Where Was Mike Last Week and Where is Mike Now? - USP Atwater; FCC Victorville; and Washington, DC

I spent last week in California, visiting AFGE Local 1242 at USP Atwater and AFGE Local 3969 at FCC Victorville.  Thanks to Local 1242 President, Don Martin; and Local 3969 President, Don Shults for the grerat hospitality and a great visit.

This week, I'm traveling to Washington, DC and BOP Central Office for two reasons.  First, the CPL Anti-Harassment/Anti-Discrimination Joint Policy Committee (JPC) will be re-starting this week after a year and a haft of not coming to the table.  I was a member of the JPC starting back in early 2011.  Along with Sandy Parr, the CPL National Fair Practices Coordinator, I'm going to be meeting with Agency officials to get the ball rolling after the long hiatus.  We will also be meeting with the Equal Employment Opportinity Commission's Office of Federal Operations this week to talk about some BOP related issues.

I'll also be at the table with the Trust Fund Joint Policy Committee, as we continue to negotiate the Trust Fund/Deposit Fund Manual (Program Statement P45000.09).

Where is Mike now? - Partnership Council Meeting - Grand Prairie TX

The CPL Board will be meeting this week with the top executives of the Agency in a Partnership Council Meeting.  The Bureau of Prisons/Council of Prison Locals established the Partnership Council under the provisions of Section 3 (a)(i) of Executive Order 13522.  The same Executive Order established the National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations (the “Council”).

We're meeting in Grand Prairie, TX, where the Agency has centralized much of it's human resources, inmate systems, and financial management functions

AFGE Week in Review: Dec. 20, 2013 - AFGE Members Urged to Nominate Outstanding Co-workers for Service to America Medals

Dec. 20, 2013 AFGE Members Urged to Nominate Outstanding Co-workers for Service to America Medals Federal Employee Morale Hits All Time Low, Thanks to Congress EPA Faced Biggest Drop in Employee Morale Senate Approves Budget Agreement AFGE Urges Immediate Passage of Legislation Granting Pay Raise to Blue-Collar Federal Workers Nearly 50% of Feds Eligible to Telework in 2012 AFGE Members Urged to Nominate Outstanding Co-workers for Service to America Medals (Sammies): AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. is encouraging AFGE members to participate in the 2014 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals by nominating talented co-workers who are AFGE members and whose high-impact accomplishments and professional contributions are a testament to the important work of the federal government. The prestigious Sammie awards – the Oscars of public service – recognize federal employees in eight categories: Federal Employee of the Year, Call to Service, Career Achievement, Citizen Services, Homeland Security, Management Excellence, National Security and International Affairs, and Science and Environment. Past winners include federal employees with high-impact accomplishments in protecting the environment, defending the homeland, caring for veterans, curing diseases, making scientific discoveries, responding to natural disasters, etc. Nominations, open until Jan. 17, 2014, can be submitted by anybody familiar with the nominee's work except for the nominee.  "We know that AFGE members' work affects everyone in this country and around the world every day, but we need to make sure our work is recognized in a major way and at the highest level," said NP Cox, who sat on the 2013 Service to America Medals Selection Committee. "We need people to understand that our work directly contributes to America's security and prosperity and that a strong federal career workforce is vital to the country's well-being and her future." All medal categories are open to both individual and team nominations. Finalists will be announced in late spring. Click here for eligibility requirements and here to submit a nomination. Federal Employee Morale Hits All Time Low, Thanks to Congress: Three years of pay freezes, furloughs and Congress' policies favoring spending cuts over economic growth continue to take a toll on federal employee morale, which this year hit a record low. A report released this week by the Partnership for Public Service, "Best Places to Work in the Federal Government," says 57.8% of federal employees are satisfied in their jobs – the lowest it's been since the survey began in 2003. Last year job satisfaction was 60.8% compared to 65% in 2010. Besides the budget cuts that have resulted in hiring freezes, cutbacks in employee training and other reductions that have impaired service delivery to the public at many agencies, new federal employees also are being required to pay substantially more toward their retirement to help pay down the U.S. deficit. "Politicians have been telling federal employees for years that they're not worth receiving a fair wage, that their jobs aren't worth funding, that the services they deliver to the American people aren't as important as continuing to subsidize Wall Street corporations with lucrative tax breaks," AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said. "Should it come as any surprise that federal employees feel devalued, dispirited and discouraged? Federal employees join the government to serve their country and give back to the community, but some politicians have turned them into the enemy and made them the scapegoat for all of the country's problems." EPA Faced Biggest Drop in Employee Morale: Of all the large agencies surveyed in the Partnership's Best Places to Work, the Environmental Protection Agency sat on top of the list of agencies with the biggest drop in employee morale – a decrease of 8.3 points to a score of 59.3. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)'s employee satisfaction score fell by 10.8 points – the largest decline among mid-size agencies. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board had the biggest decline among small agencies, a whopping 33.4 points. Meanwhile, NASA remains on top of the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government list for large agencies. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was ranked first among mid-size agencies while the Surface Transportation Board took home top honors for small agencies. Senate Approves Budget Agreement: The Senate on Wednesday voted 64-36 to approve a budget agreement brokered by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and his Senate counterpart Patty Murray. The budget deal, which was approved by the House last week, partially repeals sequestration for two years – $45 billion in 2014 and $20 billion in 2015. It requires federal employees hired after Dec. 31, 2013 to pay an additional 1.3% toward their pensions for a total of 4.4%. The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program also will add a 'self plus one' option for couples with no kids. Current federal employees are not required to contribute more to their pensions. AFGE Urges Immediate Passage of Legislation Granting Pay Raise to Blue-Collar Federal Workers: AFGE is calling on Congress to pass legislation granting the government's blue-collar workers the same pay raise other employees are receiving in January. White-collar employees in the government's General Schedule pay system will receive a 1 percent pay raise in January, ending an unprecedented three-year pay freeze. However, Congress must pass separate legislation to extend this pay raise to blue-collar workers under the Wage Grade pay system. Rep. Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania introduced legislation in November that would provide Wage Grade employees the same pay raise General Schedule employees are receiving in January. This legislation has the bipartisan support of more than 20 representatives, but the House adjourned for the year without taking up the bill. "Without immediate action by Congress, more than 200,000 employees at our military bases, veterans' hospitals, federal prisons and other worksites will be denied the modest pay raise being given to all other federal workers," AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said. "Congress must take immediate action once the legislative session resumes in January to rectify this inequitable situation." Nearly 50% of Feds Eligible to Telework in 2012: More federal employees were eligible to telework in 2012, according to a new report by the Office of Personnel Management. In 2011, 684,589 federal employees, or 32% of the workforce, were eligible to telework. The number went up to 1,020,034 in 2012, or 47% of federal employees. The number of telework agreements between agencies and employees also went up by 84% from 144,851 in 2011 to 267,227 in 2012. The number of employees who teleworked in September 2012 went up to 209,192, compared to 168,558 in September 2011. More teleworkers – 32% v. 27% – were able to telework three or more days per week in 2012 compared to 2011. OPM finds that agencies used telework to maintain productivity during an emergency such as a weather event. Teleworkers are more likely to report higher job satisfaction than non-teleworkers. With turnover cost running between 90% and 200% of an employee's annual gross salary, "the strong relationship between telework and decreased turnover intentions in 2012 support the cost benefits of telework," the report finds. "Ultimately, we want agencies to use telework strategically to drive results: ensuring continuity of operations, reducing management costs, improving our employees' ability to balance their work and life commitments, and increasing accountability for achieving individual work results," OPM Director Katherine Archuleta said. "The report shows that a growing number of agencies do use telework as a strategic tool." The 2013 Status of Telework in the Federal Government report looked at telework in 90 agencies between September 2011 and September 2012.  This Week's Essay: In an essay titled The Financial Crisis: Why Have No High-Level Executives Been Prosecuted?, Jed S. Rakoff, a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, questions the government's reluctance to pursue fraud cases against high-level banking executives that led to the financial crisis in 2008. Rakoff argues that the Justice Department has failed to perform its duties of investigating and prosecuting those executives even though the stated opinion of many government agencies asked to look into the issue, including the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, is that the financial crisis was indeed a product of intentional fraud. While acknowledging the difficulty of proving the high-level executives' criminal intent, Rakoff argues that the department should make use of the "willful blindness" doctrine, which is well-established in criminal law and consistently approved by the Supreme Court. Rakoff also finds the department's "too big to jail" excuse – the fact that prosecuting these financial institutions could impact the national economy –unconvincing. He argues that the department should prosecute individual CEOs instead of the entire companies as prosecuting the institution itself is not fair to innocent employees and shareholders.  Rakoff offers three possible factors that influence the government's reluctance to pursue the cases: 1) the prosecutors had other priorities, faced with budget limitations, and had little experience in investigating and prosecuting sophisticated financial frauds. 2) the government and Congress had a part in creating the conditions that helped allow frauds to take place, such as the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act, which prohibited commercial banks from engaging in the investment business. And 3) prosecutors have shifted from prosecuting individual executives to prosecuting companies – a practice that Rakoff argues is not the best way to prevent future wrong doing as prosecuting companies often results in a settlement – internal control measures that "are often little more than window-dressing."  "I do not claim that the financial crisis that is still causing so many of us so much pain and despondency was the product, in whole or in part, of fraudulent misconduct," Rakoff writes. "But if it was—as various governmental authorities have asserted it was—then the failure of the government to bring to justice those responsible for such colossal fraud bespeaks weaknesses in our prosecutorial system that need to be addressed." This Week in Labor History: Dec. 20, 1970 – The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) takes effect today. This Week's Tweet: 2013's top 5 wins for workers http://thkpr.gs/1kn06fd  ~@thinkprogress This Week's Interview: AFGE Legislative Representative Marilyn Park appeared on The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann to discuss the Ryan/Murray budget deal. Watch her excellent interview here. This Week's Video: Scientists Discover One of The Greatest Contributing Factors to Happiness. And it turns out to be just a simple action – just in time for the holidays. This Week's Holiday Gift: Looking for a stocking stuffer? How about this awesome MMT Coloring Book by Stephanie Kelton, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Inside Government: Tune in now to AFGE's "Inside Government" as the union's president looks ahead to 2014. The show, which originally aired on Friday, Dec. 20, is now available on demand. AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. outlined the union's 2014 agenda and discussed the impact of sequestration and the government lockout on federal employees. Cox also analyzed the Budget Conference Committee deal, which will require federal employees hired after 2013 to contribute more to their pensions. Eric Young, president of AFGE's Council of Prison Locals, then detailed the work environment inside the Bureau of Prisons, dangers facing federal correctional officers and efforts to collaborate with other AFGE councils to strengthen the union. Lastly, AFGE Department of Veterans Affairs Local 2778 Vice President John Adams discussed sequestration's impact on VA research and concerns about contracting out at the agency. Adams also shed light on the positive impact federal employees have on their communities and local economies. Listen LIVE on Fridays at 10 a.m. ET on 1500 AM WFED in the D.C. area or online at FederalNewsRadio.com. For more information, please visit InsideGovernmentRadio.com. Quote of the Week: Max Stier, Partnership for Public Service president and CEO, on his organization's latest federal employee job satisfaction report: "There is no doubt the three-year pay freeze, furloughs, budget cuts, ad hoc hiring freezes and continued uncertainty are taking their toll on federal workers. What it really means is that agencies aren't positioned to successfully meet the needs of the American people." ***Happy Holidays, everyone! AFGE Week in Review will return after New Year's*** American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO 80 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001 | Tel. (202) 737-8700 | Fax (202) 639-6492 | www.afge.org Click here to subscribe Click here to unsubscribe

AFGE Week in Review: Dec. 13.2013 - AFGE Rejects Budget Deal, Calls for End to Reckless Sequestration

Dec. 13, 2013 AFGE Rejects Budget Deal, Calls for End to Reckless Sequestration Contractor Salary Cap Cut in Half, Thanks to AFGE AFGE President Asks to Meet with Army Secretary over Army's Plan to Replace Civilians with Military New Analysis: 30% of Top Violators of Wage and Safety Laws Are Current Federal Contractors AFGE Praises Report Calling for New Public Works Investments AFGE Mourns Loss of Humanitarian Nelson Mandela Paid Family and Medical Leave Bill Introduced, Finally AFGE Rejects Budget Deal, Calls for End to Reckless Sequestration: The House Thursday evening approved a budget deal that forces a tradeoff between funding the programs to which federal employees have devoted their lives and their own livelihoods. Even though the two-year budget deal partially repeals sequestration for two years – $45 billion in 2014 and $20 billion in 2015 – it requires federal employees hired after Dec. 31, 2013 to pay an additional 1.3% toward their pensions for a total of 4.4%. The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program will add a 'self plus one' option. AFGE, however, commends lawmakers who stood up for federal employees during budget talks, notably House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and House Budget Committee Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen. Current employees won't be asked to contribute more into their pensions because of the lawmakers' extraordinary efforts to protect federal employees. The original plan proposed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan was to require federal employees to increase their retirement contribution by 5.5%. He also wanted to eliminate the supplemental retirement payments for future employees. "As hard as they fought, they were still forced to fight within a ridiculous box created by the Budget Control Act, which triggered irresponsible sequestration," said AFGE Legislative and Political Director Beth Moten. "They were boxed in by austerity budgeting that has hurt families and job creation." In addition to Hoyer and Van Hollen, AFGE members are grateful for the support shown by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, Frank Wolf of Virginia, Keith Ellison of Minnesota, and Nita Lowey of New York. On the Senate side, AFGE extends our appreciation to Senators Patty Murray of Washington, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, and Harry Reid of Nevada. The Senate is expected to pass the bill next week. Contractor Salary Cap Cut in Half, Thanks to AFGE: Because of AFGE and these heroic members of Congress' demand, the budget deal lowers the contractor salary reimbursement cap from a scandalous $952,308 to a less outrageous $487,000, which AFGE will seek to reduce even further. The Office of Management and Budget last week issued a Federal Register notice raising the cap to $952,308 retroactive to Jan. 1, 2012. Even though the provision in the budget deal won't take effect until 180 days after the bill becomes law, without AFGE and the lawmakers' intervention, the amount would have risen to over $1 million while veterans and federal employees are struggling and asked time and again to chip in to enrich the wealthy. AFGE has been urging OMB to change this absurd formula for years. Even contractors don't believe the cap should be set at $952,308. The Professional Services Council, for example, acknowledged "that the formula needed to be revisited." AFGE President Asks to Meet with Army Secretary over Army's Plan to Replace Civilians with Military: AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. last week requested a meeting with Army Secretary John McHugh after the Pentagon recently approved the Army's request for additional discretion to replace civilian employees with military personnel through fiscal 2014. AFGE is very concerned about how the Army will use its greater discretion, especially given reports that the Army is eager to use Borrowed Military Manpower (BMM) instead of civilians and contractors in thousands of instances. It doesn't make any sense that the service would cite budget shortfalls for substituting military personnel for civilians as it's a known fact that military personnel are more expensive than civilians. "As I am sure you would agree, our members, your local and dedicated employees, deserve to know how their lives and their work will be affected by the delegation of this extraordinary discretion and how the additional use of BMM could possibly promote economy during these austere times," NP Cox wrote. New Analysis: 30% of Top Violators of Wage and Safety Laws Are Current Federal Contractors: The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's analysis released this week shows that taxpayer dollars are routinely paid to a large number of contractors who refuse to comply with federal wage and safety laws, putting the livelihoods and the lives of their workers at risk. Specifically, the committee's analysis revealed that almost 30% of the top violators of federal wage and safety laws are current federal contractors. Almost half of the penalty paid by companies found violating safety laws held federal contracts in 2012. During this period, 42 American workers died as a result of safety violations. In 2012, $81 billion in taxpayer dollars were paid to the 49 federal contractors that were cited for 1,776 wage and safety law violations and had to pay $196 million in penalties. The committee made a series of recommendations, including having agencies put in additional requirements to ensure that contractors comply with the laws. Agencies also should be encouraged to promote compliance and better safeguard taxpayer dollars by having federal employees do the work in question. In a letter to Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, AFGE Legislative and Political Director Beth Moten endorsed the committee's approach to addressing the problem. She added that when a contractor's record shows that it has violated labor laws, the company should be disqualified from competition instead of being given points for graded levels of responsibility between contractors. The Labor Department also should be empowered and fully funded to investigate and exclude scofflaw contractors. AFGE Praises Report Calling for New Public Works Investments: AFGE echoes the findings of a new report from the Center for Effective Government, which argues that Congress needs to shift its focus from slashing federal spending to investing in America's future. The report released today, "The Bridge to Prosperity: Reverse Reckless Cuts, Restore Our Infrastructure, and Revive Jobs," argues that the U.S. has an investment deficit when it comes to our schools, roads, bridges, levees and dams, and clean water infrastructure. By targeting new investments in these areas, Congress can create good-paying jobs and save money in the long run, all while improving the quality of life for all Americans. "AFGE has been arguing for years that we can't cut our way to economic prosperity, and this new report makes that crystal clear," AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said. "We have a growing backlog of public works projects that has been ignored while Congress debates cutting federal employee wages and cutting cost-of-living adjustments for retirees and military veterans. By repairing crumbling roads and bridges, restoring aging school buildings, upgrading water treatment plants, and strengthening our flood control systems, we can improve our nation's health and safety, create millions of good-paying jobs, and save us from more costly repairs down the road." A $124 billion investment in essential public structures and infrastructure upgrades would create as many as 2.5 million jobs nationwide, the report finds. In addition to investing in our public works projects, NP Cox called on Congress to eliminate sequestration and invest in a first-class government workforce that is positioned to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. AFGE Mourns Loss of Humanitarian Nelson Mandela: AFGE joins with millions of people around the world in expressing deep sorrow upon hearing the news of the Dec. 5 passing of former South African President Nelson Mandela. "Nelson Mandela was more than a hero to the South African people," said AFGE National Vice President for Women and Fair Practices Augusta Thomas. "He came to signify the integrity and commitment of those who, despite the odds, stood against oppression and injustice. Many members and leaders of AFGE participated in the anti-apartheid support movement here in the U.S. We were proud to be associated with the men and women in South Africa who, through various means, took up a fight that many mainstream commentators believed impossible to win." Paid Family and Medical Leave Bill Introduced, Finally: A bill was introduced this week to allow eligible workers 12 weeks of paid leave each year to take care of a new born, an adopted child, a sick family member, or their own medical conditions. The Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, or FAMILY Act, was introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut. Under the bill, the program would work the same way as Social Security – workers must pay into the system in order to collect benefits. It would create an independent trust fund within the Social Security Administration to collect fees and provide benefits. Employees and employers would each contribute 0.2% of wages with a maximum contribution of $4.36 per week or $227.40 per year for a high-income earner. The average woman worker earning the median weekly wage would only need to contribute $1.38 per week. Workers would receive benefits equal to 66% of their typical monthly wages with a maximum of $1,000 per week. The bill would cover federal employees. "The proposal makes leave available to every individual regardless of the size of their current employer and regardless of whether such individual is currently employed by an employer, self-employed or currently unemployed, as long as the person has sufficient earnings and work history," said Sen. Gillibrand. "In this way it would apply to young, part-time and low-wage workers." According to the Department of Labor, only 12 percent of workers in the United States have access to paid family leave through their employers. Three states – California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island – have paid family leave laws. The United States is the only industrialized nation that doesn't mandate paid leave for new parents. Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, in 1993 to allow workers to take up to 12 weeks of leave to take care of their families or their own illnesses, but many people cannot afford to take time off under this job-protection law because it's not paid leave. FMLA also doesn't cover every worker as it only applies to organizations with 50 or more employees. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka praised the FAMILY Act. "The FAMILY Act will be especially important to young workers, part-time and low-wage workers, regardless of their employer's size or their duration on the job. And the FAMILY Act will be a win for employers as well, because it will lower employee turnover rates and increase productivity, if passed." This Week in Labor History: Dec. 10, 1906 - First sit-down strike in U.S. called by the Industrial Workers of the World at General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y.  This Week's Blog: In an awesome blog post on The Huffington Post this week, author and political organizer Robert Creamer argues that progressives must fight back against the right wing war on public employees. A proposal by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin demanding a massive increase in pension contributions by all civilian federal employees is the latest assault against public sector employees in an organized war waged by conservative lawmakers and their allies in corporate America and on Wall Street: "Government is the name we give to the things we choose to do together. We have to attract the best and the brightest to staff our government. That requires that the teaches, firefighters, police officers, maintenance people, researchers, clerks, constituent service workers, programmers, air traffic controllers, managers, construction workers, corrections officers, policy analysts, and everyone else who works for our governments must be respected, well compensated, and have the right to collectively bargain over the wages and working conditions. It's time for us all to stand up against the Right Wing war on public sector employees." This Week's Tweet: Following backlash for Sen. Warren attack, Third Way think tank admits much of its funding comes from Wall Street http://slnm.us/I5Bt5iq ~ @salon Inside Government: Tune in now to AFGE's "Inside Government" as the union's members share their stories working on the front lines in the Department of Veterans Affairs. The show, which originally aired on Friday, Dec. 6, is now available on demand. AFGE VA Local 903 Chief Steward Donald White, who works at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital in Columbia, Mo., discussed the fight for equality for all employees and the union's response to mandatory overtime in the VA. Geddes Scott, executive vice president of AFGE VA Local 1988, then addressed the personal connection VA caregivers feel toward their patients and efforts to organize and mobilize members at the local level. Lastly, Vietnam Veterans of America Policy and Government Affairs Executive Director Rick Weidman detailed mental health concerns for veterans returning home from combat and legislation designed to assist veterans in need. Listen LIVE on Fridays at 10 a.m. ET on 1500 AM WFED in the D.C. area or online at FederalNewsRadio.com. For more information, please visit InsideGovernmentRadio.com. Quote of the Week: House Speaker John Boehner lashed out at extremist groups, Heritage Foundation, Club for Growth and Americans for Prosperity, for attacking the budget deal brokered by Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray. The groups were furious that the budget levels agreed on were higher than the sequester levels. Boehner: "They're using our members and they're using the American people for their own goals. This is ridiculous." American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO 80 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001 | Tel. (202) 737-8700 | Fax (202) 639-6492 | www.afge.org Click here to subscribe Click here to unsubscribe

AFGE Week in Review: Dec 6, 2013 - Budget Conferees Consider Tax Hike on Federal Employees

Dec. 6, 2013 Budget Conferees Consider Tax Hike on Federal Employees Pro-Federal Employee Lawmakers Criticize Tax Hike on Feds Proposed Sequester Fix: Count Fiscal Cliff Savings toward Sequestration Bill Introduced to Cancel DoD Sequestration by Cutting Federal Employees' Benefits New Report Debunks Myth That Raising Corporate Taxes Hurts Jobs OMB Raises Contractor Compensation Cap, Again AFGE Calls for Review of Safety Procedures at All Federal Agencies AFGE Won CSOSA Election Budget Conferees Consider Tax Hike on Federal Employees: Even though corporations' offshore tax abuse costs the U.S. Treasury $90 billion a year, House and Senate conferees are not looking at closing these corporate loopholes but instead considering requiring federal employees to contribute 1.2% more into their pensions as part of a broader budget deal. AFGE has learned that the 1.2% increase phased in over three years is indeed on the table as conferees scramble to meet the Dec. 13 deadline. Conferees are reportedly not trying to do a grand bargain; they are only trying to find enough money to lift sequestration for two years. Tax hikes on the wealthy and cuts to social safety net programs are reportedly off the table. "That makes it all the more infuriating that even in a small deal such as this, federal employees' retirement contributions are still on the table," said AFGE Legislative Director Beth Moten. As conferees could announce the deal as early as next week, AFGE has been urgently reaching out to lawmakers to demand that middle-class workers not be scapegoated for the financial mess created by Wall S treet.    Pro-Federal Employee Lawmakers Criticize Tax Hike on Feds: A bi-partisan group of lawmakers this week spoke out against a proposed cut in take-home pay being considered by budget conferees led by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and his Senate counterpart Patty Murray. Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, and Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia voiced their strong opposition to a proposed 1.2% increase in federal employees' contribution into their pensions. "Hardworking federal employees have already had to weather a government shutdown and have made a substantial sacrifice over the last several years to help bring down the deficit," Van Hollen said. "This is no time to ask them to shoulder even more of the burden, especially when [some of us] refuse to close a single corporate tax loophole as part of that effort." "The only working people that have paid a price so far in trying to bring down the deficit have been federal workers.... It is inappropriate to further look to the pockets of federal employees at this point in time," Hoyer said. Proposed Sequester Fix: Count Fiscal Cliff Savings toward Sequestration: The fiscal cliff savings of $737 billion should be counted toward the $1.2 trillion sequester cuts. This will leave $463 billion of sequester cuts, which will be more manageable and help lessen the negative impact on the economy, said leading think-tank Center for American Progress (CAP). Congress passed the 2011 Budget Control Act to reduce the deficit by more than $2 trillion over 10 years. Half of the savings came from spending caps that froze discretionary spending for 10 years. The other half was supposed to come from a budget deal developed by the so-called super committee. But the super committee failed to reach an agreement, and so sequestration kicked in. A year later, Congress faced a fiscal cliff crisis and struck a deal by letting some of the Bush tax cuts expire. This yielded $737 billion in deficit reduction over 10 years. CAP argued that these fiscal cliff savings should be counted toward sequestration, which will reduce the amount of sequester cuts from $109 a year to $42 billion, or $21 billion for the Defense Department. "All Congress needs to do is amend the Budget Control Act to include the debt reduction from the fiscal cliff deal in the sequestration calculation," CAP said in its new analysis, noting that the benefits of this new calculation are even greater on the non-defense discretionary budget such as education, scientific research, and infrastructure, which is hardest hit by the non-defense sequester. Bill Introduced to Cancel DoD Sequestration by Cutting Federal Employees' Benefits: A bill has been introduced to cancel sequestration cuts at the Defense Department in 2014 and 2015 at the expense of federal employees, seniors, and retirees. The Provide for the Common Defense Act, introduced by Reps. Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoman and Doug Lamborn of Colorado, would, among other things: require federal employees to pay 1.2% more into their pension funds over the course of three years; eliminate the Federal Employee Retirement System Annuity Supplement for new employees; cut Social Security benefits for seniors, federal employees, the disabled, and veterans by changing the way cost-of-living adjustments are calculated (chained CPI); increase the Medicare Part B deductible for new enrollees by $100 over five years; increase premiums for higher-income Medicare Parts B and D participants.  Federal employees have been an easy target for House lawmakers for years. Besides the three-year pay freeze, new hires are now required to pay more into their pensions. Furloughs and the 16-day government shutdown have hurt employees and their families financially. Federal employees have been forced to give up well over $113 billion while the wealthy and corporations haven't been asked to pay their fair share. If chained CPI is adopted, not only federal but all retirees, veterans, and the disabled will see a large chunk of their benefits and pensions cut. Federal retirees' average pensions under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) are just $13,000. The average Social Security recipient, who at age 65 receives just $15,000 per year, will suffer cuts of $650 a year by age 75 and $1,130 a year by the time she or he turns 85. New Report Debunks Myth That Raising Corporate Taxes Hurts Jobs: A new report released this week by the Center for Effective Government debunks the myth that raising corporate tax rates to pay for critical government services will hurt economic growth. According to the report "The Corporate Tax Cut Debate: Lower Taxes on Corporate Profits Not Linked to Job Creation, the 30 corporations that paid the highest effective rates on their profits between 2008 and 2010 added 200,000 jobs to the U.S. economy during the past five years, while the 30 corporations with the lowest tax rates shed more than 50,000 jobs during the same period. On average, U.S. corporations pay just 12.6 percent of their profits in federal income taxes. Many companies avoid paying taxes on their profits by shifting the profits to foreign tax havens, where they are not taxed until brought home. Corporations have been waiting for their next tax holiday. This sort of offshore tax abuse by corporations costs the U.S. Treasury an estimated $90 billion a year. Instead of taxing the very corporations that are destroying good jobs, Congress has targeted federal employees for years of painful financial sacrifices. "By stopping just one year of corporate tax haven abuse, the government could have prevented nearly all three years of the federal pay freeze," AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said. "Congress needs to close these tax loopholes that have allowed corporations to avoid paying hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes. America's workers are expected to pay their taxes in full and on time, and we should demand nothing less from the companies doing business in this country." OMB Raises Contractor Compensation Cap, Again: AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. this week expressed his outrage at the news that the cap on annual compensation paid to contractor employees using taxpayer dollars has been increased to an astounding $952,000. The new limit announced by the Office of Management and Budget reflects a one-year increase of nearly $190,000 and a four-year increase of 55%. The compensation cap has nearly quadrupled since the mid-1990s. "Christmas has come early for federal contractor employees, yet the government's own employees are looking at stockings full of coal," Cox said. OMB announced the new compensation cap on the same day President Obama delivered a speech decrying income inequality. Yet true inequality is taking place in federal agencies and offices across the country, where federal employees who have had their pay frozen for three years work beside contractors who are reaping excessive pay increases at the taxpayer's expense. AFGE Calls for Review of Safety Procedures at All Federal Agencies: AFGE is calling on federal agencies to review their operational procedures to ensure the safety and security of all federal employees following recent deaths of a postal worker, a TSA officer, and two correctional officers. "Federal employees are on the front lines in delivering services to the American people, and oftentimes that puts them in harm's way," said AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. "The recent shooting death of U.S. Postal Service letter carrier Tyson Barnette is another tragic reminder that federal employees are literally putting their lives on the line each and every day they go to work." AFGE Won CSOSA Election: AFGE Dec. 5 won an election to represent more employees at the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency in Washington, D.C. The 55 to 1 vote added the 80 employees working at five different units to AFGE Local 727, which has already represented other workers at the agency. This Week in Labor History: Dec. 5, 1955 - Ending a 20-year split, the two largest labor federations in the U.S. merge to form the AFL-CIO, with a membership estimated at 15 million. This Week's Tweet: Nearly 50 Russian diplomats have been charged with scamming the Medicaid system: http://slate.me/ISpHP8 ~@slate Inside Government: Tune in now to AFGE's "Inside Government" as the union's members share their stories working on the front lines in the Department of Veterans Affairs. The show, which originally aired on Friday, Dec. 6, is now available on demand. AFGE VA Local 903 Chief Steward Donald White, who works at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital in Columbia, Mo., discussed the fight for equality for all employees and the union's response to mandatory overtime in the VA. Geddes Scott, executive vice president of AFGE VA Local 1988, then addressed the personal connection VA caregivers feel toward their patients and efforts to organize and mobilize members at the local level. Lastly, Vietnam Veterans of America Policy and Government Affairs Executive Director Rick Weidman detailed mental health concerns for veterans returning home from combat and legislation designed to assist veterans in need. Listen LIVE on Fridays at 10 a.m. ET on 1500 AM WFED in the D.C. area or online at FederalNewsRadio.com. For more information, please visit InsideGovernmentRadio.com. ***Please add actionnews@afge.org to your safe sender list to prevent AFGE Week in Review from being mistakenly sent to your junk mail.*** American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO 80 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001 | Tel. (202) 737-8700 | Fax (202) 639-6492 | www.afge.org Click here to subscribe Click here to unsubscribe

AFGE Week in Review: Nov. 27, 2013 - Bill Introduced to Give Blue-Collar Workers Same Raises as GS Employees

Nov. 27, 2013 Bill Introduced to Give Blue-Collar Workers Same Raises as GS Employees Sen. Tim Kaine Urges Budget Conferees Not to Target Feds Poll: 2013 College Students Prefer Work in Private Sector Than Government 170,000 Veterans Could Lose Food Stamp Benefits under House's Farm Bill AFGE President Cox Receives Labor Leader Award from Rainbow PUSH Coalition NVP Augusta Shot Back at Boehner over His Remark about LGBT Law Walmart Workers, Supporters Plan Black Friday Protests at Walmart Stores Nationwide Bill Introduced to Give Blue-Collar Workers Same Raises as GS Employees: An AFGE-backed bill has been introduced to give blue-collar workers the same pay raises as General Schedule employees. President Barack Obama has proposed a 1% raise for GS employees this January. As he doesn't have authority to set pay levels for wage grade workers, separate legislation is required. "The inconsistency in wages between WG and GS employees is inequitable," said Rep. Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania who introduced the bill. "It hurts a group of Americans that can least afford a fourth year with no increase at all. For this reason, I am proud to introduce this legislation which would benefit a group that has been particularly impacted by a four year pay freeze, the recent Defense furloughs and the government shutdown." The Defense Department employs more wage-grade employees than any other agencies – 174,000. Other agencies with significant numbers of wage-grade employees are the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Bureau of Prisons. Sen. Tim Kaine Urges Budget Conferees Not to Target Feds: Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia has asked budget conferees not to target federal employees as they look for ways to reduce the deficit. In a letter to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and his Senate counterpart Patty Murray, Kaine said federal employees have already been hurt financially and morally by furloughs, a three-year pay freeze, a government shutdown, and an increase in new hires' contributions to their pensions. He said he supports the goal of replacing sequestration cuts, but federal employees should not be a target for further cuts. "I believe repeatedly targeting federal employees in deficit reduction effort is having an effect on morale, employee retention and talent recruitment," Kaine wrote. "I raised this very issue during an Armed Services Committee hearing with Department of Defense officials on October 10. Each DoD witness unequivocally reiterated that sequestration and furlough have had a negative toll on morale for civilian and non-civilian federal employees. They testified that vital workers are questioning their value and considering the private sector as a result of an uncertain future." Poll: 2013 College Students Prefer Work in Private Sector Than Government: A 2013 poll by the National Association of Colleges and Employers shows that only 5.7% of graduating seniors plan to work in government, compared with 35% who plan to work in the private sector. Nearly 24% plan on going to graduate or professional schools. Even though the number of graduating seniors who plan on working for government is slightly higher than last year – 5.7% v. 5% – the yawning gap between their public and private preferences suggests that government is not an employer of choice among younger workers, who make up only 8% of the federal workforce. Coupled with pay freezes, furloughs, and daily fed bashing by some lawmakers and TV pundits, the government is likely to continue to have a tough time recruiting the best and the brightest.  170,000 Veterans Could Lose Food Stamp Benefits under House's Farm Bill: The House version of the farm bill would cut funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by nearly $40 billion over 10 years, which means 170,000 low-income veterans could be kicked out of the program starting next year. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, about 900,000 veterans receive SNAP assistance each month, but the figure is likely understated as Census data do not include homeless veterans. Besides veterans, the people who would be impacted by the bill are 1.7 million unemployed with no kids, 2.1 million low-income families and seniors, and other poor, unemployed parents who want to work but can't find a job. Both the House and Senate have passed their version of the farm bill. They are in negotiation over how much to cut between the Senate's $4 billion and the House's $40 billion. AFGE President Cox Receives Labor Leader Award from Rainbow PUSH Coalition: AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. received the Dr. Martin L. King Jr./Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. Labor Leader Award during a ceremony in Los Angeles last week. The award was presented to Cox by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and Citizenship Education Fund, during the 15th Annual Awards Dinner in Beverly Hills. "I am honored by this award and humbled to be recognized as a leader in the fight for equal rights and protections for all working people," Cox said. "We have come so far as a country but there is still so long to go. AFGE will stand firm in defense if our rights as citizens from the workplace to the ballot box." The Rainbow PUSH Coalition, founded by Rev. Jackson, is a progressive organization protecting, defending and expanding civil rights to improve economic and educational opportunity. NVP Augusta Shot Back at Boehner over His Remark about LGBT Law: AFGE National Vice President for Women and Fair Practices Augusta Thomas said House Speaker John Boehner is out of touch with today's reality when he told reporters there is no need for legislation that protects the employment rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) members of our society and that such law would only provide a basis for "frivolous lawsuits". "I would like to personally invite the Speaker to join me in meeting with LGBT workers so that he can hear, directly, their experiences. We have witnessed the continued denial of promotions to otherwise qualified workers for no apparent reason until one digs slightly beneath the surface and discovers the demon of homophobia. Much of the bullying that we hear about regularly in today's workplaces is both directly and indirectly motivated by fear and homophobia.  For Speaker Boehner to suggest that there will be a flood of "frivolous lawsuits" not only speaks volumes to his lack of understanding of the reality of today's workplaces for LGBT workers, but it also suggests that he believes laws against other forms of discrimination have, somehow, led to flurries of frivolous lawsuits as well," Thomas said. "Instead, I would suggest to Speaker Boehner, that it has been with and through historic civil rights legislation along with the existence of strong unions, that many segments of our population who have faced systemic discrimination have gained opportunities that they would otherwise have failed to achieve." The Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed the Senate earlier this month, but its path to become law is still uncertain as it needs to pass the hostile House of Representatives. House Speaker John Boehner strongly opposes the bill, saying "People are already protected in the workplace" even though there are 29 states where a worker can be fired because of his or her sexual orientation. Walmart Workers, Supporters Plan Black Friday Protests at Walmart Stores Nationwide: Walmart made $17 billion in profits last year. It paid its top executives and board members $66.7 million, including $23.3 million paid to Walmart CEO Mike Duke. Yet the company has refused to pay their workers a living wage, forcing workers to live on less than $25,000 a year. That's why this upcoming Black Friday, the workers and supporters are planning mass protests at Walmart stores across the country to call for a living wage and highlight corporate greed. Walmart pays its workers so little that many have to rely on food stamps and Medicaid funded by taxpayers. Walmart employees receive $2.66 billion in government assistance every year, or $420,000 per store. The world's largest retailer is effectively shifting its labor costs onto the American taxpayers as it has consistently sat on top of the list of companies with the most employees relying on government's safety net programs. This Week in Labor History: Nov. 25, 1952 - George Meany becomes president of the American Federation of Labor following the death four days earlier of William Green. This Week's Tweet: Former Wal-Mart Exec Leads Shadowy Smear Campaign Against Black Friday Activists goo.gl/UCB7FR ~ @lhfang Inside Government: Tune in now to AFGE's "Inside Government" for a special broadcast from the union's National Veterans Affairs Council Convention. The show, which originally aired on Friday, Nov. 22, is now available on demand. AFGE VA Local 1273 Vice President Travis Riggs discussed the dangers of low staffing and contracting out at the VA. Riggs also shed light on how the union has helped him during his career. Ohio State Sen. Nina Turner recognized the commitment and sacrifices made by America's veterans and shared ideas to spur job creation in the middle class. John Bradley, a former senior staffer on the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees, then detailed legislation impacting veterans and VA workers and also discussed advances the VA has made in research and medicine. Listen LIVE on Fridays at 10 a.m. ET on 1500 AM WFED in the D.C. area or online at FederalNewsRadio.com. For more information, please visit InsideGovernmentRadio.com. Quote of the Week: Pope Francis denounced growing economic inequality and trickle-down economic theories: "Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting." ***Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!*** American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO 80 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001 | Tel. (202) 737-8700 | Fax (202) 639-6492 | www.afge.org Click here to subscribe Click here to unsubscribe