Partial Government Shutdown Update!

January 3rd, 2019 | Posted by admin in Budget | National Updates | Shutdown - (0 Comments)

On Sunday, January 6, 2018 at 6 p.m. ET, we will hold a conference call for all AFGE members to provide you the latest information on the ongoing partial government shutdown.

Call-in information:

• Call in number: 1-877-229-8493
• Pass code: 110858#

Conference call agenda:

1. Remarks from National President
2. Legislative Update
3. Legal update
4. Communications Update
5. Our Response
6. Q&A

Please do everything you can to join us for the call. For more information and the latest guidance, visit www.afge.org/shutdown

In solidarity,

AFGE

FEDERAL EMPLOYEES UNDER ATTACK

December 27th, 2018 | Posted by admin in Budget | Did you know? | Political | Shutdown - (0 Comments)

420,000 Feds Have to Work Without Pay Under Trump Shutdown

December 17, 2018 (Insider)

Nearly 420,000 federal employees will have to work without pay if President Trump decides to shut down the government on Dec. 22.

The current funding measure will keep the government running through Dec. 21. President Trump has said he would be “proud” to shut down the government if he doesn’t get $5 billion from Congress to build a border wall. If the shutdown happened, it would be the third in 2018, disrupting work and pay for hundreds of thousands of federal workers in the middle of the holiday season.

While hundreds of thousands of employees would be locked out of work, a large number of federal employees will still show up for work to keep our government running. They just have to work without pay. According to new numbers from the office of Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy, we’re talking 420,000 employees. A few examples:

41,000 law enforcement officers

2,614 ATF agents
16,742 Bureau of Prisons correctional officers
13,709 FBI agents
3,600 deputy U.S. Marshals

4,399 DEA agents

158,000 Department of Homeland Security employees

53,000 TSA Employees;
54,000 Customs and Border Protection agents and customs offers;
42,000 Coast Guard employees

As many as 5,000 Forest Service Firefighters
3,600 Weather Service Forecasters

More than 380,000 employees will be locked out of work without pay

A few examples:

86% of the Department of Commerce (about 41,000 employees),

96% of NASA (about 16,700 employees)
More than 80% of the National Park Service (about 16,000 employees)
At least 80% of the Forest Service (approximately 28,800 employees)
More than 30% of the Department of Transportation (about 18,300 employees)
95% of the Housing and Urban Development (about 7,100 employees)

About 52,000 IRS employees

In addition, nine out of 15 Cabinet-level departments and dozens of agencies will close. Small businesses, farmers, homeowners, low-income children, and rural communities are among the people who would be affected. See the full list here.

Our union is urging President Trump to work with Congressional leadership to ensure federal workers don’t ‘get left out in the cold this holiday season.

(more…)

No Shutdown, Yet!

December 11th, 2017 | Posted by admin in Budget - (0 Comments)

Shutdown Averted, for Now

Thanks to negotiations between Congress and the administration, a continuing resolution has been passed to stop the government from shutting down. The deal keeps the federal government open until December 22, and allows the more than 850,000 potentially furloughed working people to continue to serve the American public.

AFGE, which represents more than 700,000 workers in the federal government and the District of Columbia, hailed the deal to keep the government open, but expressed concern about a potential shutdown happening in just a few weeks’ time.

“Thank you to everyone who worked tirelessly to keep the government open. We are cautiously optimistic about the continuing resolution,” said AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. “Failing to fund the government’s operations is beyond unacceptable; it is completely avoidable and a shameful waste of taxpayer dollars. Federal employees want to go to work. They believe in their mission and want to provide quality services to the American people. And now thanks to this continuing resolution, they can.”

Had the government been forced to shut down, a large portion of the civilian workforce – around 850,000 employees – would have been furloughed, while the remainder would have been forced to come to work without pay.

The impact on federal workers, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, would have been severe; but the country would have suffered as well. The 2013 shutdown cost the economy $24 billion and 120,000 jobs in the private sector.

Failing to fund the government’s operations has real-world implications for everyone in this country. Federal employees ensure the safety and security of the public at home and abroad, research cures for deadly diseases, keep our air, water, and food safe for consumption, and process benefits for countless seniors, veterans, and disabled Americans every day.

(more…)

RETIREES COLA SAVED!

November 2nd, 2017 | Posted by admin in Budget | News | Retirees - (0 Comments)

LETTER FROM AFGE PRESIDENT!

Hello AFGE Retiree Brothers and Sisters –

Let’s start with a thank you to all of you who took the time to make a phone call or send a message to Congress about the federal budget. The Fiscal Year 2018 budget was adopted last week without making any cuts to current or future federal retirees’ benefits. The president’s budget proposed eliminating the COLA permanently for current retirees, and initially approved a budget that turned Medicare into an underfunded voucher program (and Medicaid into a block grant).

While this is good news, the passage of the budget clears the way for a tax reform package that calls for the funding to come from $500 billion in Medicare cuts and over $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid.

Even more, the budget cuts operating budgets for many agencies, including a cut of $465 million from the Social Security Administration’s operating budget. Right now, appointments for new Social Security claims can take up to 60 days, and benefits appeals can take over two years.

It is estimated that for every $100 million in budget cuts, another 826,000 new retirement or survivors’ claims will not be processed on time.

More Good News on Your COLA

The Social Security Administration announced that the cost of living adjustment (COLA) will be 2.0 percent, higher than in previous years. At the same, the federal retiree COLA for 2018 will be 2.0 percent.

Neither of these COLAs has kept pace with inflation, particularly factoring in the expenses of most retirees, but is an improvement of last year’s COLAs of 0.3 percent for Social Security and 0.3 percent for FERS and CSRS.

Click here to read more about the COLA increase.

GET ON THE CALL!

Your Invited!

AFGE Invites ALL Government Workers & Retirees to participate in a National Union Meeting

Tuesday, October 10 @ 7:00pm CST OR 9:00pm CST..

ALL government workers — whether they’re an AFGE member or not are WELCOME to join the call.

A budget passed the House of Representatives on Thursday that would cut your pay and retirement. This budget will still need to be voted on by the Senate.

Please be on either of of these calls to learn how you can help to stop these cuts before they become law.

On the 1st call, Virginia Senator, Tim Kaine (Senate Budget Committee) will join, AFGE President David Cox.

Call in number: 1-877-229-8493
Pass Code: 110858#

Don’t use government phones or be in duty status.

Don’t Shut Down the Government!

August 29th, 2017 | Posted by admin in Budget | Did you know? | Shutdown - (0 Comments)

President Trump has threatened to shut down the government if Congress fails to fund the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

“Believe me, if we have to close down our government, we’re building that wall,” he said at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, Aug. 22.

Trump’s comments came when lawmakers are trying to pass legislation to fund the government beyond the 2017 fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30. During his campaign, Trump promised to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and have Mexico pay for it.

Many lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have rejected the idea outright.

“If the President pursues this path, against the wishes of both Republicans and Democrats, as well as the majority of the American people, he will be heading towards a government shutdown which nobody will like and which won’t accomplish anything,” Schumer said in a statement Aug. 23. “In April, Democrats and Republicans came together to pass a strong, bipartisan appropriations bill that increased funding for our troops, scientific research, border security, and more.”

Building the wall has been a priority for Trump. Earlier this year when the spending package for border wall construction was stripped from the fiscal 2017 funding bill, Trump signed the bill but vowed to try again.

“Our country needs a good ‘shutdown’ in September to fix mess!” Trump tweeted at the time.

The 2013 government shutdown cost the economy $24 billion. About 850,000 federal employees were furloughed. It cost the government $2 billion in lost productivity.

Having to live with constant threats of a government shutdown every year is extremely demoralizing to the federal workforce and damaging the government’s ability to recruit and retain the best and the brightest.

LINK – AFGE

Read on your Personal Computer!

July 28th, 2017 | Posted by admin in Budget | News - (0 Comments)

govt standard 7-2017

Keep up to date with current news about Your Pay, and Pension!

See Link: government-standard_july_august-2017

It’s a BAD BUDGET! Call Today…

May 24th, 2017 | Posted by admin in Budget | Political | Solidarity - (0 Comments)

2018 Budget

SHUT DOWN UPDATES

September 23rd, 2016 | Posted by admin in Budget | Shutdown | Vote - (0 Comments)

Congress and the Fiscal Year Tick – Tock

There’s just a week left until the 2016 government funding runs out on Sept. 30. Members of Congress are racing against the clock to come up with a funding package to avoid a government shutdown.

Will they succeed? What does it mean to you as a federal employee? Here’s what we know:

A government shutdown is very unlikely before the elections.

Nobody wants a government shutdown. Congress is working to pass a short-term funding bill known as Continuing Resolution (CR), which would fund government agencies at the current funding levels through Dec. 9. After that, Congress will need to come up with another spending bill again to prevent a shutdown.

A short-term funding bill means no new resources.

A CR keeps the government running at the same level of funding regardless of new needs and workload. That means it will be difficult to get more funding for important medical research, for example, or to hire more people to screen air travelers or keep our skies safe.

Your supposed 1.6% pay raise next year is not guaranteed.

President Obama requested a 1.6 percent pay raise in 2017 for both military personnel and civilian employees. If Congress does nothing, federal employees will likely get that amount. But whether Congress does nothing or not depends on who wins the election. Members of Congress have the final say on your pay. So your 1.6 percent raise is still up in the air.

Stay tuned for more information on the government funding tick tock. Visit www.afge.org for news and updates on other key issues important to federal employees.

Not a member yet? Join AFGE today and be a part of the movement that fights for your voice at work and fair compensation.

Social Security is Under Siege and No One is Talking About It

July 26th, 2016 | Posted by admin in Budget | Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Six ways the agency, its employees, and the American people will be hurt if they get their way:

1. A 10-day furlough of all SSA employees

2. An agency-wide hiring freeze

3. A reduction in local office hours

4. Permanent closing of many field offices

5. Increases in wait times on the national 1-800 number and field offices

6. An increase in processing time for benefits

On every paycheck you earn, you’re made a promise. The money deducted for Social Security is a promise that protects us all against the risk of lost income for our family in the event of the disability or death of a breadwinner, and in retirement. Social Security isn’t just a promise from the U.S. Government – it’s a commitment we’ve made to each other.

Social Security helps everyone, from the retirees who receive benefits after decades of hard work, to millions of children who depend on it to survive. In 2014, 3.2 million American kids directly received Social Security benefits, mostly as the result of a parent passing away. It also serves as a lifeline to the 10 million workers who are too injured to work, or disabled.

LINK: More information