Federal News & Commentary

Senate Panel Passes Expanded Collective Bargaining For VA Health Care Providers
The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Thursday approved a bill (S. 3486) that would extend collective bargaining to Department of Veterans Affairs Title 38 health care providers over issues concerning compensation. The measure was approved, 10-6, by the Committee.

“This is a very important bill for VA health care providers,” said NAGE Federal Director Gina Lightfoot Walker. “We just cleared a major hurdle, but we still have several more to clear before this bill becomes law. We are trying to find a way to get this done before the end of the year.”

Under current statute, VA employees under Title 38, including registered nurses, physician assistants, doctors, dentists, and other health care providers, cannot collectively bargain or be assured of reaching resolution on grievances for issues related to employee compensation.

If passed into law, this bill would expand collective bargaining on compensation issues at the VA; however, rates of basic pay would still be off the bargaining table. This bill also would not impact existing bans on bargaining over issues concerning professional conduct or competence and peer review. More >>

NAGE Locals Score Victory in Safe Drinking Water Case
In another great victory for NAGE Local R1-144/FUSE, NAGE Local R1-134, and all bargaining unit employees at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) in Newport, RI, the Federal Labor Relations Authority has ruled that NUWC improperly removed bottled water from buildings in 2006. The water must now be returned to all buildings where it previously existed.

The FLRA decision supports the union's position that NUWC must provide clean, safe, drinking water to employees, and NUWC acted irresponsibly when it removed the bottled water that was put in place when contaminated water was found in numerous buildings across the Center. More >>

Read the full decision

Govexec reports: House Passes Telework Bill
By Elizabeth Newell enewell@govexec.com
The House on Wednesday approved telework legislation that the chamber failed to pass in May.

The bill (H.R. 1722), which passed on a 290-131 vote, would codify the governmentwide telework policy the Office of Management and Budget announced last year. It also would guarantee that eligible federal employees could work remotely at least 20 percent of the time, and it would mandate more training for managers.

The Senate passed a similar bill in May.

Read the full article at GovernmentExecutive.com

Survey Points to Overall Job Satisfaction among Federal Employees
In a survey conducted by the Office of Personnel Management, 86 percent of the federal employees responding said they liked the work they did. Seventy percent recommended their organization as a good place to work, and 78 percent believed that their agency was successful at accomplishing its mission. Areas clearly needing improvement included telework (only 35 percent indicated satisfaction with their teleworking arrangements, and only 10 percent said they teleworked at least one day a week) and child care programs (23 percent reported they were not satisfied).

The 2010 Federal Employee Viewpoint survey was completed by more than a quarter-million fulltime federal employees, marking a 52 percent participation rate. The purpose of the survey, which has been conducted every two years beginning in 2002, is to "offer a snapshot of federal employees' perceptions of workforce management in their agencies today." More >>

To view complete results of the survey, including results by agency, go to http://www.fedview.opm.gov/2010/Published/

White House Announces Launching of 2nd Annual SAVE Award
July 8—The White House today announced the launching of the 2nd annual SAVE award, which encourages Federal employees from across the government to submit their ideas for efficiencies and savings as part of the annual budget process. The deadline for submissions for SAVE Award 2010 is July 22, 2010. The winner will be announced in September 2010.

NAGE is very proud of Local R14-77 member Nancy Fichtner, who won the very first SAVE Award last year. Her idea, to allow veterans to take unused medications home when they leave a VA hospital, will save the the Department of Veterans Affairs $20 million over five years. Her winning idea was chosen from among more than 38,000 submissions. Ms. Fichtner attended a special ceremony at the White House in December, where she met with and was congratulated by President Obama.

To learn more about the SAVE award and to submit your idea, go to www.saveaward.gov. Good luck! More >>

NAGE Members Join Organizing Rally in Baltimore
Members of NAGE Local R3-19 recently joined more than 800 healthcare workers and supporters at a rally in Mount Vernon Square Park in Baltimore to hear actor Danny Glover, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and labor leaders call for free and fair union elections for health care workers in Baltimore.

"It was exciting and encouraging from start to finish," said Local R3-19 Vice President Joyce Flayhan. "It was so encouraging to see the unity and to know that our struggle is also the struggle of so many in Baltimore and around the country. For many years workers have been intimidated and harassed by the boss to prevent them from forming a union, and now it seems like the tide is turning." More >>

Read member Manny Guzman's account of the rally

Read member Mike Holy's account of the rally

NAGE Legal Victory Will Send Case to Arbitration
June 25—In a victory for NAGE members, a federal arbitrator has ruled that a longstanding dispute between NAGE Local R1-109 in Newington, Connecticut, and the Veterans Administration must go forward to arbitration, despite the employer’s strong objection.

The VA had argued the arbitrator did not have jurisdiction over the issue. NAGE Attorney Scott Jelescheff successfully fought off the agency’s arbitrability challenge so that the dispute is closer to resolution than it has ever been.

The grievance involves the makeup of committees provided for in the NAGE/VA Master Agreement. More >>

Read the arbitrator's decision

2010 NAGE Scholarship Recipients Announced
Scholarship recipients for the 2010-2011 academic year were announced at the National Executive Board meeting on Friday, June 18, 2010.

The NAGE Scholarships program awarded 50 scholarships in the amount of $500 each. Scholarships were chosen by National Executive Board members in a random drawing from among the more than 1,000 applications received. Note: Scholarship awards are subject to membership verification.

Congratulations and good luck to all the winners!

2010 Scholarship Winners

 


 

 

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