August 30, 2002

GILES FILES
By
Duncan Giles
President
NTEU Chapter 49


On this and that.  First, I’d like to recognize some stewards for going above and beyond.

Cheryl Tolbert will be leaving us soon for downtown Chicago.  She will be missed for her tireless efforts as well as doing a fabulous job as Survey Coordinator for Chapter 49 the last 2 years.  She’s kept everyone on their toes working within an inherently flawed process.  

Pam Fruggeriero from the Taxpayer Advocate’s office has righted a wrong by getting an employee priority consideration for a job she was unjustly denied and assisting me in getting ready for a third step grievance meeting that resulted in getting a 3-day suspension totally dismissed.

Karen McKibben & Dean Crawford are also working an issue with SB/SE compliance that I have great hopes will end up in justice for an employee.  

Larry Lannan from the Call Site does an outstanding job on this (and all) newsletters as well as keeping the chapter Web site up.  This is a tough task that has to be done on his own time and Larry does it without complaint.

Lastly, Susan Wright is an invaluable member of this Chapter  for all the things she does to make sure the Chapter runs smoothly (as much as it can).  

Thanks to them and all the stewards for giving of their time to help their fellow employees.  It’s a thankless job so I like to recognize them as much as possible since that’s all they really get for it.   

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CHAPTER 49 PRESIDENT
NAMED TO NATIONAL
BARGAINING TEAM


NTEU National President Colleen Kelley knows where to turn when she’s looking for the best people to serve on a national negotiating team.  Chapter 49 President Duncan Giles will be a part of the national NTEU panel working with management on the transition issues surrounding the move of several Accounts Management Call Sites from SB/SE to W&I.  The new configuration will also move the Indianapolis Call Site Head of Office from the Cincinnati (actually Covington, KY) Center to the Kansas City Center.  A number of issues must be resolved for this transition to occur, and Duncan will be right in the thick of it.  The national talks begin the first week of September in Washington.   We’ll keep you posted here, and check www.nteu49.org for up-to-date information on this and other issues impacting Chapter 49 members.  




TAX SPECIALIST
ACCOUNTING REQUIREMENT
NATIONAL GRIEVANCE


Chapter 49 is one of many NTEU Chapters around the nation to file local grievances over accounting education requirements for the Tax Specialist position.  Now the national union has acted to file a national grievance over this matter, which will temporarily hold our local grievance in abeyance.


When IRS restructured the GS-526 series (which had largely included Tax Auditors and Taxpayer Service Specialists) to cover the positions of Tax Compliance Officer, Taxpayer Resolution Representative and Tax Specialist—the Service determined that the new jobs would come with an accounting education requirement.  That requirement called for six college credit hours of accounting, except for the Grade 11 & 12 positions, which required twelve semester hours of accounting credits.  When all this was put into place, management was willing to place employees in these GS-526 series positions and the workers were given the opportunity to acquire the needed credits at IRS expense.  When these requirements were put into place by IRS, NTEU worked with management to minimize the impact on employees.  But NTEU never agreed with the imposition of these standards.  Now, we see the Service rigidly applying these accounting requirements, with the only alternative—passing a competency exam (NTEU is still trying to get information from IRS on this exam).

NTEU has been examining possible grounds for challenging these requirements.  We believe federal regulations and the National Agreement have been violated by these unilateral actions on the part of IRS management.

We will keep you informed on the status of this national grievance which will be of interest to a number of Chapter 49 members.





NEW IRS COMMISH
YET TO BE
NOMINATED


The 1998 IRS Restructuring Law gives the Commissioner a five-year term.  It also gives the IRS Oversight Board a very important task—to recommend to the White House names of individuals qualified to serve in that important job.  The Oversight Board took that responsibility seriously.  A number of potential candidates were interviewed for the job.  After several months, the Oversight Board submitted names to the administration of people qualified to be the next Commissioner of Internal Revenue.  Then we waited...and waited....and waited for months.  We are still waiting.  Unless a name emerges soon, IRS will be rudderless once again for a period of time.  One published report suggested that President Bush is waiting until after the November elections are over, and plans to name a losing politician to the commissioner’s post.  We hope that report is incorrect.  IRS needs a leader and needs it immediately after Commissioner Rossotti completes his term in November.  Oversight Board member Bob Tobias points out that an agency in the midst of major change is either going forward or moving backwards...there is no standing still.  Let’s hope IRS can move in the right direction with a new commissioner that is up to the job.             



     JOIN THE TEAM THAT’S

LOOKING OUT FOR YOU!

JOIN NTEU TODAY!

SEE A CHAPTER 49 STEWARD







ACCOUNTING BLUES OF
BLUE CROSS/BLUE SHIELD


An amendment tacked onto a House spending bill has Blue Cross/Blue Shield singing the accounting blues.  Will those with Blue Cross Health Insurance have to go to a new insurance provider?  That depends on who you believe and whether the Senate goes along with the House measure.

The House provision would require Blue Cross to comply with accounting standards expected of other government contractors, including health insurance providers in the Federal Employee Health Benefits program (FEHB).  Blue Cross has been covered by an exemption from those accounting standards enacted by Congress a few years ago.  The House bill would change all that.

Blue Cross argues that it cannot meet the accounting standards, since it is a patchwork of local organizations that cannot comply with these rules.  The health insurance giant also claims it accounts to a number of government agencies and auditors already.  Those on the other side of the argument claim that in the current climate of corporate accountability, Blue Cross should be treated the same as other  contractors.

Blue Cross has threatened to pull out of FEHB entirely if the House measure is enacted into law.  Some say it’s a bluff.  No one knows for sure.  We will all wait and see whether roughly half the federal employees in FEHB will have to choose a new health insurance company.