CHAPTER 49 NEWS
FEBRUARY 1, 2002
GILES FILES
By
Duncan Giles
President
NTEU Chapter 49
On this and that. First, kudos to the stewards for this issue are
almost too numerous to mention, but here goes - Delores Bell, Teresa Bohnert,
Scott Carder, Dean Crawford, Pam Fruggerio, Nickole Johnson, Shawn Kennedy,
Brian Kosteck, Karen McKibben, Fred Mecum, Clarence Mullins and Cheryl Tolbert.
They are all working on important issues either formally or informally.
These are just the ones working issues that come immediately to mind.
You can well imagine that the Chapter 49 officers and stewards are working
very hard for the employees of the Service in Indiana.
By the time you read this, we should be at least working on (if not close
to finalizing) local agreements for SB/SE support to Field Assistance and
R-Mail support. The national agreements came late and suffice to say
that it was a struggle to get everyone to the table, but we accomplished that.
As always, we strive to get the best possible working conditions for our
members. Karen McKibben (RO from Bloomington) is heading up our field
assistance negotiations, while Brian Kosteck (LMSB RA from Ft Wayne) is heading
up our efforts for R-Mail. So if they look haggard the next time you
see them, now you know why.
At the call site, we are still in the process of gathering facts about the
building so we know best how to proceed with the air quality issues there.
Finally, congrats go to LMSB RA Mary Ann Schmitt, who was recently named
to a national design team. This once again shows that if you want to
be part of the solution instead of just wishing things were better, you need
to step up. How do you step up? Let your local steward know you
are interested in doing so. When the solicitations for these teams come
out, you can be informed. The down side for the minority of you is
that you won’t get selected to any bargaining unit teams of this sort because
you are not a member of NTEU. So if you aren’t a member, join the winning
team!
That’s it for this time.
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SURVEY 2001:
TRACKING THE ISSUES
We have seen the cycle many times. We take the survey, we hold group
meetings, we write a plan to deal with issues raised in the meetings.
But what happens next? There is a feeling by many IRS workers that the
process breaks down at this point. Chapter 49 Survey Coordinator Cheryl
Tolbert is working on the follow-up part. Cheryl is looking for your
help, so NTEU can track issues locally and track movement (or lack thereof)
of issues being addressed by management. “If your workgroup has an
outstanding issue that has not been adequately addressed (i.e., no action
or communications for more than 30 days), please let me know,” Cheryl said.
She needs the date of the workgroup action plan, the name of the workgroup
manager, the completion date agreed to by the group, and whether the issue
was elevated or within the workgroup’s control. “Note employees should
expect and receive a progress report on any ‘on going’ or open-ended issue
no less frequently than once a quarter,” added Cheryl. As survey coordinator
for the chapter, she welcomes your survey-related questions or concerns.
Cheryl’s phone number at the Merrillville POD is 219-738-4828. Her
fax number is 219-736-4318. Her e mail address at the office is
Cheryl.Tolbert@irs.gov
If you want to use the old snail mail system, write to
233 East 84th Drive
Merrillville, Indiana 46410
NTEU GIVES 4/10 EMPLOYEES
A BREAK!
NTEU won a major victory giving employees on a 4-day-a-week, 10-hour-a-day
schedule an additional 3rd break. But the story of how we got there
is disturbing. NTEU won an arbitration case last year allowing the 3rd
break for those on a 4/10 schedule. IRS management then announced
that it would only apply the arbitrator’s decision to the Atlanta office involved
in the arbitration, and sent a letter to National President Colleen Kelley
asserting that if NTEU tried to argue that the decision be applied nationally,
the Service would declare the whole issue non-negotiable on technical legal
grounds. Kelley said she “found the IRS response quite disturbing.
Not only were they (IRS management) refusing to comply with the law and contract
even after they lost the appeals, but they were threatening us. In an
era when everyone in the Service is being schooled on the importance of ethics
and employee satisfaction, I found this behavior to be outrageous and one
that will be remembered for quite a while.” When NTEU continued to
press the case, IRS began to see the handwriting on the wall. They finally
agreed to settle the case when an unfavorable-to-management new independent
ruling was imminent. This settlement will give thousands of IRS workers
nation-wide a third break during an 10-hour day for the very first time.
This is a vivid example of how NTEU refuses to yield when the law and employee
rights are at stake. It’s also an example of where your dues money goes.
MET LIFE ALERT
Some members of NTEU have been contacted by representatives of MetLife,
claiming they are offering an insurance plan endorsed by NTEU. The
NTEU national office says, “Any statements by MetLife that indicate a business
relationship between NTEU and MetLife are false.”