LARGEST FEDERAL EMPLOYEE UNION JOINS WITH PROGRESSIVE GROUPS
AT JOBS NOT CUTS RALLY ON CAPITOL HILL

(WASHINGTON) – The American Federation of Government Employees, the country's largest federal and DC employee union, joined hundreds of people in the American Dream Movement at the Jobs Not Cuts rally on Capitol Hill today. AFGE and the American Dream Movement are urging Congress to focus on creating good jobs, and making the tax system work for all Americans, not just the super rich.

Barbara Jackson, vice president of AFGE Local 3615, who has spent the last 42 years working at the Social Security Administration delivering benefits for retirees, the disabled and survivors, spoke at the event about the cuts facing the Social Security Administration.

"I entered the federal workforce for one simple reason – to serve the public. And I have done that proudly. I love my job. I have also been very active in my union, AFGE as a member and a proud officer.

But Congress is making it nearly impossible for me to do my job," said Jackson. "They are cutting the Social Security operating budget – the money that pays for the staff that delivers Social Security services every day. That spells disaster for those that depend on Social Security. It's also destroying thousands of good jobs."

The rally was organized by the American Dream Movement and comes as the culmination of the progressive "Take Back the American Dream" conference put on by the Campaign for America's Future, in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street.

"I've been in the federal workforce for 42 years. I can retire today. But my job isn't done," concluded Jackson. "I'm going to keep working on behalf of those who need Social Security. And I'm going to keep working with every one of you here to make sure that Congress gets it right. We need jobs, not cuts. We need to rebuild the American dream."

Barbara Jackson, vice president of AFGE Local 3615,
addresses the Jobs Not Cuts rally

Main ContentFamily and Medical Leave

Entitlement
Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), all SSA employees with 12 months of service are entitled to up to 12 workweeks of UNPAID leave during any 12-month period for the following purposes:

• Birth of a son or daughter and care for the infant (within 1 year after birth).
• Placement of a child with an employee for adoption or foster care (within 1 year after placement).
• Care of a spouse, son, daughter or parent with a serious health condition.
• Serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the duties of his/her position.

The term "serious health condition" is defined in 5 CFR 630.1202. It includes such conditions as cancer, heart attack, stroke, severe injury, Alzheimer's disease, pregnancy and childbirth.

Invoking Entitlement
Employees must request time off under FMLA. Ordinarily, it may not be invoked retroactively. However, employees or their representatives who are physically or mentally incapable of invoking FMLA leave during their entire absence may retroactively do so within 2 workdays after returning to work. They must provide medical documentation and an acceptable explanation why they or their representative could not contact their supervisor earlier to invoke FMLA leave.

Intermittent Leave and Reduced Work Schedules
Employees may request to use leave on an intermittent basis or under a reduced leave schedule if it is medically necessary, the supervisor approves and it is not disruptive to work operations.

Substitution of Paid Leave
Employees may choose to substitute annual leave for unpaid leave under FMLA. They may also substitute sick leave in those situations in which the use of sick leave is permitted and they have not used their maximum entitlement under the Family Friendly Leave Act for the leave year. However, employees may not retroactively substitute paid leave for leave without pay previously taken under FMLA.

Medical Certification
Employees must submit medical certification of a serious health condition no later than 15 calendar days after the date the supervisor requests it. However, if employees are unable to submit the certification within the prescribed period because of circumstances beyond their control, supervisors may extend the timeframe to 30 calendar days. Additional information on FMLA can be found in Chapter S630-4 of the Personnel Policy Manual.

BREAKING NEWS - July 2, 2010
SSA Again Slow to React as Category 2 Hurricane Approaches Southern Texas

Click here to read the Newsletter (BreakingNews-July_2_2010.pdf)

For Union Members: Health care savings / Scholarships / Turbo Tax

Click here to read the Newsletter

An Open Letter from the Members of AFGE Local 3627 to the President.

Click here to download (PayRaise2009PayPetition.pdf)

On the Council 215 Conference Call on March 12, 2007, Council President Marshall noted that Region 1 (the Boston Region), was limiting flexiplace because of DSI. A grievance had been filed by the Local in that region. See the Council page for more news.

FERS Employees to Get Credit for Unused Sick Leave:

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) scored another victory when the House last week passed a bill that would allow federal employees covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) to get paid for their unused sick leave. Unlike those in the older Civil Service Retirement System, FERS employees currently do not receive credit for their unused sick leave in their pension calculations. Under the bill, the FERS employees who retire within the first three years of the enactment of the bill would get credit for 75 percent of their unused sick leave. Those retiring later would get credit for all unused sick leave.

The bill would also automatically enroll new federal employees in the Thrift Savings Plan. Currently, new employees have to enroll in the TSP, but many of them find the explanations about the TSP during their employee orientations confusing and decide not to enroll, inadvertently losing out on the agency matches to their contributions, including the one percent of salary that agencies are required to provide to all FERS employees with a TSP account.

New Law Grants Sick Leave Benefits, Locality Pay: The 2010 Defense Authorization Act signed by President Obama also contains several provisions relating to federal employees. The law:

• Allows workers under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) to credit 50 percent of their unused sick leave toward their annuity. After a four-year phase-in period, FERS employees will receive full credit for unused sick leave.
• Moves federal employees in Alaska, Hawaii Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Island to the locality pay system and phases out their cost-of-living adjustments.
• Permits federal agencies to re-employ federal retirees on a limited, part-time basis without forcing them to take a cut in their annuity checks.
• Gives employees who work for the District of Columbia Courts, the Pretrial Services Agency, the Department of Corrections, and the Adult Probation and Parole Services credit for their time in service before the agencies were transferred to the federal government.

Nepotism in hiring - April 23, 2009

By Dennis A. Wilson
Mr.
Local 1346
Lancaster, WI

You would think that federal employment would be free of illegal discrimination, but you would be wrong. You would also think that since the public pays for the governments employees the process for getting a job would be open and above board. You would be wrong again.

Our union is trying to fight what I consider insidious nepotism and cronyism in the Social Security Agency's hiring, but I want to make it clear that any opinions expressed here are my own. Rather than follow established merit based hiring practices, Social Security is exploiting a loophole in the law called the Federal Career Intern Program (FCIP) to hire about two-thirds of all new employees, and guess what, lots of those hired are relatives, friends, and children of the managers. One manager hires another managers kid and promotes him quickly up the ladder. If this keeps up government jobs will be the "property" of a selected few families and friends. Under this "FCIP" program, managers don't have to make a public job announcement (so that any qualified and talented American can apply). They can find the job "candidates" any way they want, and they can hire them secretly and with no consideration of merit. Is this the American Way? Apparently the Management of Social Security Administration in Wisconsin and elsewhere thinks so. Here is a bit from a letter our national union president sent to the commissioner of Social Security:

"AFGE also received a number of reports from employees complaining that managers have used FCIP to hire their relatives, friends, neighbors, fellow church members, etc. Examples are the FCIP hire of Ryan Kulinski, son of Milwaukee Downtown District Manager Mark Kulinski or the FCIP hiring of Mark Fansler, nephew of Seattle Area Director Steve Dymale. Both Kulinski and Fansler were not only FCIP hires but they were quickly selected at the first opportunity to higher graded positions instead of highly qualified veteran employees who were not related to management."

No, the commissioner has not replied. I have been told that both Kulinski's are mad about this publicity, but you would expect that. If you don't think this is right, call or write the commissioner of Social Security, Michael Astrue to tell him what you think. If you live in Wisconsin, you can contact the Area Director, Robert Pagan, who has presided over this hiring binge and speaks approvingly of it as "Legacy Hiring".

At our recent semiannual union meeting several employees of Mr. Kuklinski's Milwaukee Downtown office came to express fear that their boss would retaliate against them for our president bringing his cozy little arrangement for family job security to a public forum. Mr. Kulinski also apparently sent an employee who is his buddy to the meeting to try to shout down our local president when she tried to explain that we are seeking fairness and equal opportunity in federal hiring. Several managers have apparently told their employees that they can forget seeing any of their friends or relatives hired if the union wants to make an issue of this. Don't all American citizens have a right to compete for government jobs, even relatives of current non-management employees? I think they do so long as all citizens have access to apply, and current employees do not try to influence the hiring process.

I am retired, but not knowing the extent of the insider network in the federal government, I cannot say that I will not be targeted. There is no doubt that those still working are at risk if they oppose the illegal acts of others. If you doubt that the events I have just described are illegal you can look it up online at the website of the Federal Government's Office Of General Counsel: http://www.osc.gov/ppp.htm. And so the fight goes on for truth, justice, and the American way.

Author: Dewayne R Lamp, of Local 2119, on Jul 8, 2009 8:46 PM

Had a similar sort of thing happen at the installation that I work at. We had a large surge in work after the Gulf War started and the agency had to hire alot of people. Because OPM was taking to long to get posistions filled the agency was given direct hire athourity. Which means that they could put adds in the local papers and have job fairs where people could come, be interviewed (by the managers) and hired as a 13 month term employee on the spot. OPM wouild do the usual backround checks after they were hired and if there was no red flags they would stay on the payroll. But what it turn out to be was a way for managers to bypass a competitve annoucement process and hiring requirement for veterans and get their friends, buddies, relaitives, and even children hired.

Think Twice First Campaign - April 2009

Every year or so the agency tries to get employees to sign the "Acknowledgement Statement" attached to the agency's systems access policy. Just so you know, the agency at the national level has stated that they want you to sign the Statement to remove any defense you might have that you don't completely understand the policy. Therefore, you violated the policy knowingly and willfully, according to management.

The union recommends that employees only sign the Acknowledgement Statement if the employee fully and completely understands the policy and is willing to bet from 3 days pay to possible Removal from one's job that the employee absolutely understands the policy and - more importantly - how their supervisor understands the policy. You may read the policy and think you understand it but if your supervisor or other management official with the authority to discipline you has a different understanding of the policy, you could be disciplined. Many employees have been disciplined for accessing the system for a business reason but did not understand that their supervisor believed that the cousin of an in-law was considered to be a "relative" by management.

We ask employees to be cautious before signing any such Statement. If you are under an FCIP appointment and haven't made your 2 years and become permanent, you would be wise to learn as much about the policy as you can and just go ahead and sign the Statement, because your rights are not fully in force yet and such refusal could have a negative impact on your employment. Make sure you ask your supervisor in advance of any questionable systems access.

All other employees should either sign if you are willing to bet that you fully understand all the nuances of the policy and the definitions of the terms (friend, coworker, relative, acquaintance) and that management in your office shares that understanding. And you should be careful about signing if you have questions or concerns about the policy or how it may be applied.

If you are ordered to sign, you can either sign "under duress" after your signature or "ordered to sign". Management cannot force you to sign that you understand a policy that you don't fully understand. If ordered to sign, contact your union rep and we will address any coerced signing.

The union encourages employees to read the policy in detail and make every attempt to fully understand it. We also encourage employees to go to their supervisor FIRST before accessing the system for any claimant/customer that you might know, know of, or who you might know from the community as well as any coworker, former coworker, or relative, no matter how distant. Remember, according to management, you violate the policy and can be suspended if they THINK you have violated it. From that point on the union can represent you and even take your case to arbitration, as we have numerous times on behalf of innocent employees who were just doing their job, but it is better not to cause the offense.

So PROTECT YOURSELF and get the OK in advance to access the system and make sure that approval or authorization is in writing and on the record. If you find out during the interview that the systems access could possibly violate the policy, inform your supervisor as soon as the interview is over and make sure she/he records the authorization in writing somewhere so you have a record to protect you. Memories can be short.

AFGE Local 1923 Wins Settlement for SSA Employee with Special Needs:

AFGE Local 1923 has agreed to settle a case in which a deaf claims representative was denied appropriate accommodations to succeed in her job. The Social Security Administration agreed to pay $200,000 plus attorney fees to the deaf employees after she filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. SSA had denied her request for an accommodation – either an interpreter for claimant interviews or reassigning her to a different job.

Injustice To AFGE Employees Continues

Judge Cristado's memorandum clearly shows how he feels about the hard work and dedication by employees such as yourself. AFGE believes you are worthy of a upgrade and will continue to fight for such.

Date: March 27, 2009
From: Frank A. Cristaudo /s/
Chief Administrative Law Judge

Subject: National Hearing Center Paralegal Specialist (Case Manager) Position

As you may be aware, ODAR recently announced vacancies for the National Hearing Center (NHC) Paralegal Specialist (Case Manager) position (GS 7/9; PD #9E576). Since then, I have received a number of email messages from Senior Case Technicians (SCT) and Lead Case Technicians (LCT) asking to be upgraded. This memorandum serves as both a response to these emails and an opportunity for me to share with you our vision for this new position.

While this position has similar functions to the Case Technician, Senior Case Technician, Case Intake Technician, and Lead Case Technician positions, there are several additional duties. These employees will manage a caseload; keep track of cases in all statuses from when they are receipted into the NHC until a disposition is issued; and serve as the contact for the case. Additionally, these employees will draft fully favorable decisions.

The Center for Classification and Organization Management (CCOM) worked closely with my staff to ensure that this position was appropriately graded and did not duplicate any existing position.

As these are new positions, individuals interested in serving in this position must file an application to be considered.

Please share this information with your Hearing Office Management Teams, who should share further with all hearing office personnel. I hope you find this information helpful.

AFGE Local 3377 Wins a Series of Arbitration Cases:

AFGE Local 3377 in Texas recently won four arbitration cases that resulted in reinstatement of two employees who had been wrongfully terminated, a retroactive promotion for an employee whose promotion had been improperly delayed, and reinstatement of the telework program for eligible employees. The delayed promotion and telework arbitrations are precedential and may have agency wide implications. The local also settled two arbitration cases, which resulted in an issuance of a Letter of Reprimand in lieu of a 14-day suspension and a removal of an employee's suspension from his personnel record.

The employees involved in the cases work for the Citizenship and Immigration Service, Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.