FederalDaily - September 27, 2007
Arbitrator Rules Against IRS in NTEU Dispute
An arbitrator ruled against the IRS in an ongoing labor dispute, finding that the agency’s management
acted illegally when—in June 2006—it unilaterally terminated several provisions of the
national labor agreement. The arbitrator’s decision, released Sept. 24, also ordered that all
matters be returned to their previous status, said National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President
Colleen Kelley. It is the second such arbitrator’s decision in NTEU’s favor in which the
labor union has claimed that the IRS ignored federal labor law and bargained in bad faith. A decision
on the third grievance is pending. “NTEU now has two highly respected and independent arbitrators
ruling that the decisions management made in structuring its term bargaining strategy were illegal
from beginning to end,” said Kelley. “It is hard to imagine a clearer indictment of those
who led management into this strategy.” NTEU also has asked the Federal Labor Relations Authority
to block the Federal Service Impasse Panel (FSIP) from imposing a bargaining procedure on the union
and the IRS. Kelley said the union believes the pro-management FSIP will impose a new contract on the
parties that is much more favorable to management. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1157
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AFGE Applauds Lawmaker’s Criticism of New HR Initiative
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) on Sept. 25 applauded a letter sent by lawmakers
that is critical of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Human Resources Line of Business
initiative (HRLOB). The letter, signed by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and colleagues, questioned
whether HRLOB treats federal employees fairly and allows for abuse in the government’s A-76 privatization
process. The lawmakers noted that under HRLOB, all but five federal agencies will be required to transfer
out Human Resource Information Services and payroll operations without any of the A-76 protections
for federal employees. HRLOB will also grant a blanket privatization waiver for all human resources
functions performed by 10 or fewer employees. “Under HRLOB, an agency that wants more money to
perform human resources functions will be expected by OMB to transfer at least core functions to a
handful of federal and contractor shared service centers,” AFGE National President John Gage
said. To see more, go to: www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=788
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GSA Launches Spanish Language PSA Campaign
The General Services Administration (GSA) on Sept. 25 announced the launch of its first national public
service announcement (PSA) campaign in Spanish to raise awareness of two Spanish-language programs:
GobiernoUSA.gov and 1(800) FED-INFO. GobiernoUSA.gov is the official Web portal for federal government
information and services in Spanish and 1(800) FED-INFO is the toll-free number that provides the same
information via telephone. “The new Spanish-language PSA campaign will encourage the growing
Hispanic community to use these two very helpful services,” said GSA Administrator Lurita Doan. “It
is fitting that we begin this effort during Hispanic Heritage Month, a time reserved to celebrate the
countless and compelling contributions that Hispanics have made.” It is estimated that 44.3 million
Hispanics live in the United States, comprising about 15 percent of the total population. To see more,
go to: www.GobiernoUSA.gov.
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