NAGE News & Commentary

Beloved NFFE President Richard N. Brown Passes Away at Age 47
It is with great sadness and regret that NFFE announces the passing of its beloved national president, Richard N. Brown, who was found unresponsive in his apartment in Arlington, VA yesterday afternoon. Rick was a close and much loved friend of NAGE. He will be deeply missed by NAGE staff and members alike, who got to know the gregarious and devoted union leader in our work together over the years.

"We have lost a great friend and a truly good and decent person," said National President David Holway. "Rick's heart was always in the right place; he was always thinking about what he could do to make the lives of working women and men better. He had this unbelievable energy that he used, not to enrich himself, but to enrich the lives of others. We will miss him as a friend, as an ally, and as a resounding voice in the fight for dignity and respect for all workers". more >>

NAGE Wins Arbitration Reducing Member's 14-Day Suspension to Reprimand
A member of Local R5-66 (Memphis VA Medical Center) has been awarded back pay in an arbitration win that also reduced his 14-day suspension to a written reprimand. NAGE Assistant Regional Counsel Sarah Suszczyk represented the grieavnt in the case.

The grievant had received a 14-day suspension in 2007 for three charges: failure to follow instructions of his supervisor, disorderly conduct, and rude and inappropriate conduct. Prior to the suspension, the grievant had not received any discipline during his employment with the VA. more >>

FLRA Announces Key Nominations by President Obama
Carol Waller Pope, Chairman of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) announces that, on June 4, 2009, President Obama nominated Ernie DuBester as a Member of the FLRA, and Julia A. Clark as the General Counsel of the FLRA. Chairman Pope expressed her pleasure at the prospect that these positions will be filled following Senate confirmation by individuals with such a wealth of experience in labor-management relations and dispute resolution. more >>

FLRA Announces Initiative to Resolve Oldest Cases, Also Plans New Emphasis on Training Opportunities
In a press release issued Friday (June 19) the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) announced that, by Status Inquiries to be issued by the Case Intake and Publication Office during June 2009, Chairman Carol Waller Pope and Member Thomas Beck are seeking input from parties in its oldest pending cases as to whether formal decisions by the Authority are warranted and/or whether alternative means to resolve the dispute can be identified. The FLRA also announced it is aggressively pursuing opportunities to provide training to customers both to assist them in avoiding disputes and to improve the quality of filings, which in turn assists agency components in more timely resolving disputes. more >>

NAGE Legal Victory Nets Member $25,000 in Back Pay
After 6 years of appeals, a retired NUWC (Naval Undersea Warfare Center-Newport, RI) employee and FUSE (Local R1-144) member will be receiving more than $25,000 in back pay and interest after NUWC incorrectly revoked hundreds of hours of restored Base Realignment and Closing (BRAC) leave from the employee before he retired. NAGE Deputy General Counsel Jean Zeiler worked with FUSE leaders to bring this case to justice. more >>

Federal Employee Retirement Provisions Improve with Passage of TSP Enhancement Act
National President David J. Holway, who is a member of the Employee Thrift Advisory Council, reports that H.R. 1256, which includes the Thrift Savings Plan Enhancement Act of 2009, has passed the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. The White House has indicated that the President will sign the Act into Law. The Act provides a number of changes to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). In particular, this law eliminates the waiting period for employees covered under the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) (and equivalent Federal retirement systems) to receive Agency Automatic (1%) and Agency Matching Contributions. The Act provides that this specific provision commences immediately upon the signing of the legislation into public law. more >>

DoD Civilian Personnel Management Service Provides Information on H1N1 Virus
from DoD CPMS web site:The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is working very closely with officials in states where human cases of 2009-H1N1 (swine flu) have been identified, as well as with health officials in Mexico, Canada and the World Health Organization. This includes deploying staff domestically and internationally to provide guidance and technical support. CDC has activated its Emergency Operations Center to coordinate this investigation. The DoD is supporting the CDC through it’s worldwide laboratory surveillance network and other appropriate measures. more >>

Help Restore Bargaining Rights for VA Health Care Professionals
Over the last several years, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care professionals have seen their collective bargaining rights practically eliminated. NAGE is asking our members to send a message to Congress urging them to pass bills HR 949 and S 362, which will effectively expand VA employees' collective bargaining rights. TAKE ACTION NOW! or, read more

The Fed Feed: News from Reliable Sources

GovExec.com: Federal pay and benefits provisions missing from Senate bill

The Senate fiscal 2010 Defense authorization bill does not contain some of the federal pay and benefits provisions that the House approved last week in its version of the legislation. more >>

House resuscitates FERS sick leave fix

House lawmakers on Wednesday revived federal retirement reforms that were stripped out of the newly enacted tobacco legislation. H.R. 2990, which would allow veterans receiving disability benefits from the Veterans Affairs Department to receive full retirement benefits from the Defense Department, included a provision that would let employees in the Federal Employee Retirement System count unused sick leave toward their pensions. The House, which approved the bill under a suspension of the rules, plans to roll H.R. 2990 into the fiscal 2010 Defense authorization bill. more >>

Pay parity supporters push for 3.4 percent civilian raise

Advocates of pay parity are asking the House Appropriations Committee to give civilian federal workers the 3.4 percent annual pay raise a separate panel approved for the military as part of the fiscal 2010 Defense authorization bill. more >>

Administration calls language gutting Pentagon pay system 'premature'

The Obama administration on Wednesday said it opposes a legislative provision that would force the Pentagon either to demonstrate that its pay-for-performance system could be reformed or to prepare to dismantle it within one year. more >>

President Signs Tobacco Bill Implementing TSP Changes

President Barack Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act this week. The tobacco bill has been kicking around for a couple of years now and, while the primary focus is on giving the Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over tobacco, the bill also has a number of provisions that impact the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan. more >>

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