NTEU 2023 Legislative Conference Issues

This week NTEU chapters from across the country met for NTEU’s annual legislative conference held in Washington, D.C. Members of NTEU met with congressional offices/members to discuss issues directly impacting federal employees. The issues we discussed were 1) increasing federal employee pay, 2) ensuring agency funding, 3) promoting and supporting telework and remote work, 4) protecting and enhancing federal benefits, and 5) safeguarding workplace rights and protections. Click on the image for more information on each issue. For additional information visit https://www.nteu.org/.

PUMP Act and Rights of Nursing Mothers

Under the law, nursing mothers have the right to reasonable break time to express breast milk for their nursing children and are entitled to a private place to pump at work. Attached is a flier for the workplace explaining these rights. More information about employee protections to pump at work is available here: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pump-at-work

HQ Move Agreement Survey – Coming to your in-box soon!

At EPA Headquarters, office moves for employees who are members of a Bargaining Unit (BU) (either NTEU or AFGE) are managed according to a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed in January, 2022. HQ Move MOA The MOA provides, among other things, that each year employees can vote for the formula that will apply in the following year to determine the order of workspace selection for office moves.

There are two options:  Grade PLUS Years of Service, or Grade THEN Years of Service.  Last year, a majority of employees voted for Grade PLUS Years, and that has been used for office moves in 2022.  This is your opportunity to participate in a decision about your working conditions!  You have until Thursday, October 27, 2022 to vote for your preference.

September Reminders

Mandatory training requirements:  September 30, 2022, is the deadline for employees to complete several mandatory training courses.  You have probably received many reminders already warning about the consequences if you fail to meet this deadline (you would be locked out of your computer and the EPA network).  The time and effort it can take to resolve this problem far outweigh the time and effort it will take to complete the training courses. 

Summer Membership Drive:  Any new member who submits a signed SF-187 to join Chapter 280 by September 24, 2022 will receive an incentive of $100 once their membership is processed.  The form is available for download here.  Please complete it, and send it to Amer Al-Mudallal.  If an existing member recruited you, please include the name of that person (who will also receive an incentive of $50).

Reentry Date for NTEU Bargaining Units

You’ve all seen the Deputy Administrator’s announcement that AFGE, ESC, NAGE and NAIL agreed to a return to the office date of April 25. With the next email from Kimberly Patrick, the Agency officially announced that April 25 is also the return to the office date for NTEU bargaining unit employees. The distinction-without-a-difference is that this date has been imposed on NTEU involuntarily.

There is not yet any reentry MOU for NTEU bargaining units.  Our contract provisions for telework (including full-time telework) are still in effect, and we are still negotiating how to adjust them as “maximum telework” comes to an end.  But the Agency played a lot of games about negotiating the health and safety policies that are so critical for bringing people back to their offices, and NTEU wasn’t willing to agree to any specific reentry date without adequate commitment from the agency to take appropriate measures to protect employees on their return. 

We only began formal bargaining with the Agency over COVID-related health and safety policies this week, although they have been hearing us express your concerns through the PDI process throughout the pandemic, before the Agency unilaterally cut off that process. We are disappointed that many of the Agency’s proposed policies and many of their objections to our proposals do not reflect an understanding of your legitimate concerns about maintaining safety and protecting employee health, particularly that of the most vulnerable, during the transition back into the office. We are also disappointed that the Agency did not directly inform us during our bargaining session yesterday that they would be unilaterally imposing this return to office date on NTEU bargaining unit employees today.

We are still in discussions with management about health and safety, and our goal is to help employees protect themselves and their families from the deadly coronavirus. The Future of Work has preceded the End of the Pandemic, and we have to move forward under the Agency’s decision. We are still hopeful that management will participate in the EPA Labor COVID-19 Coalition pursuant to the charter that OMS signed on behalf of EPA so that employees will have a voice in the Agency’s ongoing response to COVID in the future.

We encourage you to request any desired changes to your telework or schedule arrangements, or remote work, under our existing CBA as soon as possible. If you have medical concerns about returning to the office because of COVID, consider requesting a reasonable accommodation. Supervisors have very broad discretion, but if your supervisor is unwilling to approve arrangements that you believe are necessary to protect your health or your family, we may be able to help.

Free webinar about vaccine mandate, and more

On Wednesday February 2, 2022, at 12:00 PM (EST) the law firm Tully Rinckey, PLLC will present a free webinar regarding the court injunction against the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees.  Click here for more information or to register.  (NTEU Chapter 280 is not affiliated with Tully Rinckey, PLCC.)

Stay up to date on the federal guidance on safety measures and vaccines. Every time the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force updates or adds to its FAQs, the changes are identified on the What’s New? page here.

Finally, NTEU has a page for dues-paying members with information and FAQs about the vaccine mandate at https://www.nteu.org/faqs.

Stay safe, everyone!

Update on Federal Employee COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

On Friday, January 21, 2022, a federal district court in Texas issued an order temporarily halting implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for federal employees under Executive Order 14043.  The Department of Justice filed an appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals the same day.

The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force has issued a statement that “the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce” the vaccination requirement. According to statements from EPA management, only 9 employees across all 4 chapters of NTEU at EPA (out of 57 total EPA employees, agency-wide) have not complied with the mandate (by either proof of vaccination or a request for an exemption). It is possible that these employees already received warning letters prior to the injunction, but according to Deputy Administrator McCabe’s email today, all such actions are now suspended. Further, the Agency has stopped processing the requests for medical or religious exemptions that were submitted.

If you need help with any notice of enforcement or pending exemption request, bargaining unit employees at HQ can reach Chapter 280 by email to info@nteu280.org.

EPA & Labor COVID-19 Coalition

Last Spring, EPA management and labor representatives established (by charter) a committee to “consider and promote improvements in the way EPA addresses the COVID-19 pandemic.”  The EPA Labor COVID-19 Coalition (ELCC) met formally a few times in 2021 to discuss in a pre-decisional forum how the Agency might implement the safe return of employees to their offices.  “Pre-decisional involvement” (PDI) means a collaborative dialogue to reach consensus as much as possible prior to the initiation of any formal bargaining.  Therefore, NTEU’s participation does not waive any bargaining rights over changes in work conditions related to the pandemic, including “re-entry.”

It is important to note, however, that our senior leaders have not appropriately engaged this group in a manner consistent with the charter before sending its Future of Work plans to OPM/OMB, even though each mass mailer has stated and re-stated their “commitment” to working with the unions. NTEU will continue to press our senior leaders to honor the ELCC’s charter and allow affected employees to have a voice in the development of re-entry plans, not just an opportunity to react to what management has decided.

You can read the ELCC charter here.  NTEU’s representative to the ELCC is Allison Hoppe, and the Co-chair for labor is Zakiya Davis, President, NAGE Region 4.

Happy Thanksgiving from NTEU Chapter 280!

Last Chance to Save on Membership This Year!

If you have been “meaning to join” NTEU as a dues-paying member, but kept forgetting to do it, you’re in luck! NTEU’s summer membership campaign lasts until this Saturday, September 25, 2021. If you join this week, you will receive a $100 dues rebate as a bonus! All it takes is a SF-1187 form (Request for Payroll Deductions for Union Dues) – you can download a fillable pdf here: https://nteu280.org/join

The 2021 Dues Chart is also on that page; consult it to find the biweekly deduction for your grade and step, and put that amount on the blank line with the $-sign. Send your completed and signed form to our Chapter President Amer Al-Mudallal at amer@nteu280.org by Saturday, and you will receive a check by mail once the deduction request is processed. (Please provide your mailing address in your email message when you send in the form.)

Membership has benefits!  There is a brochure full of discounts available to members, as well as members-only sections on the national www.nteu.org website.  Furthermore, while NTEU Chapter 280 represents the interests of all employees in our bargaining unit (BUS code 1053), only dues-paying members can vote to ratify (or reject) a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA, our contract).  The Agency opened our entire CBA for re-negotiation in 2018/9?, but the bargaining process stopped when the new Administration and senior leadership at EPA were installed.  The way forward is unclear at this time, but we one thing with certainty:  there is strength in numbers!  A union with a high percentage of members within a bargaining unit has far more leverage and credibility at the negotiating table.  If you want a contract that provides more flexibility in terms of schedules, telework, and leave usage; if you want a contract that holds Management accountable for respecting employees’ rights and treating all employees fairly; then help us achieve that – join today!!

If you have any questions about membership or what Chapter 280 is doing for you, feel free to contact any of the officers or stewards (listed under the “About” tab above), or send your question to info@nteu280.org. 

Responses to Open Letter

I have received many emails from my EPA colleagues thanking me for sending my Open Letter to EPA Senior Leadership. All of them expressed hope that the Administrator and Deputy Administrator will take action soon to address supervisors and managers who have refused to adjust their expectations of employees in recognition of the varying degrees of burdens created by the pandemic.

Dr. Michael Ottlinger, President of NTEU Chapter 279 at EPA’s Cincinnati facility, sent me this thoughtful response, and allowed me to share it publicly.

“I hear from employees, particularly young mothers, who are extremely stressed about having to ask for leave from work, because of their families’ needs, and owing to their literal exhaustion, both physical and emotional. Part of their concern is that such absences will be seen by their supervisors as evidence to their being insufficiently supportive of agency work goals, e.g., the thought that: Not everyone asked for leave, they sucked it up, but not you.

“Everything we can do to alleviate any unfair burdens they suffer in these extreme circumstances, and reassure them that these measures are open to them without concern for retaliation, or lowered performance evaluation, or reduced career opportunities based on adverse assessments of their commitment to agency goals, would be appreciated by all of us.

“I would ask all agency leadership, the Administrator included, to regularly affirm that the agency understands their problems and ensures them that using this leave is encouraged.”

I am still eagerly waiting to meet with the Deputy Administrator, as per her response posted earlier.

Open Letter to EPA Senior Leadership

On Tuesday, May 4, 2021, Andrea Medici, Chief Steward of NTEU Chapter 280, sent an email to Administrator Michael Regan and Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe to notify them that an alarming number of first-line and second-line supervisors have not treated EPA employees with the respect and compassion due to dedicated public servants who have suffered so many burdens caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Notwithstanding the continual public accolades at every level of management for the Agency’s successful implementation of near-universal telework, too many employees are still hearing from a supervisor that pandemic-related impacts on productivity or timeliness simply are not excusable, and may lead to performance related action.

One such employee was actually removed from federal service for unacceptable performance through an expedited process that began at the height of the pandemic in August of 2020 (while the Agency was still operating under Trump-administration personnel directives), and concluded with her final removal on Earth Day, April 22, 2021.

Read the Open Letter here.

On May 9, 2021, Deputy Administrator McCabe responded on behalf of the Administrator and herself, expressing concern and a desire to meet with union representatives.

Read the response here.

Current scheduling efforts suggest that this may occur sometime next week (May 17 - 21, 2021).

NTEU Statement on Canceling Diversity Training

The federal government should be a leader in fostering open and honest discussions about systemic racism in our country, not trying to shut them down. Holding these discussions in federal workplaces is not just the right thing to do, it is necessary and essential.

We strongly disagree with the administration’s order to cancel training that would allow a deeper understanding of each other and a recognition of the value of every employee. Too many voices have been ignored, if not silenced for too long. The U.S. civil service is a large, diverse workforce and those differences need to be understood, respected and welcomed, not disparaged or ignored.

In addition to the regressive decision to end diversity training, we have strong concerns about the administration’s order that individual employees be disciplined for conducting such training. This is a heavy-handed and unnecessarily punitive order designed to intimidate federal employees. Left unchecked, this administration will continue its efforts to hollow out our government and silence employees and their representatives. NTEU will continue to challenge all these efforts to ensure that all employees feel welcomed, included and valued in the workplace. Dignity and respect for federal employees is our mission, and it should be the administration’s as well.

Tax Deferral E.O. Causes Problems for Lower-Paid Employees

The Executive Order on “tax relief” directs the Treasury Department to defer withholding of payroll taxes from the paychecks of federal workers who earn less than $ 4000 in gross pay bi-weekly until the end of this year. Employees cannot keep this “extra” take-home pay; all the taxes must be re-paid to the IRS before April 30, 2021, or else the employees could incur penalties and interest on their involuntary debt. Employees who are fortunate enough to earn higher annual salaries ($ 104,000 gross) will not see any change in their withholding.

NTEU has been opposing this action from the beginning. On September 2, Tony Reardon, NTEU National President, sent a letter to OMB with several questions about how this will affect employees. NTEU Letter

Members of both houses of Congress have written letters to OMB regarding this initiative.

House Letter Senate Letter

In the absence of any guidance from the Treasury, OMB, OPM, or Agency management, NTEU has released some preliminary advice for employees about how they can prepare for the tax debt they will incur next year. Click here for the details: Memo

We will continue to post new information as we receive it.