www.NTEU208.org 301-415-3600
	CHAPTER 208 Join NTEU
Dale Yeilding, President  Larry Pittiglio, Executive VP  Dennis Morey, Treasurer   Vacant, Secretary Bill Carrier, Chief Steward	The Union Web Site at the  Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Collective Bargaining Disputes in Federal Mediation
Dispute Chart
July 1, 2009

After 3 full days of bargaining under the guidance of a federal mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), the agency and the Union have reduced their disputes from 72 to 22 issues.  Both parties are making concessions and removing or resolving issues to reach an agreement.  The remaining unresolved issues involve: fine tuning new work schedule flexibilities, accurately defining eligibility to move to an improved workstation, rating applications for a small number of candidates, fairly linking awards to performance appraisals and guaranteeing a grievance decision through a process free from technicalities to prevent the agency from terminating an employee appeal based upon a missed deadline.

Visit the NTEU Chapter 208 website to see both the Agency and Union position on the remaining disputes.  Contact Dale Yeilding in the Union office at 301-415-3600 with questions.

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Federal Student Loan Forgiveness
June 26. 2009 

NTEU backed the new Public Service Loan Forgiveness program when it was passed by Congress as part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007.  Last year, the regulation process to implement the new law took place at the Department of Education.  The program allows the forgiveness of the balance on qualifying federal student loans after a recipient makes payments for ten years, beginning in October, 2007.  The first cancellation of student loans will not take place until 2017 for full-time employees in public service, including qualifying federal employees.  But for those with high debt, this is a very positive option.  While the actual loan forgiveness is down the road, those of you with high debt, may wish to investigate this program to see if your loans qualify, or if loan consolidation avenues are available for you.  In general, the student loans must be a part of the government’s Direct Loan Program, or be eligible for consolidation.  The linked fact sheet and financial aid website has some useful information.

Finally, I want to emphasize that this new program is separate from the existing student loan reimbursement program that is currently available at the NRC under Article 56 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement which may provide up to $10,000 a year for loan repayment with a lifetime maximum of $60,000.  Contact Dale Yeilding in the Union office (301-415-3600) with any questions or visit the links above.

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NTEU Negotiates Longer eTravel Help Desk Hours
June 25, 2009

Last month, the eTravel Helpdesk hours were extended to 7 p.m., eastern time, in accordance with the agreement NTEU negotiated with NRC for implementation of eTravel. Having the Helpdesk available until 7 p.m., eastern time, was to make assistance available to those working late and to better accommodate employees in the western time zones. The Helpdesk availability is just one of several provisions the Union identified for the implementation of eTravel. Contact Ron Langstaff, the NTEU representative that negotiated the eTravel agreement, (630-829-9747) with any questions.                                         

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Agency Settles with Union on Email Communications 
June 25, 2009

The Union filed for Arbitration to resolve two cases involving over a dozen instances of agency refusal to issue Union email announcements to employees.  Agency issued Union announcements are required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement and had previously been issued for over a decade without disagreement.  A settlement agreement was reached just before the scheduled hearing.  NTEU will now be provided a special email-announcement account to distribute Union announcements directly to bargaining unit employees without intervention by management. 

Prior to the settlement agreement, the contract permitted the agency to comment on announcements.  Regardless of comment resolution, the agency was obligated by the contract to issue Union announcements to all employees including managers.  The settlement agreement eliminates managers and non-bargaining unit employees from Union announcement distribution.  Managers will now only receive NTEU information if their bargaining unit staff is so inclined to share it.  The agency will maintain for the Union an up-to-date announcement distribution list of bargaining unit employees, accounting for new hires, retirements and job classification changes.  The settlement agreement included a change to the Collective Bargaining Agreement.  This settlement is a victory for the Union resulting in the right to unfettered communication with the over 3000 bargaining unit employees that we represent. 

Contact Dale Yeilding at the NTEU Union office, 301-415-3600 with any questions and read the settlement agreement on the NTEU website.  Read all past Union announcements, archived on the website and available to anyone.

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Proposal to Lower Federal Retirement Benefits
NTEU Announcement June 24, 2009 
John Boehner's letter to the President and actual proposal 

On June 4, 2009, the Republican leadership in the House submitted a so-called deficit reduction proposal to the President changing the federal retirement systems to lower benefits.  First, they would change employees’ annuities to a calculation based on a “high-five” average salary, instead of the current “high three.”  According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), this would reduce a CSRS-covered retiree’s pension by approximately $1,250 a year.  Second, for FERS retirees who are under age 62, it would eliminate the payment that is available up until the recipient becomes eligible for social security at age 62.  Not only does this change the retirement rules in midstream, but it is unfair to those federal employees like public safety officers who must retire prior to age 62. 

These proposals garner NTEU’s full opposition, and we will incorporate that in our ongoing dialogues with Congress on a number of issues.  Contact Dale Yeilding in the NTEU Union office with questions at 301-415-3600 or read Republican Minority Leader John Boehner's letter to the President and actual proposal on the NTEU website.

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Link to Dispute Chart 

Collective Bargaining Update on Employee Benefit Roll-Back
May 12, 2009

 After 7 weeks of bargaining since the parties exchanged proposals last year in November, 102 issues remain in dispute.  The Union has listed these issues on the NTEU website.  A federal mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) has been contacted to assist in resolving the disputes.  If agreement is not obtained, the disputed issues would be resolved by the Federal Service Impasses Panel sometime next year.  Contact Dale Yeilding in the NTEU Union office, 301-415-3600 with any questions about the Union's firm stand to protect employee benefits.

Employee Benefit Roll-Backs - Management proposes to:

- restrict project-based telework eligibility to the same positions as fixed-schedule telework
- exclude 6-month temporary promotions from competitive procedures providing an unfair advantage to select employees
- reduce vacancy postings from 16 days to 5 days restricting opportunities for employees on travel or taking vacations
- permit an office to promote from only within their own office, limiting opportunities for others
- eliminate rating panels and permit selection of a minimally qualified applicant from a group of 10
- only need one member of the rating panel to have knowledge of the position being filled
- expand the best qualified list to include those just minimally qualified to give the selecting official a larger pool
- eliminate written documentation for minimally successful performance
- standardize workstation improvement criteria to limit employee moves

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Washington Post Quotes NRC Commissioner Klein
Claiming Union Issues Are small
April 22, 2009

The NRC Chairman was interviewed by the Federal Diary Columnist Joe Davidson about the NRC's top ranking as the best place to work in the federal government.  When asked about the ongoing collective bargaining involving 144 disputed issues, the Chairman responded:  "The issues we've had with the Union are small".   

Some of these small issues involve, the Union firm stand against the agency's assault on telework, protection of  employee's pay structure and expansion of flexible work schedules. NRC employees realize that the Union has been a major contributor, through traditional bargaining, to change the face of the agency over the past three decades to make it the best place to work.  The Chairman advises other agency's aspiring for NRC's top ranking with three reasons:  Communication, Communication, Communication yet the agency reverses course by proposing to prohibit the Union's use of email announcements to communicate with employees.  As the Chairman boasts communication as a significant contributor to the agency's top ranking, he may want to improve his own communication with the Union to better understand the magnitude of current employee issues that the Union is charged to protect. 

Washington Post, Federal Diary-April 21, 2009 ...
Question:  Although the NRC is the top scorer among federal agencies, the union has issues with it.  The National Treasury Employees Union which is in negotiations with the NRC, says 144 significant issues remain in dispute after a lengthy bargaining period.  The Union says it objects to agency proposals that would restrict telework, eliminate the Union's use of email to communicate with employees and strengthen a supervisor's ability to deny a worker's choice of off days, among many other items.

Chairman Klein Answer: Unions typically look at issues for which they can claim representation for the masses.  We have, I think, an excellent relationship with our employees.  The issues we've had with the union have been small.  We try to meet the needs of our employees.  We do have flexible work schedules, we do let people telecommute, we have a day-care center for families, we have parking that we subsidize.  You want people to feel happy to come to work rather than feel they have to come to work, and I think, overall, the agency does a good job at that.

See the entire Washington Post Federal Diary article, when posted, on Joe Davidson's Website.

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NTEU Statement to the NRC Commission
        Human Capital & EEO Briefing, April 16, 2009

Thanks for: Transit Subsidy Childcare Subsidy Credit Monitoring
HR-Labor Relations Not Represented at Human Capital Commission Briefing
Collective Bargaining
Orientation length
Employee to Supervisor Ratio
No Employee EEO Committee Involvement
Streamline Hiring vs. Getting the Right Applicant
Home Sale for Relocation
Agency Reports to Congress Eligible Telework Positions increases from 1000 to 2500
Negotiate Policy Change - The Law
New Supervisors Supervise Without Training

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NTEU Fights the Roll Back of Employee Benefits
April 13, 2008  

NTEU invites employees to a Current Events briefing where ongoing collective bargaining disputes will be discussed.  See a list of disputes on the Union's Dispute Chart 

When:  Thursday, April 16, 2009, 7:30am - 9am
Where: TWFN Cafeteria
What:    NTEU Bargaining Update
               Coffee & Donuts Will Be Served

With many of its current proposals, the Agency proposes to roll back employee benefits to 1977 before NTEU became the exclusive representative.  Back then, employee rights were in a sorry state, with existing promotion procedures essentially non-existent resulting in managers making selections without rating panels, everyone working 8:15am-5pm, and the agency being run like a military boot camp.  We've come a long way since then to become the best place to work in the federal government, even though management fought the Union's proposals every step of the way.  NTEU does not understand why the agency wishes to turn back the clock but you can be assured the Union will be taking a tough stand to protect what we fought so hard to achieve.

 The good news is that NTEU and the agency have agreed to more than half of the 57 articles of the Collective Bargaining Agreement during the past few months involving 5 full weeks of bargaining.  The bad news is 144 significant issues remain in dispute.  NTEU has assembled a complete list on the Dispute Chart and requests your feedback.

 SOME AGENCY PROPOSALS: 

  - an agency wide change to "grade" as the sole criteria for workstation selection while many offices currently use different formulas to include seniority

   - changes to project-based telework, restricting participation to only those eligible for fixed schedule telework and requiring project-based registration forms which are now not required for this existing paperless program

   - changes that would strengthen the supervisors ability to deny the employee's choice for a CWS day off

   - increase the number of reasons for a manager to deny credit hour time off

   - eliminate the employee 60-day notice for denial of a within-grade (step) pay increase

   - extend temporary promotions without competition allowing select candidates to gain valuable experience

   - eliminate crediting plans, rating panels for 10 or fewer applicants and redefine the best qualified list to management's discretion

   - eliminate employee appeal for counseling, thus permitting future escalated discipline to proceed unchecked

   - eliminate the informal problem solving program forcing employees to file formal grievances immediately

  - eliminate the Union's use of email to communicate with employees

   - and many, many, more employee benefit roll backs…

Visit the Dispute Chart to see a more detailed description of the agency's proposed benefit roll-back along with the Union's counter positions.  Contact Dale Yeilding in the Union office (301-415-3600) with any questions or share your thoughts at this Thursday's briefing.

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Links to Other Issues

CAUTION:  NMSS Solicites Volunteers for Temporary Details and Permanent Reassignments, January 15, 2009

2009 Leave Record
Each year, NTEU distributes the Union's Leave Record providing a convenient mechanism for employees to record their use and track their balances of the many different types of leave.  This year we are additionally providing links to the governing policy for each type of leave. 

Policy Protections from the Collective Bargaining Agreement
Annual Leave   Sick Leave   Family Leave    Advanced Sick Leave   Compensatory Time   Religious Observances 
Leave Without Pay  Excused Absence  Holidays  Credit Hours  Compressed Work Schedule  Military Leave  Court Leave

Print your 2009 Leave Record from the Union website or stop by the Union office (O1G22) to find out about an Excel spreadsheet version that will calculate your remaining leave balances and save you from doing the math each week.

NTEU Newsletter December 19,2008
     NMSS Limits Headquarer Secretary Promotions
     EAP Vist & Your Security Clearance - Counseling Remains Undefined
     Streamlining of NRC Hiring Process Eliminates Competitive Opportunities
     Government Executive Magazaine Quotes James McDermott

EEO Statement to Commission - Dale Yeilding  (December 9, 2008)
     Labor/Management Partnership
     Joint Labor/Management EEO Committee
     Anti-Harassment Program & Increase in Discrimination Cases
     Union Grievances
     ADR Employee Option
     February Begins Collective Bargaining
     Human Resource Obstructs Union Email Announcements

NTEU Newsletter,December 10, 2008
     Status of 2009 Pay Raise
     Childcare Subsidy May Increase and Be Given to More Employees
     Union Claims Manager Cannot Terminate a Credit Hour Schedule to Discipline Employees
     How Long Can the Agency Expect You to Travel in a Vehicle Versus Flying? 

NTEU Newsletter, December 4, 2008
     Newsletters Get the Word-Out That the Agency Refuses to Email
     Agency Policy Favors Supervisors with 50% Larger Performance Award
     Supervisor's Web-Tool That Automatically Generates Appraisal Text
     SEC Employees to Share in $2.7 Million Settlement

NTEU Newsletter, November 21, 2008
     NTEU Settles Grievance In time for 2008 Appraisal Performance Ratings

NTEU files a Grievance due to the agency's failure to issue Union email announcements

NTEU Negotiates New Flexible Work Schedules at the NRC

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Reference:  NTEU has authority to use the agency email system per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 9.6, Use of Computer Systems.

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NTEU Working Today for a Better Tomorrow
Web Site Last Updated
July 1, 2009