Unions
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After playing defense for much of last year the largest federal-employee union is ready to play offense. American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox gave a fiery speech at the union's annual legislative and grassroots mobilization conference in Washington. Also addressing the AFGE crowd were lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.
February 11, 2014 -
After a turbulent 2013 that saw sequestration budget cuts and a two-week government shutdown, the largest federal-employee union is hoping to flex more political muscle this year. The American Federation of Government Employees says union membership is at its highest level in decades.
February 07, 2014 -
DoD opens its electronic medical records to VA claims processors for the first time. The goal is to shave days or weeks from the time it takes VA to decide disability claims for recently separated service members. But the launch of the system has had a few bugs.
February 07, 2014 -
This week on AFGE's "Inside Government" attendees of Families USA's Health Action 2014 Conference discuss the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Guests include National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare President and CEO Max Richtman, Citizen Action of Wisconsin Executive Director Robert Kraig, author and former insurance executive Wendell Potter, The Daily Beast Contributing Editor Eleanor Clift and Young Invincibles Senior Policy Analyst Christina Postolowski.
February 06, 2014 -
The Internal Revenue Service and the National Treasury Employees Union reached an agreement that will see the IRS pay frontline employees performance awards starting in the spring. Acting IRS chief Danny Werfel canceled payouts of the awards last July, even though the union said the agency was obligated to pay them.
February 03, 2014 -
This week on AFGE's "Inside Government" Office of Personnel Management Local 32 President Charlretta McNeill discusses sequestration's role in Reduction-in-Force notices being sent to 356 OPM employees, and how the union has helped those workers. Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack, campaign strategist Ethan Rome and Tennessee Justice Center attorney Gordon Bonnyman highlight the latest Affordable Care Act developments from Families USA's Health Action 2014 Conference.
January 29, 2014 -
This week on AFGE's "Inside Government" former Rep. Patrick Murphy (Pa.) discusses his MSNBC program, "Taking the Hill with Patrick Murphy," to bring attention to veterans issues. AFGE Legislative and Political Director Beth Moten previews the union's Legislative and Grassroots Mobilization Conference Feb. 9 - 12 while Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul details the latest manufacturing jobs numbers. National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare's Web Phillips reacts to service reductions at SSA.
January 15, 2014 -
In an annual report to Congress, the National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson, wrote that the IRS faces "unstable and chronic underfunding that puts at risk the IRS's ability to meet its current responsibilities, much less articulate and achieve the necessary transformation to an effective, modern tax agency."
January 10, 2014 -
Federal-employee unions say they're having more of a voice in the agency decisionmaking process, thanks to a four-year-old directive from President Barack Obama calling for greater collaboration between labor groups and agency leadership. Despite a slow start last year, the creation of partnerships between federal-employee unions and agency leadership — known as labor-management forums — ramped up throughout the course of 2013, according to Bill Dougan, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees.
January 08, 2014 -
This week on AFGE's "Inside Government" DoD Local 2077 President Jon Suminski details OSHA violations at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan while Witold Skwierczynski, president of AFGE's National Council of Social Security Administration Field Operations Locals, discusses service reductions and field office closures at SSA. Economic Policy Institute Research and Policy Director Josh Bivens also appears.
January 08, 2014 -
This week on AFGE's "Inside Government" the program revisits several memorable interviews from 2013. Guests include MSNBC's Chris Hayes and professor Jeffrey Hilgert, author of "Hazard or Hardship: Crafting Global Norms on the Right to Refuse Unsafe Work." AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. and Department of Defense Local 1345 Steward Tracy School also appear from an August furlough protest at the union's Human Rights Training Conference in Pittsburgh, Pa.
December 26, 2013 -
AFGE's public policy director Jacqueline Simon explains why her organization is opposed to the self plus one plan, and Sean Reilly and Andy Medici from the Federal Times will discuss what's ahead for feds and retirees in 2014. December 18, 2013 (Encore presentations December 25, 2013 and January 1, 2014)
December 18, 2013 -
This week on AFGE's "Inside Government" National President J. David Cox Sr. previews the union's 2014 agenda and Council of Prison Locals President Eric Young discusses the work environment inside the Federal Bureau of Prisons. AFGE Local 2778 Vice President John Adams addresses contracting out concerns at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
December 18, 2013 -
The gap in pay between federal employees and private-sector workers widened slightly this year, according to data presented at the annual meeting of the Federal Salary Council. On average, federal employees earn 35.37 percent less than their private-sector counterpart, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management and the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
December 17, 2013 -
Despite progress in confirming a new secretary and deputy secretary, DHS still features a large number of officials in acting roles. Former Secretary Tom Ridge told lawmakers the department cannot build nor sustain a mission-focused culture with so many non-permanent positions. NTEU says pay freezes, budget cuts and the government shutdown are more to blame for low morale across DHS and the entire government.
December 13, 2013