Federal Daily - May 4, 2009

NTEU Urges DHS to Allow Employees to Wear Protective Masks

As the number of swine flu cases climbs, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) urged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue new rules that will allow frontline homeland security employees to wear face masks at their own discretion. In an April 30 statement, NTEU President Colleen Kelley asked that DHS issue a new guidance for DHS employees, including thousands of airport passenger screeners in the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) who have complained that they been banned from wearing the masks. “Local managers are refusing to allow employees to wear protective gear and that is unnecessarily putting them at risk,” said Kelley. “Employees want, need—and deserve—the immediate right to protect their health, if they choose.” Employees have been told to follow guidance issued by the Office of Personnel Management that recommends they maintain a distance of at least six feet between themselves and someone who appears to be ill, Kelley said. However, this is impractical for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and TSA employees performing a variety of their routine work tasks, Kelley said. TSA employees, for example, are involved in ‘wanding’ passengers, engaging in pat-down searches or checking boarding passes Kelley said. Likewise, CBP officers frequently work in close contact with travelers, checking documents and baggage, she said. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1420.

:: Back to Top ::

Arbitrator Grants Postal Nurses Raises, Retroactive Pay in 5-Year Pact

An arbitration panel issued final contract terms on a five-year pact for members of the National Postal Professional Nurses Union that includes retroactive pay raises and protection against layoffs, according to a statement by the American Postal Workers Union (APWU). The nurse’s union became part of APWU after their contract with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) expired in August 2007. The panel’s final ruling grants retroactive raises of 3.3 percent effective Aug. 18, 2007, and 3.1 percent effective Aug. 16, 2008. Wage increases for 2009, 2010, and 2011 will be based on the annual percentage increases in the Employee Cost Index. In the ruling, Arbitrator Stephen B. Goldberg rejected USPS proposals for lump-sum raises that would have applied only to the first two years of the contract, APWU said in an April 30 news release. The arbitration created a Memorandum of Understanding that maintains the status quo regarding the complement of nurses (which USPS wanted to reduce from more than 130 positions to 41) until the parties can agree on a new staffing plan. However, the ruling permits USPS to stop providing walk-in patient care to postal employees who become ill while at work. Existing medical units will be replaced with occupational health offices, where the nurses will perform non-clinical work, including case management duties, APWU said. To see more, go to: http://apwu.org/news/webart/2009/09-052-nurses-
contract090430.htm.

:: Back to Top ::

Security Agencies Should Expand Student Loan Repayment Programs, Akaka Says

To boost workforce recruitment, national security agencies should expand existing student loan repayment programs that have so far been underused, said Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs oversight subcommittee. Akaka’s panel held a hearing April 30 to examine human capital management issues within the agencies responsible for national security, including DoD and the components of the Intelligence Community. One key element needed to better develop the national security workforce is a stronger student loan repayment program, Akaka said. The senator said student loan repayments help the federal government to attract the best candidates to government service, but the current federal student loan repayment program has been underused, in part because agencies must balance funding loan repayments for its employees against other priorities. Another key element is rotational programs that improve government coordination and integration, he said. The Department of Homeland Security’s rotational program has been successful and should be more broadly applied to the national security workforce, Akaka said. To see more, go to: http://akaka.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Press
Releases.Home&month=4&year=2009&release_id=2663.

:: Back to Top ::