Amer Al-Mudallal to Replace Joe Edgell

Amer Al-Mudallal, NTEU Chapter 280’s new President

Joe Edgell is leaving NTEU 280 and EPA HQ to assume a position at EPA Region 10 to be closer to his aging parents.

The NTEU Executive Board met on November 29, 2018 and voted for Executive Vice President Amer Al-Mudallal to assume the President’s role. Amer has previously served with distinction as President of NTEU Chapter 280. Amer’s bio is here.

Joe Edgell, NTEU Chapter 280’s outgoing President

Joe will be sorely missed. Over his 11 years of NTEU activism, and especially in his 5 months as President, he has helped many members and strengthened NTEU at EPA. Whether it was his leadership, lawyering, negotiation skills, grievance-handling, communication skills, or fierce defense of NTEU and its members…. Joe gave us 1000%.

Joe often says that all of the members are the union, not just the officers. He hopes that he leaves EPA Headquarters inspiring employees to join NTEU as members, and participate as stewards and on committees. Joe set the bar high for all of us, and he will be very disappointed if our membership doesn’t step up and increase their involvement and support of NTEU.

New Officers Starting July 1

NTEU Chapter 280 chose new officers for the next three-year term, which starts July 1, 2018 and extends until June 30, 2021. The new officers are:

President:  Joe Edgell
Executive VP:  Amer Al-Mudallal
Senior VP:  Derek Threet
Chief Steward:  Diane Lynne
Treasurer:  Dr. Bernard Schneider
Secretary:  Toby Jeong
VPs at Large:

• David Alexander
• Allison Hoppe
• Maria Rodriguez
• Bill Wassell
• David Wynn

Each of the officers-elect shown above were unopposed for their respective offices. As a result, the NTEU Chapter 280 by-laws state that when a candidate for office is unopposed, election for that office is unnecessary and the candidate is considered "duly elected." The chapter officers make up the Chapter's Executive Board.

Seth Low, Former Chapter Senior VP Passes Away

Seth Low, longtime member and former Senior Vice President of NTEU Chapter 280 passed away recently. Seth served Chapter 280 as the Senior VP, a former Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (now Office of Land and Emergency Management) Steward, and Editor of the Chapter’s old Inside the Fishbowl newsletter from October 2003 to June 2006.

Seth provided guidance and advice to NTEU Chapter 280 members on a broad range of subjects, including the Collective Bargaining Agreement, grievances, and civil rights processes and procedures. He was especially proud of helping members resolve issues without needing to file a grievance.

Seth participated in NTEU National training for leadership, representation, and steward programs and provided a sympathetic ear to employees with workplace issues. NTEU continues to grow and strengthen due to the individual efforts of people like Seth, who step forward into leadership roles to help safeguard the rights of fellow employees.

Chapter 280 expresses its sincere condolence to Seth's family.

New Chief Steward

Incoming Chief Steward Anne Pastorkovich.

We've passed the Chief-Steward torch recently in Chapter 280, with Chief Steward Alan Carpien's retirement. The Chapter Executive Board voted to replace Alan, upon his retirement, with NTEU Secretary Anne Pastorkovich.

Alan leaves us after serving 48 years in the federal government, with 37 years of that at EPA. We were fortunate to have Alan for the last six months of his federal service as he poured all his energy into serving our members.

Outgoing Chief Steward Alan Carpien.

Upon his departure, Alan said:  "Please convey to the NTEU Board and membership my thanks for their allowing me to serve as Chief Steward for the last six months.  I hope I have been able to help some people and even learned a thing or two.  Happy New Year to all and best of luck as you continue in your careers." Alan made an enormous difference for us settling several grievances favorably for our members and handling numerous other member difficulties. We are very sad to see him go.

The sadness of his departure is tempered somewhat by the fact that he will be replaced by equally-capable Anne Pastorkovich, longtime Union official and Executive Board Secretary. Anne is also an attorney with the skills necessary for the Chief Steward position. Anne assumes her seat on January 9, 2017.

Anne's departure left a hole in our Executive Board, however. Our Secretary position remains open. If you're interested in serving as Secretary, please contact NTEU Chapter 280 President Diane Lynne. Remember, only dues-paying members may serve on the Executive Board. If you're interested, please visit our membership page to get the details on Chapter membership.