On this and that. To start off with I'm glad we are finally (even if it's only a few to start with) getting more RO & RA hires in Indiana. This is something the Chapter has been pushing for a long time. I am very hopeful that this is a start and we will continue to get more hires to replace the folks who have left SB/SE.

I recently attended a meeting of a sub-council of the W & I Partnership Council to deal with the issue of when to invite NTEU to High level (Territory and up) managers meetings.  We have been tasked with trying to find a solution to see if NTEU is being invited properly to all meetings we should be attending to give the employees views on issues.  From what I understand, this is a Service-wide issue and whatever we come up with could be a model for the entire Service. I will keep everyone abreast of developments in this column and on our website.

Speaking of Councils—here’s the latest word about negotiations with Counsel - nationally they are progressing very choppily on an agreement. Locally we have decent relations with the parts of Counsel that want to work in Partnership and a very rough relationship with the part that doesn't like involving NTEU as they should.
In MITS, their world just keeps going like a clothes dryer for both Management and bargaining unit employees alike. The A-76 process (possible contracting out and the all the "fun" that entails) keeps them just tumbling around. NTEU is taking every possible action to make sure employees get a fair shake against outside contractors much to the chagrin of the Administration.

Just a heads up...South Bend will be moving into new digs sometime in the late summer/early fall period. For those of you who know the conditions at their POD you know that moving into new digs is a good thing!

At the Call Site….things are progressing normally for a filing season, which means it's nuts for the employees. Kudos to the managers who try and help the employees psyches during this period and shame on the managers who don't remember what this time of year is like and treat their employees like cattle instead of people. I'm glad those are in the minority but just be aware NTEU is always watching those managers who don't act as they should. ....

That's it for now.

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Most of us know that a learning curve is a chance to learn something, then have the chance to practice the concepts we’ve just learned in class.  Unfortunately, a group of CSRs at our call site have had to learn both tax law and accounts back-to-back.  They’ve been working the tax law and will soon be moved to accounts work.  Unfortunately, management is saying that these folks get one 60-day learning curve for the tax law and accounts.  Chapter 49 respectfully disagrees with that interpretation of the contract.  So here is what we suggest if you are one of the impacted CSRs.  If you receive any negative feedback from management on monitored accounts phone calls after March 24th, we suggest you e-mail Call Site Coordinating Steward Larry Lannan.  He will arrange time to meet with you and explain what needs to be done.     





We will be seeing some more money in our paychecks soon, but exactly how much and when is not known as we go to press.  President Bush has signed into law an average 4.1% pay raise for federal workers in 2003.  However, the budget bill had not been completed in time, so the president signed an executive order giving us a 3.1% across-the-board raise to begin 2003.  Now that our budget has become law, the president will be signing a new executive order to adjust the pay tables.  There are a couple of items that are still not known as of this writing.  We don’t know whether the president will order back pay for us, or have the new pay tables adjust for the money we have lost since the average 4.1% pay hike was retroactive to the first full pay period in 2003.  In addition, the president has the option of granting a full 1% across-the-board raise, or have passing out that 1% as locality pay.  Until those decisions are made by a presidential executive order, we won’t know the specifics.  To stay abreast of the pay situation, visit our Chapter 49 Web site at www.nteu49.org.  


Why is it that when our political leaders cannot do the basic work of governing, it's we in the civil service that have to put our money on the line? It's happened before and it's happening again. It's almost as if we are the Bill Murray character in the film Groundhog Day.

The Congress has failed to act in a timely manner and raise the debt ceiling for the federal government. That means the feds technically have no more credit. It's a little like maxing out your credit cards and continuing to charge purchases on them without increasing your limit with the credit card company. So, with Congress unable or unwilling to act, and the debt limit reached, how has the government continued to function and borrow money to carry out its basic operations? Easy, just tap into federal employees' retirement money. That's right, the government is using our Thrift Savings Plan cash to fund government operations until Congress gets around to doing the job it is elected to do. Federal law requires that the Treasury return all that money with interest once Congress raises the debt ceiling. But why do we have to once again bail out a bunch of political leaders unable to complete its most basic work? I'll let you answer that question yourself.



It has come to our attention that a number of people who signed-up to be members of Chapter 49 have not had dues withheld from their pay.  The problem has been tracked down to an IRS processing center.  If you have signed up to join NTEU but dues are not being withheld, tell you nearest steward or officer.  You can also e-mail us at nteu49@aol.com, or call the union office at 317-226-6841.    


NTEU CHAPTER 49 WELCOMES YOUR COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ON THE CHAPTER 49 NEWS NEWSLETTER.  SEND ANY COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS TO NEWSLETER EDITOR LARRY LANNAN, OR CONTACT CHAPTER PRESIDENT DUNCAN GILES.  FOR THE MOS UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION, CHECK OUT OUR HOME ON THE INTERNET AT…