Both chambers will be in recess next week with legislators in their states and districts for the Thanksgiving holiday. When Congress returns the week of November 26th, there will be two weeks remaining before the current Continuing Resolution (CR)--for agencies that did not receive full-year Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 funding--expires midnight on December 7th between Friday and Saturday…..
Read MoreSenators Challenge Administration on Failure to Follow Court Order
A few weeks back, NTEU and other federal labor unions won an historic victory and injunction against the anti-employee executive orders (EOs) issued by President Trump. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson enjoined “the President’s subordinates from implementing or giving effect to” the overturned portions of the EOs. Agencies, however, have continued to give force and effect to struck-down provisions of these EOs at the bargaining table and in other fora.
On Thursday, sixteen Senators….
Read MoreStatus of EPA Budget
Last month, President Trump signed H.R. 6157, a bill providing Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 funding for several agencies covered by the Department of Defense and Labor-Health and Human Services appropriations bills as well as a Continuing Resolution (CR) for other agencies that have otherwise not received FY19 appropriations, thereby preventing a partial government shutdown until December 7, 2018. Agencies funded by the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, Legislative Branch, and Energy and Water appropriations bill received their full-year funding under previously enacted legislation.
EPA is one of the agencies….
Read MoreMembers Get Free Access to Federal Health Plans Guide
As an exclusive benefit to NTEU dues-paying members, members will again have access to Consumers’ Checkbook’s online Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees and Annuitants, beginning the first day of the federal open season, November 12, 2018.
The guide will be available through NTEU’s web site starting November 12, www.nteu.org, in the Benefit section throughout Open Season (November 12, 2018 – December 10, 2018)….
Read MoreRetiree COLA at 2.8% for CSRS, 2.0% for FERS
Today, the U.S. Department of Labor announced cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) information for federal retiree benefits in 2019. CSRS annuitants will receive a 2.8 percent monthly increase starting with January 2019 benefit payments, while FERS retirees will see their monthly pensions adjusted by 2 percent. All Social Security beneficiaries ….
Read MorePay Raise Not a Done Deal
A key legislative priority for NTEU has been to ensure a pay raise for federal employees by securing congressional support and action to secure a pay raise for federal employees this January.
Despite media and other reports yesterday of a so-called final “deal” or legislative victory on a federal employee pay raise for January, the reality is that Congress will not finalize its plans on whether or not to block the President’s planned pay freeze….
Read MoreWriting Congress
The NTEU Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) guarantees NTEU representatives the right to reach out to Congress. Representatives are guaranteed the right to:
act for a labor organization in the capacity of a representative and the right in that capacity to present the views of the labor organization to … the Congress….
receive official time to contact members of Congress and their staffs to discuss legislative and related matters affecting the Employer and its employees.
But it’s not only union officials that can reach out to Congress. You also can contact your member of Congress on matters that concern you during your breaks and lunch periods. NTEU makes it easy to do through its congressional action website at action.nteu.org.
You can write Congress about the lack of pay raises to keep up with inflation, the removal of employee rights through the President’s anti-employee executive orders, protecting EPA’s budget, and many other issues. All you need to do is type your zip code, it will automatically locate your member of congress, pre-format a letter you can then edit or send.
Federal Budget Update
Congress has been working in recent months to pass FY19 appropriations bills in small groups, each called a “minibus,” after President Trump expressed displeasure in the spring at signing an omnibus appropriations bill, consisting of all 12 delayed FY18 bills, and stated that he would never do that again. As of today, both the Senate and House have passed the so-called minibus I, H.R. 5895, consisting of full year funding for the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs funding measures. The President is expected to sign the bill.
This week….
Read MoreWaPo Article Praises Federal Employees & Union Efforts
Yesterday's Washington Post carried an essay reflecting on NTEU and other federal unions' court challenge to President Trump's anti-employee, anti-union executive orders, characterizing the efforts as the real resistance to President Trump's illegal actions.
The article quotes NTEU President Tony Reardon….
Read MoreTrump Directs 2019 Pay Freeze
Today, the President sent congressional leaders a formal letter transmitting an alternative pay plan for the calendar year 2019 pay raise for federal workers in the General Schedule that would block a pay raise for January 2019 and freeze current pay rates—both the annual across-the-board pay increase as well as locality pay rates.
Under current law, the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act, absent congressional action to establish a pay raise, the annual, across-the-board pay raise for most federal employee is set using a formula tied to the Department of Labor’s Employment Cost Index (ECI), which measures the rise in private sector pay. Under the formula prescribed under this law….
OPM Data Breach Lawsuit Update
NTEU continues to press its arguments that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) violated NTEU members’ constitutional right to informational privacy when it allowed a series of data breaches to occur, failing to protect the personal data of nearly 22 million federal employees. This litigation is an important fight for us. NTEU believes that OPM must answer for breaking its promise to federal employees about keeping our personal information safe from hackers.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed NTEU’s suit on September 19, 2017. The court ruled that NTEU members were not sufficiently injured by the data breaches. NTEU appealed this decision and will file its next brief on August 23, 2018. The Court will then set a date for oral argument.
Budget Update
The start of the 2019 Fiscal Year (FY) is only six weeks away. The fall funding situation remains unclear with a contentious Supreme Court battle brewing, the mid-term elections approaching, and the President’s past stated opposition to a Continuing Resolution (CR) for FY19.
The House and the Senate passed versions of bills that contain significant differences that need to be resolved before they can be enacted. Neither the House nor the Senate have passed all 12 appropriations bills. If Congress fails to to enact any of these bills prior to October 1st, the government will shut down unless Congress were to pass a CR.
NTEU will monitor the budget process and work with members of Congress to avoid a government shutdown. However, should one occur, NTEU will fight to ensure that all federal workers receive their paychecks on time.
NTEU Supports Federal Employees Under Attack
Federal employee rights and benefits are under attack.
The collective bargaining agreement at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) expired. HHS proposed to eliminate 21 entire articles from the contract, including articles governing alternative work schedules, telework, performance appraisals, awards, and transit subsidies. HHS also proposed to exclude over 40 subjects from the grievance procedure. After only 2 ½ days, the HHS "bargaining team" declared an impasse, ending the "bargaining." This dispute will likely come before the Federal Service Impasse Panel, the panel that resolves disputes between federal agencies and unions representing federal employees. The panel's members are appointed by the President.
NTEU is pursuing measures on Capitol Hill, such as filing a bad-faith bargaining unfair labor practice grievance, in addition to the pending executive order lawsuit.
HHS' proposals mirror those that were unilaterally implemented at the Department of Education. Other NTEU represented agencies could be next.
Trump to Sign Bill Impacting Federal Employees
On Monday, August 13th, President Trump will visit Fort Drum to sign the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019. The bill includes several government-wide personnel provisions. The General Services Administration will extend its pilot telework program until December 31, 2020. The pilot telework program authorizes agencies to pay, with certain restrictions, necessary travel expenses for employees participating in a telework program. Also, agencies will be able to use direct hire authority for college and post-secondary students. This authority allows agencies to fill vacancies in specific occupations, grade levels, and locations when it can be proven that there is a critical hiring need or a severe shortage of candidates. View the text of the bill here.
Update on Legislation Introduced to Take Away Employee Rights
Recently, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee met to consider several anti-employee and anti-union bills.
The proposed bills would eliminate collective bargaining on Information Technology decisions, upend the role of the Merit Systems Protection Board….
Read MoreSenate Approves a 1.9% Pay Increase for Federal Workers
On August 1st, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) spending bill for fiscal year 2019. The Senate approved a 1.9% pay increase for federal employees by a vote of 92 to 6. NTEU worked closely with our allies in the Senate to protect the pay increase despite opposition from the White House, which called for a federal employee pay freeze for 2019. NTEU will continue to push to secure a pay increase for 2019 as the bill goes to conference.
Lawsuit Update
This week NTEU argued its lawsuit challenging the May 25 Executive Orders (EOs) issued by President Trump. On Wednesday afternoon, a federal judge heard arguments from NTEU and other federal unions in the combined lawsuit challenging the three EOs. NTEU General Counsel Greg O’Duden argued…..
Read MoreLegislation Introduced to Take Away Employee Rights
Last week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee met to consider several anti-employee and anti-union bills. The proposed bills will eliminate collective bargaining on Information Technology decisions, will upend the role of the Merit Systems Protection Board in its work to oversee employee appeals, and will hinder effective performance management at federal agencies by both eliminating agency dispute resolution processes and the due process rights, which are the legal procedures that must be followed to prevent harmful or unequal treatment, of federal employees. The Senate introduced bills similar bills.
NTEU strongly opposes all of these measures and will work to block these anti-labor laws from being enacted. For more information, read the letter NTEU sent to the Committee members expressing our concerns.
Join NTEU for a Lunchtime Rally for Employee Rights July 25
Next Wednesday, NTEU will present arguments in our lawsuit against the President's anti-employee executive orders. These orders limit NTEU’s ability to represent employees, make it easier to fire hard-working employees where a manager and employee have a personality conflict, and restrict collective bargaining at government agencies. This undermines decades of federal law that govern labor-management relations in the federal sector.
NTEU is joining with other federal unions for a July 25 lunchtime rally….
Read More
NTEU Supports Paid Parental Leave
The federal government should join the growing private sector trend and provide employees with paid leave for the arrival of a new child, National Treasury Employees Union President Tony Reardon told Congress this week.
“When this movement began, we wanted the federal government to be a leader and model employer in providing this benefit to employees…..
Read More