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April 11th, 2019 | Posted by in Did you know? | Great America Trip - (0 Comments)Families First…
April 5th, 2019 | Posted by in Did you know? | National Updates | News - (0 Comments)Did you know the United States is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t offer its citizens paid family leave? While a few states require companies to offer some level of paid family leave to their workers, most employees in the public and private sectors get no paid time off to bond with a new child or to address medical and family emergencies.
Would 12 weeks of paid family leave benefit you and your family? Tell us how.
Some members of Congress want to change this. They have introduced legislation that would provide all federal employees with 12 weeks of paid leave for reasons covered by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). These include:
- The birth, adoption, or fostering of a new child;
- Caring for seriously ill or injured family members;
- Tending to an employee’s own serious health condition; and
- Addressing health, wellness, financial, and other issues that arise when a loved one is serving overseas in the military or is a recently discharged veteran.
Providing paid family leave to federal employees will help build support for extending this benefit to all American workers and their families. That’s why AFGE strongly supports the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act of 2019 (HR 1534).
Here’s how you can help: Tell us how 12 weeks of additional paid leave would help you and your family.
No federal worker should have to decide between caring for a child or loved one and their paycheck. Implementing this paid leave bill would help foster better morale and improve employee retention by making employees feel like their personal needs and families matter.
Congress needs to hear from federal employees like you. Your stories are very important. They help put a human face to this important issue. Your stories could help convince members of Congress to support this bill by showing how it will help real people across the country.
Click here to complete a short form and submit your story. We may even feature your family’s story online!
In solidarity,
AFGE
You’ve Got Mail!
January 20th, 2019 | Posted by in DATA UPDATE MONTH - January | Did you know? | New Address | Your address updates - (0 Comments)OR NOT!
There's nothing worse than trying to reach out to one of your family members or friends, but realizing you don't have their current email, phone, or mailing address. When it comes to our union family, having accurate contact information is just as important.
That's why AFGE members voted at the 2015 National Convention to make January “Data Update Month.”
To kickoff 2019, we're asking every member of the AFGE family to take a couple minutes to update their contact information so we can mobilize members and spring into action when the time comes.
Don't delay, visit MY PROFILE on the AFGE website.
What should I Wear?
January 1st, 2019 | Posted by in Did you know? | Events | Wear Red Day - (0 Comments)
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES UNDER ATTACK
December 27th, 2018 | Posted by 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.
Message from Dorothy James, District 7 NVP
October 9th, 2018 | Posted by in Did you know? | Events | Rally | Wear Red Day - (0 Comments)
We may have won our executive order lawsuit, but the fight isn't over. The administration is appealing the judge's decision, and is actively working to put the union-busting, democracy-busting executive orders back in place.
We're all in on fighting for workers' rights. We need you and your coworkers to show management and the administration that our union isn't going anywhere. Make sure to wear red EVERY Wednesday.
When management and the administration see worksites full of government workers wearing red, it will be a powerful display of our strength, solidarity, and willingness to fight the administration's outrageous attempts to bust our union and break our democracy.
It is up to us to keep working for what is right - and to do that, our union has to be all in. That's why we're wearing Red for Feds every Wednesday, and sharing pictures of our red on social media with the hashtag #RedForFeds.
Please make sure that you are not on government time or government property when you take or share your photos. If your employment requires a specific uniform or dress policy, be mindful of compliance. The wearing of red is not for, or against, any candidate or party, and is not a violation of the Hatch Act.
By joining together and raising our voices as a union family, we know we can do great things. Thank you for all that you do.
If you have any questions or would like to talk about more ways you or your local can get involved, don't hesitate to e-mail us at district7@afge.org.
In Solidarity,
Dorothy James
National Vice-President
American Federation of Government Employees
District 7
When is the Next Union Meeting?
October 8th, 2018 | Posted by in Did you know? | JOIN AFGE | Local 1395 | Membership Meetings | News - (0 Comments)
Monthly Membership Meetings
2nd Wednesday of each Month.
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: 600 W. Madison, Chicago IL 60661
Room: HWSSC Conference Room #1- 1st FL.
NEXT MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Wednesday October 10th, 2018
Attacks on Government Employees – Round II
September 25th, 2018 | Posted by in Court Ruling | Did you know? | Executive Orders - (0 Comments)Trump Administration Appeals Court Ruling On Workforce EOs
The Justice Department on Tuesday filed a notice that it would appeal a recent court decision that struck down three controversial workforce executive orders President Trump signed earlier this year to make it easier to fire federal workers and reduce the influence of federal employee unions.
The case will go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
In a notice filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Assistant Attorney General Joseph Hunt said the administration will seek to overturn the August decision by U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, which found that the key provisions of the executive orders were unlawful.
ATTACKS TO FEDERAL EMPLOYEES CONTINUE
September 13th, 2018 | Posted by in Did you know? | News | Your Rights - (0 Comments)Heads up federal employee friends, Congress is trying to pass another BS law designed to hurt us. Its called the MERIT ACT, short for Modern Employment Reform Improvement, and Transformation Act. Call your reps today 866-356-0201 to tell your Member of Congress that this is unfair and unproductive, and to oppose the MERIT Act.
Under the MERIT Act:
You would no longer be able to appeal adverse actions and unfair reductions in force actions through the grievance procedures. The only venue for you to appeal these unfair actions would be the severely under-resourced Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), which reviews similar cases for the entire federal workforce of 2 million employees. The agency’s decision becomes final if the MSPB does not issue a decision within 30 days.
You will not have enough time to mount a credible defense if you are accused of performance or disciplinary issues, because the bill drastically shortens the response time.
You can be fired at any point in your first two years on the job, for any reason.
You may be forced to repay a bonus or award if the agency head claims he or she was unaware of a conduct or performance issues when you received the payment.
To stay involved and updated on what AFGE is doing to protect your rights, text AFGE to 225568 from your personal phone (never your government phone) to subscribe to text updates.
AFGE WINS
September 12th, 2018 | Posted by in Court Ruling | Did you know? | Solidarity | Your Rights - (0 Comments)Democracy Wins as Court Strikes Down Trump’s Anti-Worker Executive Order
AFGE applauds ruling that administration illegally gutted workers’ rights, violated labor contracts
WASHINGTON – In a landmark decision, a federal judge has ruled that President Trump violated the U.S. Constitution and laws providing checks and balances in the federal government by attempting to deny more than 2 million federal workers their legal right to representation.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled late last night that the Trump administration’s May 25executive order on official time violated the 1stAmendment to the U.S. Constitution and the separation of powers as established in law.
The American Federation of Government Employees, which was the first union to challenge President Trump’s executive orders in court, applauded the judge’s ruling.
“President Trump’s illegal action was a direct assault on the legal rights and protections that Congress specifically guaranteed to the public-sector employees across this country who keep our federal government running every single day,” AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said.
“We are heartened by the judge’s ruling and by the huge outpouring of support shown to federal workers by lawmakers from both parties, fellow union workers, and compassionate citizens across the country,” Cox said. “Our members go to work every single day to serve the American people, and they deserve all the rights and protections afforded to them by our founding fathers.”
AFGE, the largest union representing federal government employees, filed two lawsuits challenging President Trump’s executive orders. The first lawsuit challenged the executive order on official time as a violation of the right to freedom of association guaranteed by the First Amendment, and as exceeding the president’s authority. The second lawsuit charged that the remaining two orders exceed the president’s authority under the U.S. Constitution by violating the separation of powers and exceeding current law.
The impact of these executive orders began being felt months before they were even issued, as the Department of Education in March threw out the contract covering 3,900 federal employees represented by AFGE and implemented its own illegal management edict that strips workers of their union rights, a precursor to what was to come weeks later when President Trump issued the three union-busting, anti-federal worker executive orders. Since the executive orders were signed May 25, other agencies including the Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs have issued similar edicts in an attempt to eradicate unions from the federal workplace and deny workers their legal right to representation.
“Now that the judge has issued her decision, I urge all agencies that have attempted to enforce this illegal executive order to restore all previously negotiated contracts and to bargain in good faith with employee representatives on any future changes as required under the law,” Cox said.
AFGE LOCAL 1395 is located at:
600 W. Madison - 6th Fl
Chicago IL 60661
Agatha Joseph 312-575-5612---President
Cheryl Bellamy-Bonner 312-575-5614 - Exec. Vice President
Main Office 312-575-5619
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