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Vol.
IV, No. 1, November 2002
DOL
Refuses to Negotiate Child Care Subsidy Program, Insists
on Excluding Vast Majority of Employees from Benefit
Department of Labor (DOL) management
has refused to bargain with AFGE 12 on the child care
subsidy program, insisting instead on maintaining a
program that excludes the vast majority of employees
represented by the Union. In response, AFGE 12 has filed
an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge against the Department
with the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA).
A
law passed in 1999 – thanks to Senator Barbara
Mikulski (D-MD) and Rep. Connie Morella (R-MD) and strongly
supported by AFGE – authorized Federal agencies,
on a pilot basis, to use funds normally available for
salaries to assist lower income employees with their
child care costs. The pilot phase lasted two years,
and on November 12, 2001, President Bush signed legislation
making the program permanent.
In
the Spring of 2000, AFGE 12 and DOL management bargained
on the specifics of the pilot program, but did not reach
agreement. (For more details, see the June 2000 issue
of 12 Alert!, available at www.afge12.org) Rather than
obey the law and follow the contract’s impasse
procedures, DOL unilaterally and arrogantly implemented
the program over the Union’s objections. The Union
filed a ULP charge on the matter with the FLRA, but
did not prevail.
In
DOL’s program, which is still in effect today,
to be eligible for the subsidy, one’s family income
must not exceed $40,000. The result: if two GS-3 employees
are married and have a child, they are not eligible
for the subsidy because they earn too much! (The salary
for GS-3, step 1 is $20,181 a year.)
When the program was made permanent, the Union put the
item on the agenda for the March 2002 Mid Term
bargaining session. Management refused to bargain, and
the Union filed the ULP charge.
“It
is shameful that the Department of Labor, which likes
to promote itself as a model of family friendliness,
insists on keeping a program that excludes so many employees,”
declared Larry Drake, AFGE 12 President. “The Union
will continue to fight – just as we did in the
1970s to get the child care center established. This
program needs to be expanded so that all DOL employees
who need assistance with their child care costs can
benefit,” continued Drake. “I encourage employees
who are not yet members of our Union to join today,
to help us achieve this worthy goal,” he concluded.
U.S.
Department of Transportation on Transit Subsidy: DOL
Must Raise It to $100
One of the agencies within the U.S.
Department of Transportation is the Federal Transit
Administration (FTA). The mission of the FTA is “To
ensure personal mobility and America’s economic
and community vitality by supporting high quality public
transportation through leadership, technical assistance
and financial resources.”
The
FTA has long been involved in the issue of transit subsidies
for Federal employees. FTA employees helped draft Executive
Order 13150 (Federal Workforce Transportation) that
President Clinton issued on Earth Day 2000. The FTA
web site contains a section entitled “Executive
Order 13150, Federal Workforce Transportation, Frequently
Asked Questions” (www.fta.dot.gov/library/policy/cc/
eofaq.htm). Written in 2000 before the maximum transit
subsidy rose from $65 a month to $100 on January 1,
2002, the answers are instructive. Here are a few excerpts:
“5.
What does ‘amounts approximately equal to
employee commuting costs’ mean?
Rounded to the nearest dollar. For example, if an
employee’s actual commuting expense is $50.40
per month, then the agency would provide him/her transit
fare media worth $50; if the cost were $50.70, then
the agency would provide fare media worth $51 …
10.
If my agency now offers less than $65 in agency-paid
benefits, must we increase it to the maximum tax-free
limit?
Yes, if your agency is located in the NCR [National
Capital Region] or is DOT, DOE, or EPA. For example,
if your agency is providing up to a $40 Metrochek
or $40 worth of transit fare media, then your agency
must increase the monthly offer to a maximum of $65.
Employees must receive a transit or vanpool pass equal
to their actual commuting costs, not to exceed $65
per month …
11.
Will the $65 limit change over time?
Yes. Under a provision of the Transportation Equity
Act for the 21st Century, beginning January 1, 2002,
the monthly tax-free transit and vanpool limit will
rise to $100 per month. Additionally, with changes
to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the monthly limit
may increase by increments of $5. The last change
made under this provision was in 1996, when the monthly
limit was raised from $60 to $65. Any such CPI-initiated
changes will be announced by the Internal Revenue
Service in the December prior to the effective year
of the change.”
Thus,
the U.S. Department of Transportation, another Federal
agency, has the same position as AFGE 12: DOL is required
to raise the monthly transit subsidy to the $100 maximum
without any negotiations or other conditions. An official
at FTA confirmed this in response to an inquiry by AFGE
12.
Will
DOL management follow the instructions of the Department
of Transportation and finally raise the transit subsidy
to $100 a month for ALL DOL employees?
$385
That’s how much a DOL employee who would use the
full $100 transit subsidy has lost so far, as a result
of management’s refusal to raise the transit subsidy
to $100 in January of this year. It’s $35 a month
that many DOL employees should be receiving but aren’t.
The
Union estimates that the total amount that bargaining
unit employees as a group have lost is in the hundreds
of thousands of dollars.
Union
seeks employee input for contract negotiations
AFGE 12 is distributing a survey to every bargaining
unit employee, regardless of Union membership status.
This survey seeks employee input in preparation for
anticipated contract negotiations in 2003.
If you have already received your copy, please fill
it out and return it to the Union.
If
you haven’t received it yet, please contact the
Union Vice President for your agency, a steward in your
area, or the main Union office (tel: 202-219-6941).
The
Union wants to hear your concerns and ideas so we can
negotiate the best possible contract for you.
Threats
of violence?
At least two DOL employees have been put on indefinite
administrative leave pending investigations because
managers thought that they had made threats of violence
in the course of conversations in the workplace. According
to the two employees, management is overreacting to
completely innocent comments.
It
appears that in light of September 11 and the recent
history of incidents of workplace violence, as well
as in line with the Department’s policy of zero
tolerance of workplace violence, some managers are extremely
sensitive to the slightest hint of possible violence
from an employee.
AFGE
12 is totally opposed to any violence in the workplace.
Our advice is to be aware of how any words you utter
that even touch on the subject of violence may be interpreted
by managers.
If
a manager calls you to a meeting on this, request to
be accompanied by a Union steward. If a representative
of the Office of the Inspector General asks to meet
with you, bring a Union steward to the meeting. Article
42 of the AFGE 12-DOL contract provides for you to have
Union representation in any meeting that deals with
or may deal with discipline or potential discipline.
Holiday
Bazaar on December 11-12
Looking for gifts for the holiday season? Then stop
by the Union’s Holiday Bazaar on Wednesday, December
11 and Thursday, December 12 from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
in the Great Hall of the Frances Perkins Building. Vendors
will be selling cosmetics, floral arrangements, ceramics,
jewelry, sunglasses, CD’s, handbags, briefcases,
art, wood carvings, and other items.
$100/$50
To encourage membership growth, until June 30, 2003
the Union will give any new member joining the Union
a $50 rebate and the Union member recruiting the new
member a $100 bonus. Recruit 10 new members, get $1,000.
It’s a little incentive to do the right thing:
build the Union!
Holiday
Party
AFGE 12 will hold its annual holiday party on Thursday,
December 12 from 3:30 PM to 7:00 PM in the 6th floor
cafeteria of the Frances Perkins Building. There will
be refreshments, music, and holiday cheer for all. Admission
is free for Union members, and $10 for non-members.
Please use the entrance to the North end of the cafeteria.
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