For those who were able to attend our Union meeting on January 8, 2011, I would like to personally thank you for taking the time out of your weekend to support us.

For those who were not able to make it because of other commitments, I would like to brief you.

WHAT WAS DISCUSSED?

  • We introduced our new Union website The contents are as follows:
  • Home page – Local 520 website objectives and the reasons we are fight for your rights. Current news
  • National News – The websites for the HQs, AFGE and the National VA Council are located there, as well as, the letters that have been sent to various entities over the years addressing veteran’s claims processing and RO 319 employees issues.
  • Local News – The issues that the Union are currently working. A Powerpoint presentation of the changes to the new contract which was discuss at the meeting and a link to the electronic draft copy of the new contract.
  • MOUs – Contains all the current Memorandum of Understanding between Local 520 and RO 319. The Bad and the Ugly, there is no Good. These happened before our time. However, we have new hope – The new contract.
  • FAQs asked questions. If you have any other questions, please let us know so we can answer and post them.
  • Master Agreement – a link to the current electronic Master Agreement.
  • Comments – This is your opportunity to make your concerns known and comments on the concerns of others. This is a tool that can help us inform the VA Chain of Command and AFGE HQs of the problems we are having. You do not have to reveal your identity.
  • Contact - Local 520’s email addressproviding you with the opportunity to talk to us. It also lists the names of our current Union Officials.

We also discussed the changes to the new contract and ratified it. The deadline for ratification is January 14, 2011. Once the National VA Council (NVAC) obtains the approval of ratification from each VHA and VBA local unions, it will be sent to the VA for a 30 days review. Hopefully, by the end of March 2011 we will be receiving a new contract.

We discussed the most of the issues under “The reason we fight for your rights” on the home page of the website. Therefore, please take sometime to review it.

We also discussed the concerns (working conditions – stress and additional duties,and advancement opportunities) of the National Call Center (NCC) members and assured them that we are also fighting for them. However, as we told them, we cannot fight for any employee rights if employees are not willing to stand up for their own rights and provide us with evidence of their concerns.

FOR CAREER INTERNS

We also discussed the new Executive Order (EO) - Recruiting and Hiring Students and Recent Graduates that was signed by President Obama on December 27, 2010 and the affect it will have on our current Career Interns. See enclosure at the end of this briefing for a synposis and a copy of the EO.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVE FOR 2011

WHAT WE PLAN TO DO?

  • We plan to have monthly meetings on the last working day of each month starting Feb 2011 from 12:00 to 12:30. We will alternate from 6437 to 1800 each month.
  • President Obama issued an Executive Order establishing Labor-Management Forums (LMFs). We are currently negotiating with management how these forums will operate. The goal of the LMF is twofold – to improve services to veterans and to create a positive workplace environment for employees. We will attempt to work with management on these issues. However, if they are unwilling to change, we will organize an Information Picket and take our concerns public.
  • We will continue to raise issues to the VA Secretary and Presidents ofAFGE and NVAC.
  • We will continue to fight to bring attention to the issues listed on the home page of the website.
  • We will post all current news on the website home page of the website and we will notify you via your VA email address of the any new posting.
  • Conduct Union Steward Training
  • Have Lunch and Learn sessions throughout the year so employees can learn about their rights and responsibilities
  • Organize and Sponsor Local Events to raise awareness

WHAT YOU CAN DO?

  • We would like for each member to attend the monthly meetings and wear their Union shirt on that day. If you did not get a Union shirt, please send your size and the color you want to our Secretary Dora Higgins at .
  • We ask you to inform nonmembers of our website and ask them to make comments on their working conditions.
  • Recruit new members - If an employee wants to be a member, let one of the Union officialsknow. The names of all Union officials are listed on the website under “Contact.” Do not give any Union applications out doing your breaks or work hours. If any employees ask if they can join the Union during their probationary period, TELL THEMYES
  • Section 2 – Rights to Union Membership – Each employee shall have the right to form and join a Union, to act as a designated Union representative, and to assist the Union without fear of penalty or reprisal. This right shall extend to participation in all Union activities including service as officers and stewards. (Article 16, Employees Rights, Master Agreement)
  • Notify us if you want to be a volunteer to help with Union activities or be aUnion Steward

SPECIAL THANKS

  • I would like to personally thank Pete, Kent , Dora, and Mike for their services as Union Officials for the past year.
  • I would like to thank Larry Evans and David Dean (a retired veteran from Elgin, SC who have been working for years to protect veterans’ preference) for their efforts and courage to take a stand. Therefore, as a result of their stand and with God’s help an Executive Order was changed for the good of veterans and Career Internsnationally. Veterans will now see all jobs that are posted and employees entering the federal government will not have to serve a 2 year probationary period with no assurance that they will be employed after the two years.
  • I would like to thank Laverne Sims for her support and effort in organzing our meeting and her efforts throughout the years to bring employees of RO 319 together, you are truly a blessing to the Union, our membership, all employees of RO 319.
  • Finally, I would like to thank my daughter Ronetra for creating our new website during her Christmas break from School. Dad send his love.

CLOSING REMARKS

Some veterans and their survivors are facing extreme difficulties physically, mentally, and financially and they are counting on the VBA to deliver accurate and timely benefits the first time. They should not have to face a VBA appeal system that is broken. Remember, the accurate and timely processing of a veteran’s claims maybe the difference between life and death for some veterans and their survivors.

VBA employees are tasked with a daunting job of processing these benefits. However, VBA will not admit that the job of processing accurate and timely claims is beyond their current capacity. Therefore, employees will be faced with more and more pressure to produce more claims and the work environment will get more and more stressful. We will be faced with either processing claims accurately or doing whatever is necessary to meet our production standards/goals.

I have labored in the foxholes of RO 319 for 15 years at all levels of the claims processing cycle (Correspondence clerk Work-Study, Development Clerk, Claims Clerk, Program Support Assistant, Veterans Service Representative, Authorizer, and Senior Veterans Service Representative) coupled with 20 years of military personnel and administration and military leadership experience. Therefore,I want to report that the claim’s process, the working environment,employee morale and the RO 319 leadership are the worst I have seen.However, it was not always like this. We had our challenges in the past, but leadership was willing to listen and make changes to improve the claims processing and work environment.

When managers are promoted because of relationship (who they know) and not because of merit (what they know), there will be a lack of technical expertise andleadership experience. This does not mean that all the current managers at RO 319 fallin this category, but at RO 319 it is the rule instead of the exception.

Furthermore, RO 319 has also failed to provide the training that is necessary to effectively process claims. Therefore, trainees get inconsistent and conflicting training sometimes leaving them confused and lacking confidence. Furthermore, reviewers and mentors are sometime overwhelmed and frustrated.

The meeting of production goals at the “all cost approach”leads to concentrating on the house that is on fire and allowing the others houses to catch fire. We keep moving the fire hose from house to house as the numbers dictate. This is crisis management which leads to a confused and ineffective workforce.

Therefore, if the Union and the RO 319 employees do not work together andfight to help improve the claims process and working environment it will only become worst. Therefore, we need your help and support.

For those who say it cannot happen, I draw from the well of Scriptures and offer these words that have sustained and strengthen me for the past 15 yearsfighting for veterans and employees:

  • For with God nothing shall be impossible. Luke 1:37
  • But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6
  • …so faith without works is dead also. James 2:26

Therefore, we fight and believe and know that our fight is not in vain.

Ron

Local 520 United We Stand!!!!

Acting President

Enclosure

Government Executive Article – Memo clarifies status of federal interns during program oveerhaul by Emily Long/ / January 6, 2011

In a memorandum sent on Wednesday to agency chief human capital officers, OPM Director John Berry provided initial guidance to help agencies shift from the Federal Career Intern Program to a new hiring process.

The memo also outlined how agencies should convert FCIP participants to competitive service. Those with less than one year in FCIP must complete their one-year probationary period, though time served under FCIP will count toward that requirement. Those with at least one year in FCIP and other eligible government service will not be required to serve an additional probationary period.

Excerpt From the Memorandum

March 1, 2011, all agencies with FCIP incumbents must convert them to career-conditional or career positions in the competitive service.

  • Incumbents who will complete their service under the FCIP prior to March 1, 2011, should be considered for conversion in accordance with Executive Order 13162 and its implementing regulation found at 5 CFR 213.3202(o).
  • With respect to FCIP incumbents who (a) will not have completed their service under the FCIP prior to March 1, 2011, but (b) will have completed at least one year of continuous Federal service as of that date, it is advisable for agencies to decide, prior to March 1, 2011, whether such incumbents have or have not satisfied the criteria for conversion. As mentioned, the executive order provides that any incumbents who remain in the FCIP as of March 1, 2011, are to be converted to the competitive service. Accordingly, by virtue of having completed at least a year of continuous Federal service, those who are converted to the competitive service on March 1, 2011, would have statutory appeal rights.
  • Incumbents who will have completed less than one year of continuous Federal service as of March 1, 2011, will continue to be in a probationary period, even after their conversion to the competitive service, until they reach the one-year service mark. 1 That is, service under the FCIP or other eligible Federal service would count toward the completion of the one-year probationary period. It is advisable to be mindful of the passage of time and monitor performance closely during the balance of the time available, because the observation period available will now be shorter than what was originally anticipated

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

December 27, 2010

Executive Order - Recruiting and Hiring Students and Recent Graduates

EXECUTIVE ORDER

RECRUITING AND HIRING STUDENTS AND RECENT GRADUATES

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 3301 and 3302 of title 5, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. The Federal Government benefits from a diverse workforce that includes students and recent graduates, who infuse the workplace with their enthusiasm, talents, and unique perspectives. The existing competitive hiring process for the Federal civil service, however, is structured in a manner that, even at the entry level, favors job applicants who have significant previous work experience. This structure, along with the complexity of the rules governing admission to the career civil service, creates a barrier to recruiting and hiring students and recent graduates. It places the Federal Government at a competitive disadvantage compared to private-sector employers when it comes to hiring qualified applicants for entry-level positions.

To compete effectively for students and recent graduates, the Federal Government must improve its recruiting efforts; offer clear paths to Federal internships for students from high school through post-graduate school; offer clear paths to civil service careers for recent graduates; and provide meaningful training, mentoring, and career-development opportunities. Further, exposing students and recent graduates to Federal jobs through internships and similar programs attracts them to careers in the Federal Government and enables agency employers to evaluate them on the job to determine whether they are likely to have successful careers in Government.

Accordingly, pursuant to my authority under 5 U.S.C. 3302(1), and in order to achieve a workforce that represents all segments of society as provided in 5 U.S.C. 2301(b)(1), I find that conditions of good administration (specifically, the need to promote employment opportunities for students and recent graduates in the Federal workforce) make necessary an exception to the competitive hiring rules for certain positions in the Federal civil service.

Sec. 2. Establishment. There are hereby established the Internship Program and the Recent Graduates Program, which, along with the Presidential Management Fellows Program, as modified herein, shall collectively be known as the Pathways Programs. I therefore direct the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to issue regulations implementing the Pathways Programs consistent with this order, including:

(a) a description of the positions that executive departments and agencies (agencies) may fill through the Pathways Programs because conditions of good administration necessitate excepting those positions from the competitive hiring rules;

(b) rules governing whether, to what extent, and in what manner public notice should be provided of job opportunities in the Pathways Programs;

(c) a description of career-development, training, and mentorship opportunities for participants in the Pathways Programs;

(d) requirements that managers meaningfully assess the performance of participants in the Pathways Programs to identify those who should be considered for conversion to career civil service positions;

(e) a description of OPM oversight of agency use of the Pathways Programs to ensure that (i) they serve as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the competitive hiring process, and (ii) agencies are using the Pathways Programs in a genuine effort to develop talent for careers in the civil service;

(f) a description of OPM plans to evaluate agencies' effectiveness in recruiting and retaining talent using the Pathways Programs and of the satisfaction of Pathways Programs participants and their hiring managers; and

(g) standard naming conventions across agencies, so that students and recent graduates can clearly understand and compare the career pathway opportunities available to them in the Federal Government.

Sec. 3. Internship Program. The Internship Program shall provide students in high schools, community colleges, 4-year colleges, trade schools, career and technical education programs, and other qualifying educational institutions and programs, as determined by OPM, with paid opportunities to work in agencies and explore Federal careers while still in school. The Internship Program would replace the existing Student Career Experience Program, established pursuant to Executive Order 12015 of October 26, 1977. The following principles and policies shall govern the Internship Program:

(a) Participants in the program shall be referred to as "Interns" and shall be students enrolled, or accepted for enrollment, in qualifying educational institutions and programs, as determined by OPM.