Federal News & Commentary

The Hatch Act and Your Rights to (and Prohibitions from) Political Activity
With elections just around the corner, political campaigns are kicking into high gear and it's nearly impossible to go through a day without a friend or colleague engaging in discussions about candidates, caucuses, and party nominations.

As a federal employee, it's critical for you to be aware of and understand the Hatch Act. The Hatch Act of 1939 is a federal law that prohibits federal employees (except the President and the Vice President) in the executive branch of the federal government from engaging in certain partisan political activity. The Office of Special Counsel enforces the Hatch Act and can impose penalties of anywhere from a 30-day suspension without pay, to termination, for employees who violate the Hatch Act.

This Hatch Act "cheat sheet" gives you a quick summary of permitted and prohibited partisan political activity.

For a more thorough explantion, go to the GovExec.com website.

NAGE Federal Division Holds Leadership Training at Winter Executive Board Meeting
The Federal Division held a leadership training session in Orlando on November 28th. More than 50 leaders from around the country representing bargaining unit employees in the District of Columbia government and federal agencies including the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, Department of Transportation, Defense Logistics Agency, and Environmental Protection Agency participated in a day-long training session that included topics such as the Role and Responsibilities of a Federal Leader, Understanding and Applying E.O. 13522 on Creation of Labor/Management Partnerships, How to Hold a Proper Election, Lobbying Your Congressional Members and many many more. Leaders were participating in the event as part of the NAGE Winter Executive Board Meeting.

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Occupy XX: Where We Stand
If you ask a dozen people at a dozen different Occupy protests why they’re standing in the rain or sleeping in a tent or eating muffins from a bag handed over by a stranger—what point they’re trying to make or what they’re hoping to accomplish by all of it—you’ll likely get a baker’s dozen of answers.

If you ask, as the media recently have, if specific policy demands should be expressed by the Occupy movement, you’ll get thousands of opinions and two very specific answers—yes, and no—holding about 50 percent sway apiece.

Occupy Chicago has produced a list of demands proposed for a vote; it’s as specific as “reinstate Glass-Steagall” and as nebulous as “investigate and prosecute Wall Street criminals.” It contains arguably doable demands, like closing corporate tax loopholes, and arguably pie-in-the-sky ideas, like forgiving all student debt.

In all of this, where exactly does NAGE—a union of great diversity, of political thought at both extremes and everywhere in between, and of members who constitute both the protesters and the public safety officers protecting their rights to assembly and free speech—stand? More >>

Take Advantage of Training Opportunities! VA Announces Online Courses in Labor-Management Relations
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced the launch of important web-based curriculum on Executive Order 13522. The "Introduction to Creating Labor-Management Forums: A Strategy for Improving Labor-Management Relations and Productivity at VA" describes how labor-management relations will be conducted at VA and defines expectations for collaboration between the VA and its labor partners under the new Executive Order 13522.

Courses are free and available to all NAGE VA members.

View the course list and information for accessing the courses online

Federal Employees—Share Your Story!
The “I am a Federal Employee Blog” was created by the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), one of the unions in coalition with NAGE within the Federal Workers Alliance. NAGE is collaborating with NFFE and the other members of the FWA to promote the blog and highlight the work our federal members do.

Due to recent attacks made on federal employees by both Congress and the media, many people wrongly believe that federal workers are overpaid, underworked, and centralized in the Washington, D.C. area. The “I am a Federal Employee Blog” was created to counter these recent attacks on federal employees. The goal of the blog is to educate the public about the positive impact federal employees throughout the country have on the daily lives of all Americans and to improve public opinion of our federal members. More >>

Go to the “I am a Federal Employee Blog”