TO: IRS Chapter Presidents

-2-

November 17, 2008

M E M O R A N D U M

TO: IRS Chapter Presidents

RE: NTEU Agreed to Permit IRS Additional Week in Which to Hold Section 7114 Formal Meetings on Issuance of GSA Smart Pay 2 Cards

SUMMARY: The IRS will hold Section 7114 formal meetings concerning the issuance of Smart Pay 2 (SP 2) travel and purchase cards to bargaining unit employees through the first week of December 2008, rather than by November 30, 2008.

You will recall that on October 31, 2008, the IRS and NTEU entered into an agreement under which new SP2 travel and purchase cards would be rolled out to bargaining unit employees by November 30, 2008. The issuance of new cards is the result of the expiration of the existing card vendor contract and commencement of the new contract with the same card vendor.

Since that time, the IRS advised NTEU that because of November holidays and the Presidential election, it believed it would have difficulty in meeting its obligations under the Letter of Understanding (LOU) to hold Section 7114 meetings for all affected employees by

November 30, 2008. The parties agreed that the deadline for holding the Section 7114 meetings would be extended to December 5, 2008.

The agency was not obligated, in the first instance, to agree in the LOU to conduct formal meetings to distribute the travel and purchase cards, but it did so anyway. Because it did so, we have sought to accommodate its need to complete the Section 7114 meetings by December 5, by agreeing to a shortened notice period (three workdays) on a nonprecedential basis. We did this for several reasons. First, most of the SP2 meetings will be conducted in regularly scheduled group meetings for which NTEU chapters should receive notice well in advance of the meeting, certainly no less than five days before the meetings occur. As such, the three-workday notice period ought to apply to very few formal meetings. Second, the Section 7114 meetings on SP2 will only impact bargaining unit employees who are travel card holders or who are otherwise eligible to be issued a travel and/or purchase card. Those who already use a travel or purchase card are already familiar with the use of those cards. Third, in the event a chapter representative is not available for the meeting, pursuant to Article 9, Section 2.T.2, the formal meeting must be delayed until such time as a chapter representative is available to attend the meeting.

In that regard, the agency has indicated that it will work with National NTEU to ensure that necessary flexibility is afforded to chapters so no Section 7114 meetings will be held without necessary representation by NTEU.

In the event there are any problems with respect to any Section 7114 meeting issues, please communicate such concerns to National Negotiator Anna Gnadt via e-mail at .

Colleen M. Kelley

National President

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