Friday, September 3, 2010

(National Federation of Federal Employees)

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 occasion.

It was a day where the sacrifices of hundreds of American workers were to be honored, and the aspirations of millions more to be celebrated. As president and founder of the American Federation of Labor Samuel Gompers described it, it was “the day for which the toilers in past centuries looked forward, when their rights and their wrongs would be discussed…that the workers of our day may not only lay down their tools of labor for a holiday, but upon which they may touch shoulders in marching phalanx and feel the stronger for it.” Gompers saw it not only as a time for remembrance, but a call to action.

More than 100 Labor Days since, the determination and rugged idealism of organized workers throughout the nation have fundamentally changed the life of every working American. Because of the labor movement, we now enjoy a 40-hour and 5-day workweek, overtime pay, paid holidays, and the accrual of sick and vacation leave. We enjoy the right to organize and bargain collectively for our health, safety, and financial wellbeing. Most importantly, we are entitled to the dignity that comes with having fundamental rights in the workplace.

We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. With solemn reverence, and with fierce optimism, we honor them on this day.

This Labor Day, I ask that you also keep in mind the millions of Americans who are out of a job right now; victims of an economic storm that has ravaged our nation for nearly 3 years. Please send your thoughts, prayers, and support to these men and women and do all that you can to help put them, and America, back to work.

Domestic workers in New York are now guaranteed more rights than anywhere in the nation.

Governor David Paterson signed the Domestic Workers’ Rights bill into law Tuesday morning.

It guarantees overtime pay, a minimum of one day off every seven days, three days of paid leave per year, and protections against sexual harassment and racial discrimination.

The bill also mandates that a feasibility study be done to see if there is a possibility of these workers unionizing.

The law covers the estimated 270,000 domestic workers – including nannies, housekeepers and caregivers – employed statewide, and is being hailed as a civil rights victory since the majority of the workers are not only women, but also women of color.

“They are the structure and function of our society,” Paterson said. “They have been the skeleton and underpinning of our success. They are the wind beneath our wings. And we have totally disrespected them, until today.

Federal workers have become a new flashpoint in the fight between Republicans and Democrats on the economy.

House GOP Leader John Boehner (Ohio) this week blamed Democratic policies for exacerbating a gap in the pay between public and private workers that he claims was rising even as the country suffers through a housing crisis and high unemployment.

House and Senate Republicans already have offered legislation to freeze the salaries of the 2 million federal employees through amendments to economic stimulus bills being ushered through Congress by Democrats. Each effort has failed due to opposition from Democrats.

In criticizing federal pay, Republicans appear to be seizing on rising anti-Washington sentiment magnified by the struggling economy.

The nation’s unemployment rate stands at 9.5 percent, and the housing crisis shows no signs of abating. Both parties are unpopular with voters, reflecting the dim view of what goes on in Washington.

The Beltway has been hit by the recession as well, but an increase in government spending has benefited the Washington region. For example, while existing home sales in July posted a 27 percent drop from June, home price gains in Washington from a year ago were among the highest in the country.

“We’ve seen not just more government jobs, but better-paying ones too,” Boehner told the City Club of Cleveland on Tuesday in what was billed as a major speech on economic policy.

“It’s just nonsense to think that taxpayers are subsidizing the fattened salaries and pensions of federal bureaucrats who are out there right now making it harder to create private sector jobs,” he added.

Boehner and House Republicans have backed up the rhetoric with legislative proposals.

Democrats representing the Washington area were unhappy with Boehner’s remarks and accused the Republican of demonizing federal workers.

“These are people who are working in the public interest, and who serve the very public we represent,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said in an e-mail to The Hill. “Shame on John Boehner for yielding to that temptation for short-term political gain at long-term cost political cost.”

In attacking the federal workforce, Boehner and other Republicans have argued Democrats are out of touch with the country. The GOP in August fought against a $26 billion state aid package that Democrats said would help state governments retain teachers, police officers and firemen, and in Boehner’s address, he mentioned the package as an example of Democrats’ wasteful spending.

Efforts to scale back the salaries of state workers and the size of the state workforce have picked up traction in some areas, notably New Jersey, where Republican Gov. Chris Christie has scored political points by limiting the salaries for employees of the Garden State.

In his comments Tuesday, Boehner struck a populist tone in arguing that federal workers have become an elite interest group protected by Democrats.

“Federal employees now make on average more than double what private sector workers take in,” Boehner said in Tuesday’s address.

“More appalling is the fact that this gap more than doubled in President Obama’s first year in office — during a time when millions of private sector workers either lost their jobs or agreed to take pay cuts just to keep the one they have.”

Democrats argue it is Boehner that is out of touch and have tried to capitalize on the GOP leader’s support for extending all of the Bush tax cuts, including those on the highest tax brackets.

“It’s unfortunate that, as Republican Leader Boehner advocated for a return to Bush economic policies, he also took the time to attack civil servants,” said Doug Thornell, spokesman for Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). “Federal workers — many of whom live in Maryland’s Eighth District — make up an incredible workforce serving the American people. Attacking them, while advocating for a tax cut for the wealthiest 2 percent of people in our country, is partisanship at it’s very worst.”

Both Connolly and Thornell also noted that, as a member of Congress, Boehner is technically a federal employee himself.

“Last time I checked he makes $193,400,” Connolly said. “That’s more than most federal employees. So a little respect for the people who serve our public is in order.”

“If Leader Boehner is concerned about cutting the salaries of government employees, maybe he should start with his own,” Thornell said.

While most Democrats were eager to pounce on Boehner’s speech, and Democrats with large constituencies of federal employees took additional issue with the House Republican Leader’s gripe with the federal workforce, the unions representing that workforce have so far remained out of the fray.

American Federation of Government Employees, the National Federation of Federal Employees and National Treasury Employees Union — who combined represent upwards of 1 million federal workers — all declined to comment after being reached to discuss Boehner’s remarks.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

(National Federation of Federal Employees)

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) last week introduced S. 3747, the 2010 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 Office of Management and Budget. If their current staff size exceeds that of February 2009 levels, then they must reduce their workforce through attrition until it reaches that point.

Once this milestone is reached, agencies will be prohibited from hiring a new employee without offsetting it with the loss of another, effectively capping the federal workforce. Exempted from the proposed legislation are the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, in addition to the CIA, FBI, Secret Service, and the White House.

“Placing an arbitrary cap on the federal workforce is just bad policy, plain and simple,” said NFFE National President William R. Dougan. “Not only will it shortchange the American people on the vital services they receive from experienced federal workers every day, it will shift that work to contractors who have proven to be more expensive and operate with less transparency. This bill would cut services, raise costs, and force the American taxpayer to foot the bill.”

The Reduce and Cap the Federal Workforce Act is just the latest in a number of recent attempts by some in Congress to degrade the federal workforce in size and compensation. In May, a similar bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), but it never came up for a vote. Later that month, a measure proposed by Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) was voted down when she attempted to attach it to the annual Defense appropriations bill. That same week, Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and John McCain (R-AZ) wrote up their own proposal that would have frozen federal employee pay and performance awards. This was also defeated, but only by a thin margin of 53-45.

“Regardless of the obvious detrimental effects, certain members of Congress will stop at nothing to undermine the work federal workers do for the American people,” said Dougan. “These politically and ideologically driven schemes do absolutely nothing to serve the American public. We will continue to oppose these short-sighted anti-worker proposals as they are considered by Congress.

http://www.nffe.org/ht/a/GetDocumentAction/i/23431

Thursday, January 28, 2010

(National Federation of Federal Employees)

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. The freeze is proposed to take effect in Fiscal Year 2011.

A number of agencies and social programs are not impacted by the proposal. The Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs are left out of the plan, as well as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and certain international programs.

For agencies not exempted from the budget freeze, it is too soon to tell what the impact for each will be. The White House has indicated that some agencies and programs will see budget increases, while others will see decreases, but the net impact for all the impacted agencies as a whole will be a Fiscal Year 2011 budget equal to that of Fiscal Year 2010.

It also remains unclear what the White House will propose for the FY11 annual pay adjustment. We will know more when the President passes his FY11 budget proposal to Congress on Monday. The White House has announced that salaries of senior White House officials and other top political appointees will be frozen in FY11, but the Administration has been made no mention of what will be offered for military and civilian federal employees.

As we move through the FY11 budget process, NFFE will continue to push for pay parity between military and civilian federal employees, and annual pay adjustments that are consistent with current law. Furthermore, NFFE will strongly defend against cuts to the numerous federal agencies that provide invaluable services to the American people.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

(National Federation of Federal 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 election.

“Yesterday’s victory could not have happened without the hard work and cooperation of many of our union brothers and sisters,” said NFFE National Organizing Director Cassie Kerner. “I am so grateful to everyone who lent a hand on this campaign. Thanks to everyone’s perseverance, the employees of HRM will now have a much-needed voice in their workplace.”

Just one day after the victory at the polls, 26 HRM employees have already joined on as dues paying members. This victory was the result of a lengthy and hard-fought battle to secure representation for approximately 385 employees in the department.

The process began in the spring of 2008, when NFFE began collecting signatures from HRM employees who were interested in union representation. NFFE faced a number of hurdles over the next several months, but eventually was able to finalize a bargaining unit of approximately 385 people last November.

HRM employees in Albuquerque will now be covered by the Master Agreement negotiated by the NFFE Forest Service Council.

Thanks to National Business Representative Gary Johanson, Organizing Director Kerner, Forest Service Council President Ron Thatcher, National Vice President Jozef Drozdowski, IAM Organizer Terri Friend, and the members of NFFE Local 2197 for all of their hard work in this campaign.