FederalDaily - May 17, 2007
ACLU: Congress Must Reform Whistleblower Laws
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on May 14 released a new report detailing what the organization
calls a “glaring” lack of protection for government employees who uncover wrongdoing or
national security breaches. In the report, “Disavowed: The Government's Unchecked Retaliation
Against National Security Whistleblowers,” the ACLU points to flaws in current law that leave
national security whistleblowers unprotected. In particular, the Whistleblower Protection Act, which
was passed by Congress to encourage government employees to disclose wrongdoing, does not apply to
employees of most agencies involved in intelligence and national security, including the FBI and the
CIA, ACLU said. The House has approved a WPA reform act that would address many of these issues, but
the Senate has still to act. The ACLU report was released in concert with Washington Whistleblower
Week, organized by 40 public interest organizations to document the plight of government whistleblowers. “These
individuals often risk their careers to expose fraud, waste, and abuse in an effort to protect not
only the health and safety of the American people, but the federal treasury and taxpayer dollars,” said
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. To see more, go to: www.aclu.org/safefree/general/29707prs20070514.html
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APWU Says Postal Workers Not to Blame for Rate Hike
American Postal Workers Union (APWU) President William Burrus said U.S. Postal Service employees are
being unfairly blamed for the 2-cent increase in postage stamps that went into effect on May 14. The
increase in postal rates has been blamed on rising labor costs, which Burrus called misleading. Most
news reports say that 80 percent of the postal increase is driven by labor costs. But that 80 percent
figure is deceptive, the unions said, because it includes the salaries and benefits of the Postal Service’s
entire management structure, including supervisors, managers, and executives, as well as casual and
other non-career employees who are not represented by the postal unions. A more accurate accounting
of USPS costs would reveal that the APWU bargaining unit expenses comprise only 26.2 percent of USPS
expenses; city letter carriers comprise just 22.2 percent; and total expenses for employees covered
by collective bargaining agreements equal roughly 60.5 percent, Burrus said. That is a far cry from
the reported 80 percent figure, he said. “The Postal Service has chosen to report labor costs
as a single line-item, grouping craft employees who have collective bargaining rights with supervisors,” Burrus
said. “It is this artificial grouping that results in the 80-percent figure.” To
see more, go to: www.apwu.org/news/burrus/2007/update13-2007-051407.htm
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AFGE Negotiates FLAP Pay for CBP Officers
American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Customs and Border Patrol Council 117 announced
May 11 that Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) officers will soon be able to earn a foreign
language pay bonus. The AFGE local said the CBP Office of Field Operations has agreed to make multilingual
CBP officers eligible for extra pay under the agency’s Foreign Language Awards Program (FLAP).
The new policy gives CBP officers the opportunity to earn up to 5 percent of their base pay in awards
money. CBP also agreed to pay for the officers’ FLAP exam one time per year and will also pay
for two additional exams per year for languages of special interest. Once an officer accumulates a
5 percent bonus through testing, there is no need to re-test in order to receive the monetary award,
said AFGE President John Gage. “CBP officers deserve compensation for their high skill level
in the area of foreign languages,” Gage said. CBP officers are encouraged to request to test
as soon as possible. The written request form is available at AFGE’s Web site. To see more, go
to: www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=742
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