FederalDaily.com > CBP Employees to Vote on Union Representative

FederalDaily - March 24, 2006

CBP Employees to Vote on Union Representative

In May, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees will vote to pick a union to have sole representation responsibilities. Both the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) are jockeying for the position. “AFGE is the full package when it comes to DHS representation,” AFGE President John Gage said in a recent press release. “We are who DHS management and Congress listen to when it comes to American security.” NTEU President Colleen Kelley, meanwhile, pointed to her union’s experience with customs services. “NTEU has aggressively and successfully represented Customs Service employees for more than 30 years,” she said. “Our experience in law enforcement and homeland security issues is second to none.” Ballots will be sent out on May 9 and collected no later than June 22. Vote results are expected by June 27.

Army Creating New Reservist Category

Servicemembers in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) that are especially qualified and ready to deploy could now fall into the new Individual Warrior Category (IW), the Army announced on Wednesday. Soldiers in the IW group will be required to maintain a higher level of readiness than tradition IRR servicemembers. They will have to attend annual readiness processing and maintain proficiency in their military occupational specialties. The change has the full support of Army management, including Secretary Francis Harvey. “Senior Army leadership is committed to providing the necessary funding required to shape the IW initiative,” Harvey said.

CBP Port Security Hiring Underway

In testimony to Congress last week, Jayson Ahern—assistant commissioner of field operations for Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—confirmed that the agency is planning to hire approximately 40 supply chain security specialists by the end of April as part of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program. Ahern said that approximately 10,000 companies have submitted security plans to join C-TPAT, a partnership with the U.S. government in which shipping companies must meet and maintain security requirements such as employee background checks. Currently, CBP has 88 specialists available to verify the security plans. John Mohan, a C-TPAT expert with CBP, stated that the agency hopes hire a total of 156 specialists for evaluating C-TPAT security plans by the end of the fiscal year. After the first wave of hiring through April, “we’re well on target for that goal,” Mohan said. According to previous media reports, Ahern said that CBP was considering using contractors for the positions. Mohan clarified, “Mr. Ahern’s comments specifically addressed whether we would consider that.” He added, “We have not talked to any vendors,” but said CBP would look at contractors as “a means to meet our goal” if necessary.

Agencies Collaborate against Bird Flu

Three agencies are collaborating on work against avian flu. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton and Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt said they are working on protecting people, domestic poultry and wild birds. The increased efforts come as the spring migration of migratory birds is underway and the spread of avian influenza continues across continents. The interagency plan outlines five specific strategies for early detection of the virus in wild migratory birds, including:

investigation of disease-outbreak events in wild birds;

expanded monitoring of live wild birds;

monitoring of hunter-killed birds;

use of sentinel animals, such as backyard poultry flocks; and

environmental sampling of water and bird feces.