New Year, New Opportunities
This past year was a time of great progress and achievement for NFFE and its members. We have seen vast improvements in our organizing, stepped up our communications and secured a series of significant legislative victories.
Now, with 2010 in full swing, we are looking to build on these successes and bring our union to even greater heights. In this spirit, I would like to share with you some of the many priorities that NFFE will pursue as 2010 continues to unfold.
In the early days of this year, we announced the formation of the Federal Workers Alliance (FWA), a coalition of 21 unions representing federal workers. FWA members will work together in solidarity to promote favorable legislation and personnel policies for the more than 300,000 combined federal employees it represents. Working side by side with our union brothers and sisters on these matters benefits us all.
Another important relationship we are looking to cultivate is that between labor and management at the many agencies we represent. We intend to play a very active role in the formation of new agency partnership councils. Our goal is to build a strong foundation for robust and productive dialogue to take place between workers and their managers.
We have an ambitious legislative agenda for 2010. Among our numerous legislative priorities this year, we hope to secure pay parity between military and civilian employees, establish a paid parental leave benefit, and to obtain the benefits that many temporary federal employees are denied.
Lastly, NFFE will continue to focus on organizing and engaging new members. With the new Organizing Strategic Plan in motion, we are committing significant time and resources to growing our union. By year's end we anticipate greater growth in members than we experienced in 2009.
With your help, I am looking forward to making 2010 the best year ever to be a NFFE member.
William R. Dougan
NFFE Lauds House Passage of Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act
Friday, June 5, 2009
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cory Bythrow,
Communications Director
Phone: (202)
255-9950
Washington,
D.C. – The
National Federation of Federal Employees
(NFFE), a union representing 100,000 federal
government workers nationwide, praises the U.S.
House of Representatives for the passage of
H.R. 626, the Federal Employees Paid Parental
Leave Act (FEPPLA).
The bipartisan bill,
sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY),
extends four weeks of paid leave to federal
employees with a newly born, adopted, or
fostered child. Under current law, federal
employees may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid
leave when caring for a newborn, forcing many
new families to choose between a paycheck and
caring for their child.
“Faced by a slumping
economy, federal employees are increasingly
unable to afford the option of taking unpaid
leave after the birth of a child,” said NFFE
National President Richard N. Brown. “This puts
some federal employees in the unenviable
position of having to delay starting a family
because of the financial hardship associated
with lost wages. As a matter of principle,
families should not have to choose between
bringing home a paycheck and caring for their
newborn child.”
NFFE has always been a
strong supporter of obtaining paid parental
leave for federal employees. Having won passage
in the House Thursday, NFFE’s efforts are now
directed toward getting its companion bill,
S.354, through the Senate.
“We applaud
the House for taking the initiative on this
crucial piece of legislation,” said Brown. “We
look forward to working with members of the
Senate and the Administration in delivering
this important benefit for federal
employees.”
“A paid parental leave
benefit is a good idea for a lot of good
reasons, but above all else, it’s the right
thing to do,” Brown
said.
