August 22, 2003

GILES FILES
By
Duncan Giles
President
NTEU Chapter 49

On this and that…..

First, I would like to tell all our Chapter 49 members that I will remain steadfast to my commitment to do the best I can for the next 2 years as President.  I will continue to work hard on behalf of all our members and work to protect our rights in this increasingly tough atmosphere.

It is tougher out there.  Just ask the folks from Case Processing who are facing a struggle to protect their positions against a proposed realignment that would move their jobs without them first getting a crack at it.  Could Insolvency be next for this type of change?  This is just the tip of the iceberg from the new commissioner who apparently believes IRS can increase the front lines of compliance by decreasing the infrastructure.  What will happen when this type of structure collapses under its own weight?  I agree we need more Revenue Agents and Revenue Officers but we need to do this the proper way.  We need to get increased funding from Congress to fill these positions, not eviscerate our support staff to do it.

At the Call Site we are now training CSRs to answer questions that were formerly just answered by TRRs (and before them TSSs).  I don’t agree with doing this and I believe that employees at grade 8 that spend 25% of their time answering these types of questions in a 3 month time frame should file a higher graded duty grievance.  I believe that this is the only way we can get this changed back.

Lastly, our thoughts and prayers go out to Ginger Hamman and her family.  Ginger is a long-time member from the Call Site who had a series of strokes while vacationing in Idaho.  We wish her a swift recovery.

That’s it for now.

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KELLEY, FERRIS EASILY WIN
REELECTION AT CONVENTION

NTEU National President Colleen Kelley and National Executive Vice President Frank Ferris have been elected to new four-year terms by national convention delegates. Both had token opposition and each won reelection with well over 90% of the vote.  Chapter President Duncan Giles served on the Nominations and Election Committee at the national convention.  Chapter 49 congratulates Colleen Kelley and Frank Ferris on their reelection.

NTEU is divided into districts, with national vice presidents representing the chapters within their respective districts on the NTEU national executive committee. Chapter 49 is in District 2. Our district vice president Jerry Thompson won re-election by a wide margin after a vote of chapter delegates in District 2.

The convention delegates also voted to hold the 2007 convention in New York City.  The previous convention voted to hold the 2005 session in San Diego.

Chapter 49 President Duncan Giles and Vice President Susan Wright served as our local delegates to the national convention.   


KEY HOUSE  PANEL OKs
4.1% RAISE FOR 2004

It’s early in the appropriation process, but federal employees received some good news in late July.  The House Appropriations Committee voted to provide an average 4.1% pay hike for civil servants in 2004.  The White House had proposed a 2% average across-the-board wage increase.  If the full House and Senate concur with the decision, we will receive pay parity with the Armed Forces (they are on track for a 4.1% raise next year).  “Higher civilian pay is one of the key steps government can—and must—take to make it competitive in attracting and retaining in public service the most qualified and dedicated employees,” NTEU National President Colleen Kelley said.




CONTRACTING OUT OUR JOBS -
AN UPDATE

Federal employees won a major victory in the struggle to fight the constant administration drumbeat to put our jobs on the outsourcing auction block.  Congressman Jim Moran of Virginia offered an amendment to a key funding bill that would require the White House Office Office Management and Budget (OMB) to analyze the cost of outsourcing activities by federal agencies. The Moran amendment requires OMB to report to the committee on how agencies are paying for their competitive sourcing programs, since that information is not included in the administration’s budget.  “Agencies already are struggling under tight budget constraints in order to carry out their missions,” NTEU National President Kelley said, “and this unfunded contracting out mandate is forcing them to do even more with less.

Meanwhile, NTEU has uncovered an attempt at legislative trickery.  Certain members of Congress inserted language into a corporate tax cut bill that would allow the use of private collection agencies to collect individual federal tax debts. National President Kelley called this bill an “inappropriate hiding place” for this provision, which would allow private collection contractors to keep up to 25% of the tax collected. “While taxpayers should clearly pay what they owe,” President Kelley said, “it is wrong for tax collectors to have a personal financial stake in how much they collect. Such a system will lead to abuses.”  A 1996 pilot project on private tax collection was a dismal failure, netting zero tax, compromising private taxpayer information and violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  It has been shown time and time again that IRS workers can collect this money better and cheaper than any private contractor.  Let’s hope the shining of an NTEU light on this provision of the corporate tax cut legislation will end it.  But expect the administration and some elected officials on Capitol Hill to continue the push for private contractor collection of federal taxes.         




HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS MAY SKYROCKET

There are some disturbing reports about the health insurance premium increases we may see in the federal employee health benefit plan (FEHB).  Long-time observer of federal employee issues Mike Causey recently reported on the federalnewsradio.com Web site that we could experience a 15% hike in FEHB premiums next year.  Causey calls the 15% increase a guess made by an unnamed official familiar with current negotiations going on between the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the health insurance companies participating in FEHB.  The 15% hike is an average figure, meaning your health insurance company could have premiums increase more or less that 15% in 2004.  Private sector employee health insurance premiums are expected to go up 18-30% next year, according to Causey.  The official announcement of premiums for next year is due much later in 2003.  Open season for FEHB will be November 10 through December 8.      




TELL US HOW WE’RE DOING

Chapter 49 communicates with IRS employees in Indiana a number of ways.  We give presentations at meetings.  We attend survey meetings and ask for your comments.  We have a Web site (www.nteu49.org) that is updated on a regular basis to give you the most up-to-date information.  And, of course, this newsletter is a major mode of communicating with you.  But Chapter 49 speaking to you is only part of communications.  We also want to hear from you.  

You can contact Chapter 49 a number of ways.  You can e-mail any steward or officer of the chapter using the internal IRS e-mail system.  You can call the union office at 317-226-6841.  If no one is in the office when you call, leave us a message and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can.  You can e-mail us outside the IRS e-mail system (nteu49@aol.com).  If you have any comments or questions on this newsletter, our Web site, or anything else we do, please feel free to let us know.  We value your opinions.