AFGE Week in Review (Nov. 19, 2007)

AFGE Joins Hundreds of Workers, Activists in Rally against NLRB: AFGE headquarters staff Nov. 15 joined hundreds of workers, labor leaders and activists from other AFL-CIO unions to walk the picket line in front of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. in protest of the board’s repeated attacks on workers. The protesters pointed out 61 anti-worker, anti-union decisions by the NLRB in September, which were yet again evidence of the Bush-appointed board’s hostility towards workers and labor unions. The demonstrators called for the NLRB to be closed until the board is more balanced and goes back to its original mission of protecting workers’ rights.

Senate Panel Wants More Feds to Telework: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Nov. 14 approved a bill that would allow all federal employees to telework four days a month, except for those who handle classified information or must be physically present in the office. The bill, S.1000, would also create a telework managing officer at each agency and would require agencies to provide employees telework training. A similar bill was introduced in the House Nov.7.

AFGE: Covert Testing Case Reiterates Need for Whistleblower Protections for TSA Workers: AFGE criticized the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for tipping off managers about covert testing, saying the agency’s dishonesty robbed TSA and the screeners of the opportunity to use the results of fair testing to improve security procedures, training and performance. AFGE also faulted the agency’s repeated denial to grant Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) whistleblower protections which would allow TSOs to expose mismanagement and fraud without fear of retaliation from TSA management. As whistleblower protection is an integral part of protecting homeland security, AFGE is calling for lawmakers to pass a bill pending in Congress that would make the skies safer by granting TSOs whistleblower protections.

Supreme Court Extends Deadline for NSPS Appeal: AFGE has until Jan. 7 to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the Appeals Court’s decision allowing the Defense Department to move forward with its new personnel system. The original deadline was Nov. 7. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in May that the 2004 law allows DoD to limit workers’ collective bargaining rights until November 2009. AFGE is weighing if it is going to appeal the case to the Supreme Court, depending on the outcome of the 2008 Defense Authorization bill that has provisions that would roll back the National Security Personnel System (NSPS). The bill is undergoing conference negotiations.

Alma Lee Re-elected as AFGE VA Council President: AFGE National Veterans Affairs Council (NVAC) President Alma Lee was re-elected as the council president at the NVAC Convention this month. Lee has been the VA council president since 1992.

More Federal Employees Join AFGE: Recognizing the importance of adding their voice to the strong voice of their government colleagues already in AFGE, more government employees continue to join AFGE. The total AFGE active government employee membership grew by another 997 in October and has increased by almost 8,000 members over the last year.

Inside Government: Robert Kuttner, author of “The Squandering of America: How the Failure of Our Politics Undermines Our Prosperity”, and Arnold Scott, AFGE District 6 National Vice President, were featured on AFGE’s radio program “Inside Government” Nov. 16. Kuttner discussed the critical role unions play in taking back America’s financial security. Scott highlighted ways his district is fighting for workers’ rights at TSA and the Department of Defense.

Inside Government airs every Friday at 10 a.m. EDT nationwide on http://www.federalnewsradio.com and 1050 AM in the Washington, D.C., area. The one-hour program discusses issues that impact all federal and D.C. government employees. Programs are archived on the Federal News Radio Web site and can be heard on demand (available anytime) at http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=300.