CHAPTER 49 NEWS
MARCH 15, 2002

GILES FILES

By
Duncan Giles
President
NTEU Chapter 49

On this and that.  First, Chapter 49 ratified the new Master Labor Agreement on 2/28.  From where these negotiations started, I feel this is a great agreement for employees.  Was it everything we wanted?  Of course not, but there were no significant take-backs either.

At the Call Site there are two particular items of interest to members (and those who should be members).  One is that there will be air quality tests done in the near future.  We are in the process now of trying to figure out if it will be done by GSA, a private company hired by Chapter 49, or a combination of the two.  This process has taken a while, but we want to make sure it’s done right (and is complete enough).  Secondly, we are having a furlough of around 20 of the newest seasonals for a pay period.  I’ve heard rumors that some folks are saying it’s indefinite.  That is absolutely untrue….it’s just for a pay period.  We have been talking to management to try and get more training ASAP for our newer employees so we can go out for volunteers among the entire Call Site for future short-term furloughs.

In the field, management was introduced/reintroduced to a MOU (memorandum of understanding) from 1999 that states your TOD (tour of duty) can’t start before 7:00 AM, but you CAN work Credit Hours before then, as long as there is work that can be done (isn’t there always?).  If you ask for this and are denied, please contact your favorite NTEU Chapter 49 steward so they can held address this.  :-)

Lastly, It’s time for steward recognition and a special note.  Michelle Borders has resigned as chapter secretary (but is staying on as a steward) so I will be consulting with the executive board (the three remaining officers and the immediate past president) to see if the majority concur with my selection of Pam Fruggiero as interim secretary until the election.  Pam works in the Taxpayer Advocate office.  Stewards to call out in this issue for special work include the following (in no particular order)…..

From the PODs... Cheryl Tolbert, Brian Kosteck, Sabrina Barton, Bill Stevens, Shawn Kennedy, Karen McKibben and Teresa Bohnert.

From the Call Site...Kellie Baldwin, Mike Keethers, Nickole Johnson and Fred Mecum.

From downtown...Scott Carder, Dean Crawford and Pam Fruggiero.

That’s it for this time.
______________________________________________________________________________

“TEN DEADLY SINS”
CHANGE
MAY BE COMING

NTEU welcomes the Bush administration proposal to change Section 1203(b) of the 1998 restructuring law that set up the so-called “Ten Deadly Sins” that lead to the automatic termination of an IRS employee.  The White House is supporting the following changes..

—employees failing to file a refund return by the due date will no longer be subject to termination.

—wrongful conduct by IRS employees against other IRS employees will no longer be a part of 1203(b), but will be addressed by existing procedures.

—unauthorized inspection of returns would be added to the list, but the proposal would also require the IRS Commissioner to “establish guidelines outlining specific penalties up to and including termination.”  The Commissioner would then be allowed to consider mitigating factors before handing out any penalty.

The administration said the proposed changes would “improve IRS morale and enhance the fundamental fairness of the statute.”  NTEU National President Colleen Kelley said, “I am hopeful that Congress will act quickly in support of the administration’s proposal and in support of IRS employees and American taxpayers.”
 

TWO IMPORTANT
BILLS

Two pieces of legislation important to federal workers are being considered on Capitol Hill.

The first would increase the government’s contribution to health insurance premiums from the current average of 72% to an average of 80%.  Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and Congressman Steny Hoyer, also from Maryland, are pushing H.R 1307.  Colleen Kelley said this legislation “is a vital part of a package of steps that must be taken—including providing a fair pay raise for federal workers—if the government is to have any chance of recruiting and retaining the quality employees the public demands.”

The second bill (S. 1935) is of particular interest to IRS Revenue Officers.  Senator Mikulski has introduced the legislation which would extend law enforcement status to the ROs and Customs Inspectors.  “Every day, the men and women who hold these jobs face enormous physical challenges and constant emotional stress, particularly in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist strikes on the United States,” Colleen Kelley said.  “Enforcing the laws they have sworn to uphold regularly exposes them to threat of injury or even death.”

If you choose to write an elected official about either of these, use the bill numbers.