Sharon Roth of the Merit Systems Protection Board discusses a new survey on federal management. Lt. Cmdr. Jean Marie Sullivan of the Navy Office of Women's Policy talks about the new DoD decision to open up combat jobs to women. Greg Kutz, a senior audit executive with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Audit, talks about a new report his agency released. Keith Lucas, vice president for AFGE Council 228, discusses a new contract his union signed with the Small Business Administration.
The Small Business Administration and the American Federation of Government Employees inked a new three-year deal Thursday, extending a number of flexible workplace policies to more than 2,000 federal employees. Among the new benefits are streamlined telework privileges and the ability for employees to opt in to a four-day work-week with expanded hours each day.
This week on AFGE's "Inside Government" AFGE Defense Conference Chair Don Hale discusses the possibility of furloughs for civilian DoD workers if sequestration occurs. Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul addresses China's impact on U.S. manufacturing while Robyn Kehoe of the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund details FEEA's work with AFGE to aid Superstorm Sandy victims. AFGE Council of Prison Locals President Dale Deshotel also appears.
OPM announced federal offices would be open Monday on a "delayed arrival" schedule. It was the first time the agency has used the classification since it revamped its closure policies last year. But it didn't go off without a hitch - OPM updated the operating status language twice and some federal employees said they were confused by OPM's communication.
This week on AFGE's "Inside Government" AFGE Legislative and Political Director Beth Moten will preview the union's 2013 Legislative and Grassroots Mobilization Conference Feb. 10 - 13. AFGE Council of Prison Locals President Dale Deshotel and National Council of SSA Field Operations Locals President Witold Skwierczynski also address issues at their respective agencies.
Of the more than 3.5 million workers employed by the federal government in 2012, about 956,000 - or 26.9 percent - were members of unions, according to the BLS data. That's a slight decline from 2011, when 28.1 percent of federal workers were union members.
OPM's Angela Bailey discusses how agencies are struggling to fill critical skill gaps in the hard sciences. Procurement attorney Joe Petrillo fills us in on what to expect with the new defense authorization law. Jacque Simon of AFGE says her union is frustrated with the lack of attention being paid to federal workers' concerns over sequestration. John Palguta of the Partnership for Public Service discusses possible changes agencies may face in President Obama's second term.
Guidance from the administration on what steps federal agencies should take to prepare for potential across-the-board budget cuts has set off a war of words between federal-employee unions and industry groups. The American Federation of Government Employees says guidance exempts contractors at the expense of federal employees, but industry groups say the criticism is misguided.
At the National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations meeting, several employee representatives said the time has come for the committee to put more pressure on agencies to have more of the collaborative forums up and running well. During a time of budget reductions, possible furloughs and a government shutdown, the unions say the forums provide a way for agencies to better manage all of these fiscal challenges.
Dwight Bowman, the national vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees' 14th district, died suddenly Wednesday morning, the union announced.
The House soundly rejected an amendment to the Superstorm Sandy aid bill that would have required an across-the-board 1.63 percent cut to agency spending to offset the emergency funding. Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) introduced the amendment last week along with a separate proposal to revoke a mass-transit subsidy for federal workers.
A series of cost-savings amendments to the Superstorm Sandy aid bill the House will consider this week has drawn the ire of a federal-employee union who say the proposals "unfairly target" government workers. Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) has proposed defraying some of the costs of the $50 billion recovery package by rescinding a mass-transit tax benefit for federal employees and by ordering more across-the-board agency budget cuts.
Defense Deputy Secretary Ashton Carter told DoD components Thursday to draw up plans for full-year continuing resolution, plus sequestration. The approach to deal with across-the-board cuts would be to freeze civilian hiring, cut training, travel and conferences and reduce business technology expenditures.
This week on AFGE's "Inside Government" TSA Local 1230 President James Mudrock discusses the union's successful efforts to halt a privatization initiative at the Sacramento International Airport. Women's Campaign Fund and She Should Run President and CEO Siobhan "Sam" Bennett, Economic Policy Institute President Larry Mishel and AFGE Member Benefits Coordinator Mark Williams also appear.
Bill Dougan, the president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, says Congress and the White House shouldn't make federal employees have to wait for a raise.