies on the State of Federal Personnel Management Wednesday, recently confirmed Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director John Berry made his first appearance before a Congressional committee as Director. Titled “Public Service in the 21st Century: An Examination of the State of the Federal Workforce,” the hearing was focused on determining... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 23, 2009 Lobby Week Approaching Fast; Delegate Questionnaires Due May 4th Lobby Week 2009, scheduled for May 11th-14th at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill, promises to be one of the most important lobby weeks in years. With worker-friendly politicians taking over the White House and expanding their margins in both the House and Senate this past November, there... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 16, 2009 President Brown Submits Testimony to House Committee Urging Repeal of NSPS NFFE National President Richard N. Brown submitted testimony to the House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Readiness regarding the future of the controversial National Security Personnel System (NSPS). The hearing was held in the wake of growing criticism of the system from federal... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 13, 2009 President Brown Meets with Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn This past Thursday, NFFE National President Richard N. Brown met with Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn at the Pentagon to discuss the future of the National Security Personnel System. Along with partners in labor, President Brown urged Deputy Secretary Lynn not to stand in the way of a... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 10, 2009 Non-Foreign Area Retirement Equity Assurance Act Approved by Senate Committee Last week, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs approved the Non-Foreign Area Retirement Equity Assurance Act (Non-Foreign AREA Act), S.507, a bill that will extend locality pay to federal employees located outside of the 48 contiguous states. Under current law,... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 10, 2009 Federal Retirement Reform Act of 2009 Passes House The House of Representatives passed HR. 1804, the Federal Retirement Reform Act of 2009, a bill that will give FERS employees credit for unused sick leave upon retiring and automatically enroll new hires in the Thrift Savings Plan. Sponsored by Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Chairman of the House... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 9, 2009 House and Senate Call for Pay Parity in FY 2010 Budget Resolutions Before departing for recess, both the House and Senate included language in their Fiscal Year 2010 budget resolutions endorsing pay parity between civilian and military federal employees. The language did not set a specific amount for the pay adjustment, instead asserting the intent of Congress... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 9, 2009 John Berry Confirmed as Office of Personnel Management Director Late last week, the Senate confirmed John Berry as the next Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Berry brings with him to OPM decades of public service experience. As Legislative Director to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Berry was instrumental in the formulation of the Federal... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Apr 8, 2009 NFFE Organizing Efforts Progress; Members Urged to Participate Thanks to increased funding for federal agencies and a more labor-friendly environment, the National Federation of Federal Employees is currently facing one of the best organizing climates in years. Recognizing this, NFFE recently formulated and started carrying out a plan to capitalize on this... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 27, 2009 FLAME Act Passes House; Crucial Wildfire Prevention Bill Now Moves on to Senate Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed legislation to establish an emergency federal fund to fight increasingly frequent catastrophic wildland fires. The bipartisan Federal Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement Act (FLAME Act), H.R. 1404, will serve as a separate emergency fund to... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 26, 2009 House Includes Pay Parity Language in FY 2010 Budget Resolution Yesterday, the House Budget Committee included language in its Fiscal Year 2010 budget resolution establishing pay parity between civilian and military federal employees. Introduced by Representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and John Spratt (D-SC), the language does not request a fixed amount for... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 25, 2009 Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act Approved; Moves on to Full Committee Earlier today, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Post Office, and the District of Columbia passed the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2009 (FEPPLA), H.R. 626, a bill that would grant federal employees four weeks of paid leave... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 17, 2009 NSPS Conversions Put on Hold Pending DoD, OPM Review; President Richard N. Brown's Statement After years of fierce opposition from NFFE and other federal employee unions, the beginning of the end of NSPS may be in sight. In a DoD press release issued earlier this week, Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn announced that DoD will delay any further conversions of defense workers into... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 16, 2009 Employee Free Choice Act Reintroduced: Ask Your Elected Leaders to Support EFCA Now! On March 10, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Rep. George Miller (D-CA) reintroduced the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 1409/S. 560), a bill that will restore Americans’ right to organize and join a union without being subject to harassment by their employers. The Employee Free Choice Act will... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Mar 4, 2009 NFFE National President Richard N. Brown's Statement on Nomination of John Berry as Director of OPM “The National Federation of Federal Employees strongly supports the nomination of John Berry as Director of the Office of Personnel Management. His stellar record of public service and employee relations make him an excellent choice for the position. Berry has a wealth of executive leadership... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 20, 2009 Obama Signs Stimulus Bill: Much-needed Resources Headed to Federal Agencies This week, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the stimulus bill, a bold action that is intended to stimulate the slumping economy and create millions of jobs for American workers. Tuesday’s signing is the culmination of a knock-down,... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 6, 2009 Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act Reintroduced in House and Senate Last week, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) introduced the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act (S. 354), a bill that would amend the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to provide all federal employees with four weeks of paid parental leave when caring for a newly born or adopted child. The same... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
Feb 2, 2009 NFFE Elected to Represent Professional Employees at Forest Service Regional Office Professional employees at the U.S. Forest Service’s Eastern Region Regional Office, located in Milwaukee, WI, chose NFFE as their exclusive bargaining representative. The non-professional employees working from the office were already represented by NFFE Local 2165 prior to the election process,... National Federation of Federal Employees more...
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