(May
2, 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
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As
you know, the new Master Agreement went into effect on March 15, 2011.
To make sure that both labor and management properly apply this new contract,
we have been working with management and a group of contractors to develop a
comprehensive training program. This training initially will be at each
VISN, 4 VBA area levels, and one nationally at NCA, and will take place from
June to August, 2011. This will be the largest integrated training
program in the history of the Council!
We
will have 26 regional trainings, evenly split between labor and management.
During this three day training, 49 labor and 49 management officials will be
provided an in depth analysis of the new contract. Different from
previous training, instead of going over articles in numerical order, this
training groups articles into subject areas, showing how the articles interact
with each other. Each activist who attends this highly interactive
training will also receive a participants’ guide, and leave with a much
better common understanding of the Master Agreement. We have also
negotiated with Central Office that the Department and not the facilities will
pay for all travel and per diem for both labor and management
More
information will be forthcoming from your District Representative with regard
to location and dates of training in your area, along with the number of
representatives you can send to the training. It is important that as
many senior officers, such as the President, Vice President, and Chief
Stewards attend. Lastly, at some point we will be discussing how to
request joint and union only training on the Master Agreement at your
facility, to begin after Labor Day.
The
negotiating team succeeded in their job by securing the best contract in the
federal service. The training team accomplished their job by developing
world-class training on this contract. Armed with this contract, and
trained over the three-day class, we are sure that you will continue to do
your job of providing the best representation possible!