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.

National VA Council, President

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Today is the fifth and last day of this session of contract negotiations with AFGE/NVAC and VA. Again these negotiations are being held in St. Louis, Missouri. The tone is still good and we are still negotiating Article 16 - Employee Rights. Although we were supposed to negotiate Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 2A, 7 and 56; we did not get to address these Articles in this session, never the less we have had some movement on Article 16.

Our next session will be in Nashville, Tennessee the week of July 24 - 28, 2006. Keep up the support and don’t forget to wear your red T-shirts and buttons the first day of each session!