(April
5, 2011)
In
order to further improve the lines of communication and to respond to the
concerns between the National VA Council and you our members, I have
established a National VA Council Briefing. This NVAC Briefing will bring you
the latest news and developments within DVA and provide you with the current
status of issues this Council is currently addressing. I believe that this
NVAC Briefing will greatly enhance the way in which we communicate and the way
in which we share new information, keeping you better informed.
Alma
L. Lee
National
VA Council, President
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In
This Briefing: Union
sues OMB to force release of shutdown plans
The Leader in Energy & Environmental Policy
News
John McArdle, E&E
reporter
(04/05/2011)
With
the threat of a government shutdown once again looming, the nation's largest
union for federal workers is suing the Office of Management and Budget to
release agency contingency plans in an effort to give employees some idea of
what they can expect if Congress can't agree on a new funding measure by
Friday.
Each
federal agency is required to create a contingency plan for a shutdown, but
after receiving no response to repeated attempts to obtain those plans through
Freedom of Information Act requests, American Federation of Government
Employees (AFGE) President John Gage announced today that the union had filed
suit in U.S. District Court late last week.
"I
don't see how having a plan and not keeping your employees informed of the
plan helps anyone," Gage said at an event at the National Press Club this
morning. "We're not trying to say that our people won't stand up for the
jobs that they love, but I think the American public and President Obama's
administration should understand that people have families, they have
obligations, they should know before the eve of a shutdown what is
happening."
Gage's
group is making its own contingency plans.
This
week, AFGE is continuing to run an ad blitz on 100 radio stations that urges
public employees to contact Congress to oppose cuts to the federal government.
And if a government shutdown does occur, Gage said his organization will file
another lawsuit on behalf of the many federal employees whose services would
be deemed "essential" and therefore be forced to work but who would
not paid until the budget crisis is resolved. That lawsuit would be filed
under the 13th Amendment, which outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude.
If
the shutdown stretches into next week, Gage plans to call on all federal
employees to show up at their offices anyway on either Tuesday or Wednesday.
"If
they don't let them into work, the American public at least can see that
federal employees know the importance of their jobs," he said.
And
while he was critical of the White House for its failure to keep employees
informed about shutdown plans, Gage didn't spare Congress for playing what he
described as partisan games with the livelihood of federal workers. He was
particularly critical of the deep cuts that Republicans have proposed in their
various funding measures.
"When
you look at where these cuts are, you can see it's not a deficit issue, it is
about going after programs that a certain group never liked to begin
with," he said.
Gage
pointed to U.S. EPA as a clear example of that effort.
If
the GOP gets its way at EPA, "it will really hit inspections, it will
really hit water and air" regulations, he said.
Looking
beyond the looming threat of a shutdown, Gage also defended federal employees
against ongoing efforts to cut the annual "step increases" that are
still allowed for despite the two-year pay freeze that President Obama
announced late last year. That effort is being led by Republicans in the House
Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
On
Friday, committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and federal workforce
Subcommittee Chairman Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) sent a letter to the Government
Accountability Office asking for a study of the current General Schedule pay
adjustment system and specifically whether that system recognizes employee
performance. Ross spokesman Fred Piccolo today described the General Schedule
system as a failure.
Piccolo
said. He said that whatever system is included in legislation that will be
proposed through the committee "will be to the benefit of performing
federal employees and an end for those addicted to the status quo."