On this and that......

 

First off, I hope all the members got the update I sent out from National NTEU on how the mid term bargaining is going. As you saw by each side’s position, I fear this will not be easily resolved. I will continue to keep the members out the updated on the latest.

 

When TEC & SPEC were asked to see if any of the employees in their organization had an interest in going back to the field if they came from Compliance, I was, to be honest, skeptical. I thought that very few would show an interest in going back as an RO or RA. Much to my surprise, I hear that number nationwide is initially around 200. It will be interesting to see what the final numbers turn out to be.  SB/SE Commissioner  Kevin Brown is very serious about doing anything he can to put more ROs, RAs & TCOs in the field without being able to hire in great numbers (due to budget constraints).  I'm all for this if it is done the right way with minimal disruption to employees. We will be keeping an eye on this.

 

As most of you know, our Chief Steward, RA Brian Kosteck, is retiring at the end of the year. Brian has been an invaluable part of this Chapter for many years and I will truly miss his insight, wit and unique ability to cut to the heart of a matter. Brian, enjoy all that retirement has to offer!!!

To replace Brian I have named Pam Fruggiero as our new Chief Steward. Pam started out at the Call Site in ACS many moons ago and has moved on to become a Senior Advocate in TAO. Please join me in welcoming Pam to her new position in the Chapter.

 

Lastly, I would like to wish everyone all the best this Holiday Season.  Have a great Christmas and a happy and safe New Year and we will talk to you via the newsletter in 2005!

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3.5% PAY RAISE

IS NOW LAW

 

The political fight is over.  Federal employees will receive an average 3.5% pay raise in the first full pay period in 2005, despite a very spirited campaign by the White House to limit our pay raise to 1.5%.  We say this is an average raise figure because locality pay determines exactly what percentage pay increase is given.  For example, IRS employees in the Merrillville Post of Duty have their pay tied to the Chicago metropolitan area, so their raise may well exceed 3.5%.  On the other hand, Indianapolis and the other Indiana PODs will likely see a raise a bit lower than 3.5%, if past history is any measure.  We won’t know for sure until the Bush Administration releases the pay tables for each locality.  At the time we write this, we have no idea when that will happen.  NTEU National President Colleen Kelley has urged the president to act quickly and release those pay tables.  Once the pay charts are released, NTEU Chapter 49 will post them on our Web site, www.nteu49.org

RO HIGHER GRADED DUTY GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT

 

On December 6, 2004, Chapter 49 signed an agreement to settle the RO mass grievance for higher graded duties.

 

The grievance was filed because Indiana Collection group managers were down-grading cases with no explanation of why in the case histories.  Nor were discussions about the downgrades being conducted with the ROs.  When ROs attempted research to find out why, the IRM information indicated that the section regarding changing of case grades was obsolete.

 

The new manual section IRM 1.4 replaced the obsolete IRM 114.1, but did not contain any changes.  The case information that was obtained from the Revenue Officers by former Chief Steward Karen McKibben was reviewed and if the case grade criteria applied, most did meet the criteria to be reduced in grade.  Although most group managers did not indicate the reasons for the down-grade in the case histories, that ultimately did not change the fact that the cases did meet the criteria to be downgraded.

 

Unfortunately, this means that we had to concede that we did not have enough information to secure higher graded duty pay for a majority of the Revenue Officers in the state.

 

A memo from Territory Manager, Indianapolis 1 that was provided to management during the grievance meeting indicated that 4 employees did work over their grade level for a 120 day period.  These employees will be awarded a temporary promotion to the next higher grade level for 120 days.

 

In addition to this remedy, it was agreed that all group managers will have a case down-grading discussion during a future group meeting. It will be explained to Revenue Officers how the decisions to downgrade cases are made.  It will also be explained to Revenue Officers that they need to discuss any disagreements over the downgrading of a case with the manager.

 

If this does not happen, NTEU needs to know.  

If the downgrade criteria is applied correctly and you are spending over 25% of your direct case time on higher graded cases, NTEU needs to know.

 

 

MORE MONEY NEWS

 

An arbitrator has ordered IRS to pay-out $6.67 million in an awards grievance settlement.  NTEU argued that management did not provide enough money to fund the contract awards program and the arbitrator agreed.  The arbitrator ordered NTEU and management to enter into talks on how to figure pay-outs to individual employees.  If no agreement is reached soon, the arbitrator will order how the payments are to be made.

 

In a last minute action, Congress has approved a dental and vision benefit for all federal employees beginning in 2006.  Employees will pay the entire cost of the benefit, but will enjoy lower rates due to the large pool of people expected to participate.  NTEU will push in the future for the government to pay part of these premiums, just as is done for the federal employee health insurance program.  More should be known about this new benefit as the year goes on.