FederalDaily - June 2, 2006
Whistleblowing Decision Draws Union Criticism
The Supreme Court decision this week in the case, Garcetti v. Ceballos, led several organizations to complain that it is setting a bad precedent for protecting whistleblowing government employees. John Gage, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said that “the decision will make it less likely that serious government problems will be corrected in the future.” The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) also issued a statement saying it had concerns about the “Supreme Court decision eliminating the First Amendment protection of speech by public employees made “pursuant to” their duties.” NTEU President Colleen Kelley said, “The loss of constitutional protection may have a serious impact on employees’ willingness to bring important issues of abuse, waste or misconduct to light.” To see the decision, go to: www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/05pdf/04-473.pdf.
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USPS Changes Consolidation Plans
The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) said on May 24 that it has been notified that the proposed consolidation of “certain operations” at five postal facilities in the Northeast Area has been cancelled, because they present no substantial opportunities to improve efficiency or service. The five facilities are:
- Utica (N.Y.) Processing & Distribution Facility (P&DF)
- Plattsburgh (N.Y.) Post Office
- Burlington (Vt.) P&DF
- Springfield (Mass.) Processing & Distribution Center
- Portsmouth (N.H.) P&DF
APWU President William Burrus said he received a letter from the U.S. Postal Service saying, “After careful and exhaustive review, it has been determined that there are currently no significant opportunities to improve efficiency or service through consolidation of mail processing operations at the locations listed above. Therefore, no significant changes will be made at this time.” Burrus said he was pleased by the decision.
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New OPM Human Capital Requirements
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has announced new agency responsibilities. Agencies have to submit plans that include:
- human capital goals and objectives;
- work force analysis, describing the agency’s current state and projects needed to achieve the agency’s program performance goals and objectives; and
- description of the occupation(s) most critical to agency performance, and for each such occupation, describe its current and projected staffing levels, attrition and hiring estimates.
Agencies will also have to have human capital accountability systems. The systems must be approved by OPM; assess human capital management systems for effectiveness, efficiency and compliance with merit system principles, laws and regulations; and ensure that action is taken to improve human capital management programs to correct deficiencies. To see more on the new requirements, go to http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/
edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/E6-7784.htm.
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Army Cancels Conference Last-Minute
The Army Small Computer Program made the following announcement on its Web Site regarding a conference planned for next week:
Due to severe OMA [Operations and Maintenance, Army] funding restrictions, it is necessary to cancel the 2006 Army Information Technology Conference originally scheduled for 6 - 8 June 2006 in Orlando. Please make sure that you cancel your hotel reservations immediately to ensure that the Army does not incur any additional costs. The Army Small Computer Program apologizes for this late notice. We will keep you informed on future conferences.
To see the announcement, go to: https://ascp.monmouth.army.mil/scp/index.jsp.
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