FederalDaily - March 15, 2007
Injunction Issued Against CBP in Firing of Councilman
In a potentially sweeping court ruling, a judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing the
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from discharging a CBP officer who wants to continue
serving as an elected city councilman in Presidio, Texas. The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU)
sought the federal injunction on behalf of Jaime Ramirez, first elected to the unpaid, nonpartisan
position in 2004 with CBP’s approval. Late last year, Ramirez was ordered to resign either his
seat on the council or his CBP position. The cited reason was an alleged appearance of a conflict of
interest. NTEU President Colleen Kelley on March 13 called the injunction “an important step
forward.” U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler, who issued the preliminary injunction, said in
her decision that the CBP effort “could have far-reaching implications for the First Amendment
freedoms of government employees throughout the country to participate in a wide range of local, non-partisan
community activities.” To see more, go to: www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1057
:: Back to Top ::
AFGE Warns of Staffing Shortages Within Bureau Of Prisons
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) warns that inadequate staffing and a burgeoning
inmate population is threatening security within the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The union said
on March 13 that it sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking that BOP reverse a trend
characterized by cutbacks and insufficient staffing throughout the federal system. AFGE also said federal
facilities nationwide have seen an increase in assaults—both inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-staff—as
a direct result of the staffing shortage throughout BOP. “This concept of ‘doing more with
less’ is destroying the sanctity of our security within the BOP,” said Council of Prison
Locals President Bryan Lowry. “Proper staffing levels within our federal prisons are essential
to maintaining the safety and security of our correctional officers, inmates and surrounding communities.” To
see more, go to: www.afge.org/index.cfm?page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=716
:: Back to Top ::
Controllers Urge FAA to Lift Weather Radio Ban
An air-traffic controllers union urged the Federal Aviation Administration to lift its ban on weather
radios in air traffic control towers which controllers have used in the past to monitor the latest
severe weather and tornado warnings. The ban, imposed last Labor Day weekend, prohibits the use of
all AM-FM radios that controllers had used to monitor stations on the Emergency Alert System (EAS).
The controllers need to listen to the EAS warnings as a supplement to their radar equipment, which
only detects precipitation, National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Patrick Forrey said
on March 13. There is no tool available to tower controllers that can detect a tornado within a thunderstorm,
he said. While a select few towers, like New York-JFK Airport, have advanced equipment that can identify
wind shear, it is not like the Doppler technology that TV meteorologists have, he said. Those can show
cyclonic rotations within thunderstorms indicative of tornadoes, as well as predict the path of those
storms, he said. “It’s really just amazing to me that we have to even continue to ask this
from an agency that says it is committed to aviation safety. It’s such a no-brainer,” Forrey
said. To see more, go to: www.natca.org/mediacenter/press-release-detail.aspx?id=412
:: Back to Top ::
|
