A coalition of 54 environmental and civic groups as well as several unions, including NTEU, assembled outside EPA headquarters today to let EPA employees know that they support their efforts, and decry recent attacks on science, federal employees, and the environment.
As a really nice thank-you, they also passed out tasty cookies and delicious Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Yum!
You can download their letter by clicking here, or read the entire text, below...
Read MoreSince we sent our recent members-only email on VERAs and VSIPs (didn't get it? Join here), we've had some followup questions regarding retirement. Here is the retirement eligibility information from OPM for people subject to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).....
Read MoreSince my first installment of Pioneering Fulltime Telework at the EPA back in October of 2016, there have been a lot of changes across the federal government. For the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it is likely that we will be doing more with less in the years to come – smaller budgets, smaller staff, and a smaller physical footprint.
Thomas Edison said: “The value of an idea lies in the using of it.” Fulltime telework has value – actually a lot of value – if it is used. The smallest expansion of fulltime telework at the EPA could save millions of taxpayer dollars while meeting and exceeding the business needs of the Agency.
Imagine if EPA encouraged just 20% of its workforce to fulltime telework, it would slash nearly 1% of its annual budget – some $45.6 million!....
Read MoreRoll Call is reporting that another government shutdown and furloughs may be in the works.
The article notes that "congressional negotiators had been making good progress but the White House has not been constructive." The story quotes staffers who say that it will be difficult, given the state of negotiations, "to meet the April 28 funding deadline and thus a short-term continuing resolution would be needed."
But Democratic leaders, ....
Read MoreEPA's current funding expires, with much of the federal government's, on Friday, April 28th. Both Congress and the President must act in order to prevent a government shutdown due to a lapse in appropriations.
Congressional leadership and the administration are in negotiations regarding appropriations legislation that would keep federal agencies operating for the remainder of fiscal year 2017, which ends on September 30. With Congress heading into a two-week recess....
Read MoreMetro's SafeTrack Surge #14 starts soon on the northern end of the Green Line. Metro will conduct Surge #14 as a "shutdown" to reduce the duration of the project and mitigate the impact to customers elsewhere along the Green Line.
Surge #14 will be conducted in two phases. The overall surge will run from Saturday, April 15, through Sunday, May 14. As part of SafeTrack, NTEU Chapter 280 negotiated additional workplace flexibility with management including schedule flexibility, telework for new employees, and delayed arrivals, which may be available for NTEU 280 bargaining unit employees. Additionally, Chapter 280 recently negotiated the MaxiFlex schedule for bargaining unit employees.
During phase 1, from April 15 through April 29,...
Read MorePresident Trump submitted a supplemental request to Congress for fiscal year (FY) 2017 funding. Current FY 2017 funding expires on April 28th.
Congress is scheduled to be in recess the weeks of April 10th and 17th, leaving only five legislative days upon their return before funding expires. Congress must either pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) or pass eleven remaining appropriations bills before this date. Failure to act will cause another government shutdown.
Read MoreWashington D.C. – Among the 3,200 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) jobs that would be eliminated under the 2018 budget outline proposed by the White House Thursday are committed civil servants who help enforce clean air and clean water laws, said Tony Reardon, National President of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).
“The proposed cuts at the EPA show a clear disdain for the mission of the agency. The work of EPA employees has led to noticeable and verifiable improvements in our country’s natural resources,” Reardon said. “A cut of this size is a huge step backwards in environmental safety and health and puts at risk the health of American citizens today and that of future generations.”......
Read MoreFrequently employees ask what they get for their dues. They get a lot.
NTEU and its predecessor unions negotiated compressed and flexible schedules, part-time-employment flexibility, and many other workplace benefits. We take many of these benefits for granted now, not remembering that they’ve been hard-fought at the negotiating table by unions, with the agency frequently opposing these improvements. One those improvements are implemented, however, many managers find they love them as much or more than their employees.
If you are a dues-paying member, you learned back in January that NTEU Chapter 280, along with AFGE Local 3331, successfully negotiated a version of the MaxiFlex schedule with EPA headquarters management. The Headquarters Maxiflex Pilot Program agreement was signed on January 24, 2017, and is supposed to be implemented soon, we're told.....
Read MoreAs a result of the repeated attacks on federal employees from Capitol Hill, a number of members have contacted us and asked what options the agency might have to reduce the size of the federal workforce. To be clear, we have no information that anyone is planning any of these reductions, but we are posting this information because of the inquiries we received.
In the past, the agency typically avails itself of a number of options before resorting to involuntary reductions in force or RIFs. Typically those options include:
- attrition through retirements and normal separations
- Voluntary Early Retirement Authorities (VERA)
- Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP)
Before you dismiss the impact.....
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