Excused absence for time to vote is covered under our National Agreement between AFGE and SSA. Article 31, Section 3 states:
“The Employer will excuse employees for a reasonable time, without seriously interfering with operations, to vote or register in any election or referendum on a civic matter in his/her community. An employee will be excused from duty so as to permit him/her to report for work 3 hours before the polls open or to leave work 3 hours before the polls close, whichever amounts in the lesser amount of time. Under unusual circumstances, an employee can be excused up to the full day. The Employer will notify employees annually of this right at the beginning of each fiscal year and shall encourage employees to avail themselves of the right to register and vote.”
The amount of time you get is based on the time your arrive at work.
If your tour is 8:00-4:30 you would have 2 hours to vote from (6 a.m. – 8 a.m.) and 2 ½ hours from
(4:30 – 7:00), employee could be excused for 30 minutes at the end of the day for the purpose of voting.
If your tour is 9:00-5:30, since the polls were open 3 hours before the beginning of workday, no absence for voting should be granted.
If you work a compressed work schedule (5-4-9), with a tour from 7:30-5:00. You have 1-½ hours from (6 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.), and 2 hours from (5:00 – 7:00 p.m.). The employee could be excused for one hour for the purpose of voting.
This Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) is entered into by and between the American Federation of Government Employees General Committee (“AFGE” or “Union”) and the Social Security Administration (“SSA”; “Agency”; or “Management”), collectively (“Parties”), sets forth procedures for the Parties in the event of a government shutdown (“Shutdown”).
The parties acknowledge the role of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in agency decisions regarding government shutdowns which may have implications under the Anti-Deficiency Act. Due to the unique circumstances presented in conducting excepted Agency operations during a Shutdown, the Parties will each take into consideration Office of Personnel Management’s (“OPM”) published Guidance for Shutdown Furloughs.
Provisions of this MOU do not reflect an agreement by AFGE to furloughs. This agreement does not waive or limit any statutory, regulatory, or contractual rights of individual employees. The Parties acknowledge that some contractual provisions involving expenditure of funds may be temporarily impacted by the Anti-Deficiency Act pursuant to Article 1, Section 1 of the National Agreement between AFGE and SSA. Otherwise, the parties will presume that contractual provisions not impacted by the Anti-Deficiency Act remain in full force and effect during a lapse in appropriations.To the extent permitted by the Anti-Deficiency Act, as part of the dialogue between OLMER and the AFGE General Committee, either party may bring up issues that arise because of the shutdown that are in conflict with the National Agreement, law, or this MOU. OLMER will engage with AFGE to discuss/resolve the issues.
The Agency will establish and maintain a toll-free number and internet website with 24-hour availability that employees can access to receive information on the shutdown furlough. The Agency will inform employees regarding the existence of the website and the toll-free number. The website will contain information for employees regarding the impact of the furlough on employee pay, leave, and benefits. This will also include a link to contact information for the unemployment compensation office in each state as well as links to the Anti-Deficiency Act and the Agency’s contingency plan.
2. During a government shutdown, management will provide furloughed employees with all information to which they are entitled by law in any furlough decision notice and will make reasonable efforts to do so in advance. The notice will direct employees to the Agency website address for information on the impact of the furlough upon employee leave and benefits. A sample of the decision notice will be posted on the agency website.
3. (A) Employees are expected to monitor the Mass Emergency Notification System (MENS) notifications,Agency’s toll-free number, and website to learn when the Shutdown ends and when to return to duty. Management will be liberal when considering requests for leave on the day the employees are expected to return to duty.
(B) Additionally, during a Shutdown, furloughed employees may be contacted by their supervisor if required to convert to an excepted duty status as specified in their decision notices. Supervisors will make reasonable efforts to contact employees during regular business hours using the emergency contact information provided by the employee, including through MENS. It is the employee’s responsibility to update their emergency contact information, and prior to a shutdown management will verify this information. Employees converting from furlough to excepted status will report to duty the following business day. Management will be liberal when considering requests for intermittent furlough on the day the employees are expected to report to duty.
Management will make reasonable efforts to ensure that a minimum of two hours of excepted work is available before requiring employees to report for duty.
4. If insufficient pay is available to make all deductions from an employee’s gross pay, the agency will comply with the sequence of deductions specified in the July 30, 2008, Office of Personnel Management Memorandum titled “Order of Precedence When Gross Pay is Not Sufficient to Permit All Deductions.”
5. To ensure the Agency’s contingency plan is current for OMB, AFGE will submit input regarding the Agency’s contingency plan by the end of July each year. The Agency will consider any input offered by AFGE regarding the contingency plan. Once the Agency Shutdown contingency plan and any revisions are approved by OMB, the Agency will provide a copy to the Union.
6. The Agency will meet as soon as possible with representatives of the AFGE General Committee after the end of a government Shutdown to provide a briefing on the Agency’s plan to pay any authorized retroactive salary and benefits to bargaining unit employees who have not received their full compensation.
7. Unless authorized by law, employees are prohibited from providing voluntary services to the Agency during a furlough.
8. The Agency will continue to provide the full Agency contribution to health benefits under the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program for employees affected by a furlough consistent with Statute and Government-wide regulations.
9. The Parties acknowledge that the amount of income taxes withheld from employees’ biweekly earnings will be adjusted to reflect the reduction in earnings that results from the furlough. Where employees request changes to withholdings/deductions, the employer will make reasonable efforts to process such changes in an expeditious manner.
10. Subject to the limitations of the Anti-Deficiency Act, certain limited categories of official time may be permissible during a government Shutdown. The Agency has determined that official time may be permitted when triggered by certain approved agency actions identified as excepted under the Agency’s Shutdown Contingency Plan. Situations that may trigger representational duties, and the use of official time, during a Shutdown include but are not limited to the following:
Formal Discussions with Employees;
Weingarten Interviews;
Disciplinary or performance-based actions taken during the Shutdown period, associated with excepted activities; and
Bargaining obligations triggered by notice of management-initiated changes during the Shutdown to the extent required by 5 USC 71.
To the extent permitted under the Anti-Deficiency Act, the Agency will continue to maintain the OUTTS official time electronic recording system throughout any lapse in appropriations. Union representatives may submit requests to work official time in connection with any of the above listed activities through OUTTS. If OUTTS is not available, union representatives may use alternative methodsfor requesting official time until OUTTS is restored.
11. The Agency is committed to make and communicate all official time decisions in an expeditious manner.
12. Union representatives who were authorized to use hours of official time per Article 30, Section 5.C. as of the last workday prior to a Shutdown and who occupy an excepted Agency position may request to be furloughed intermittently during the shutdown to engage in voluntary Union activities. The amount of time requested for both official time (under provision number 10 of this agreement) and intermittent furlough should be consistent with the previously established schedule of official time used to accommodate both Union representational activities and Agency assigned duties per Article 30, Section 5 Such requests will be referred to the appropriate management official and will normally be approved. This does not preclude Union representatives from requesting intermittent furlough time pursuant to provision number 10of this agreement.
13. The Parties acknowledge that during a period of government Shutdown, excepted employees who are required to work shall be entitled to use leave, for which compensation for used leave shall be paid at the earliest date possible after the shutdown ends. Leave requests will be handled in accordance with Article 31, including leave requests approved in advance of a shutdown.
14. Employees required to be absent from excepted duties subject to the provisions of A31, Section 9 (Court Leave) will be placed in intermittent furlough status.
15. The Decision to Effect Furlough form shall be used to record periods of intermittent furlough.
16. In accordance with Article 41, employees at the time of the shutdown who are currently working under an approved Telework agreement and who are excepted from the furlough will be allowed to continue to Telework based on availability of portable excepted work.
17. A personalized creditor letter will be issued to each employee. This letter will be signed by the Commissioner of Social Security or designee and will provide contact information should a creditor wish to contact the supervisor for further information. The designee will not be the first-line supervisor.
18. Subject to the request and approval procedures in Article 10 of the National Agreement, excepted employees may earn credit hours when working on excepted activities. The Parties recognize that employees may not use credit hours until after the Shutdown is over. The Agency website will contain information regarding the impact of a government Shutdown on the employees’ inability to carry over more than twenty-four (24) credit hours.
19. If an employee has exceeded the twenty-four (24) hours credit hour accrual limit and is unable to use the excess hours due to a government Shutdown, the Parties will engage in discussions (at the conclusion of the Shutdown) to explore alternatives, so that employees are not adversely affected, prior to the Union exercising its rights under Article 24.
20. If management determines that a limited number of employees are required to perform a specific excepted activity in the employees’ duty station, management will determine the excepted employees by the earliest SCD of those qualified to perform the excepted activities.
21. The Agency will make reasonable efforts to approve or deny, in writing, employees’ requests for outside employment within three (3) workdays.
22. During a furlough, Union officials will have normal access to the space provided to the Union pursuant to Article 11 of the National Agreement.
23. Provided the requirements for retirement are met, a furlough will not impact the effective date of any employee’s voluntary or early out retirement.
24. It is understood that a furlough is a factor beyond the employee’s control for purposes of applying Article 21, Section 6.I.1 of the National Agreement.
25. All filing and processing deadlines contained in collective bargaining agreements will be extended by the number of days that the Agency is shut down. These extensions apply to all deadlines for bargaining unit employees, Unions, and Agency management officials. Additionally, the parties agree that any arbitration dates that fall during the period of the Shutdown may be postponed consistent with Article 25.
26. As soon as possible, the Agency will provide AFGE with a list of the excepted positions.
27. In the event of furlough, the Agency will make reasonable efforts to provide employees with access to their duty station during duty hours to secure their personal belongings.
28. If management conducts formal discussions with employees regarding Shutdown furloughs, the appropriate Union representative for each facility will be afforded notice and opportunity to attend such formal discussions.
29. Employees on LWOP will be issued a notice by management of the effect of Shutdown periods.
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.
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
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 Friday that the Trump administration’s May 25 executive order on official time violated the U.S. Constitution and the separation of powers as established in law.
AFGE, 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 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 added. “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.”
The lawsuits
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.
Our union held a conference call with reporters July 12 to discuss the administration’s outrageous Executive Orders that seek to undermine America’s union and workforce.
Union officials at the Social Security Administration and others are being stripped of access to vital tools that help us represent working people as we are required to do by law, including telephones, computers, Internet access, and even bulletin boards.
Barri Sue Bryant, president of AFGE Local 2908 representing SSA employees in Philadelphia, told reporters that the Trump administration is making it nearly impossible to represent employees.
“They told us yesterday that they won’t allow us to use leave without pay, or only in extremely limited conditions, to do representational duties,” she said.
The executive orders have caused even more chaos at severely understaffed federal prisons, which have been struggling to respond to the influx of immigrant detainees.
“Their attempts to silence us are creating nothing but chaos in the prison system,” said John Kostelnik, president of AFGE Local 3969 which represents Bureau of Prisons employees in Victorville, Calif.
Undermining our democratic values
The Trump administration has gone from being out of control to a serious threat to our democracy.
While poll after poll has shown the American people overwhelmingly support labor unions, the weak Trump administration is being dictated by powerful special interests to do the dirty work for them. The Heritage Foundation, a fake think-tank funded by the likes of the Koch brothers, are openly pushing for policies that are bad for working people but good for businesses. A former Heritage employee now sits on Trump’s Domestic Policy Council and helps craft anti-worker policies like hiring freezes and retirement cuts.
Our union exists to protect the merit systems, ensure justice, equality, and workers’ voice – all important factors for our government to serve and protect the American people. We make sure researchers, scientists, doctors, nurses, and other public servants have the tools and resources they need to do their jobs. But this administration is showing zero leadership in helping them do their jobs better.
Red for Feds Day of Action
Our union has filed lawsuits against the administration and has been joined by other unions and even members of Congress who are disgusted by this administration’s behavior.
The hearing is set for July 25, which is ourRed for Feds Day of Action.We will gather in Washington, D.C. and take action in our communities nationwide. Join us and RSVP here.
An all-out war on the U.S. labor movement
The three executive orders are part of a larger campaign that has been going on for decades to purge unions and workers’ ability to demand a safe, just workplace.
Acting on behalf of business interests, politicians and officials from all levels all the way up to the Supreme Court are rewriting rules and laws to help enrich the wealthiest 1% while keeping wages low and health care and pensions close to non-existent for the rest of us.
The wealthy and business interests have a reason to continue to chip away at the labor movement: economists have linked the decline of unions to wage stagnation and rising inequality, as workers lose the bargaining power to demand better pay.
Here are a few examples of what they have recently done:
Janus v. AFSCME
In an attempt on AFGE’s D.C. locals and other unions representing state and local public employees,
the Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) allowing non-union members who benefit from union work like higher pay and better benefits to not have to pay their fair share.
Before the decision, non-union members were already able to opt out of paying for the union’s political and organizing activities. They only paid for the cost of collective bargaining which they benefited. This divide-and-conquer tactic seeks to force unions to do all the work for free for everybody until it runs out of money and collapse, bringing workers’ rights along with it.
The Janus ruling overturns its 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, which allowed public-sector unions to collect fair-share fees from workers who have not joined the union yet benefit from the union’s contract and other services.
Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis
Prior to Janus, the Supreme Court had issued another decision that helped advance corporate interests. The high court ruled that companies can force employees into lengthy and expensive one-on-one arbitration procedures instead of allowing them to pursue class-action grievances.
Right-to-work-for-less laws
Acting on behalf of business interests, politicians have managed to pass the right-to-work-for-less laws in 28 states to undermine workers and their unions in the private sector.
U.S. labor law requires that unions represent all employees in the workplace they have unionized. Unions are allowed to collect a fair share fee from non-members who benefit from union work – higher wages, better benefits, and a safer workplace. Right-to-work-for-less laws allow non-members in the private sector to benefit from union work without having to pay for the fee. These right-to-work-for-less laws have hurt union finances and ability to bargain for better wages and benefits – exactly what businesses want.
Wisconsin
Bankrolled by the likes of the Koch brothers, newly elected Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in 2011 launched a crusade against the middle class. Walker signed into law a bill that stripped state workers most of their collective bargaining rights. It prohibited public sector unions from bargaining over health coverage, pensions, hours, safety issues, sick leave, and vacations. The only thing unions could negotiate was base pay, but that was also limited to the rate of inflation. The law also required employees to pay more towards their pensions and repealed a fair-share union fee requirement. It ended automatic union dues collection by the state and required the unions to recertify annually. Union membership in Wisconsin dropped sharply as workers’ take-home pay got cut and unions could no longer help them as much.
Teachers’ strikes
Politicians and privatizers’ war on public school teachers has been raging on for decades. The teachers are overworked, underpaid, and very much vilified. While states freely cut taxes for the wealthy, also cut too are teachers’ pay and retirement. That’s why from West Virginia to Oklahoma, teachers went on strike and took to the streets to demand a raise and respect. We stand behind these teachers and condemn these irresponsible politicians.
We must fight back
The Trump administration is a threat to our core values of democracy and justice.
On May 30, 2018, AFGE sued the Trump administration in response to an executive order Donald Trump issued that aims to deny workers their legal right to representation at the worksite.
On May 25, President Trump signed three executive orders that chip away at due process and collective bargaining rights for federal employees. A third executive order, which impedes employee representation at the job site, is the focus of the lawsuit. The order seeks to rewrite portions of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, which governs labor relations in the federal civilian workplace. In particular, the order seeks to restrict ‘official time’ – the hours federal employees who are union volunteers use for legally mandated representation of their coworkers in the workplace, such as filing a grievance on retaliation or unfair termination.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenges the executive order as violating the right to freedom of association guaranteed by the First Amendment, and as exceeding the president’s authority under the Constitution of the United States.
Congress passed these laws to guarantee workers a collective voice in resolving workplace issues and improving the services they deliver to the public every day – whether it’s caring for veterans, ensuring our air and water are safe, preventing illegal weapons and drugs from crossing our borders, or helping communities recover from hurricanes and other disasters.
The United States is not a dictatorship. No president should be able to undo a law he doesn’t like through administrative fiat. AFGE will not stand by and let this administration willfully violate the Constitution to score political points.
How Federal Employees Are Using Official Time
People who know how official time is actually used at various agencies are stunned by the administration’s twist of facts and intentional assault on our government’s workforce and democracy itself. Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have long approved the use of official time because it helps improve agency operations and make federal agencies a better place to work. But anti-union forces and powerful special interests are not interested in that.
The truth about official time
Official time is a practice in which federal managers and employees work together to make government more efficient, productive, and just. All federal employees, whether they belong to a union or not, are guaranteed the right to fair representation. Employees who volunteer to serve as union representatives are allowed certain hours in their work days to carry out those representational activities.
Contrary to what the administration wants people to believe, official time is never used to conduct internal union business, such as soliciting members, holding internal union meetings, electing union officers, or engaging in partisan political activities.
Here are 5 examples of how employees are using official time:
Implement new directives, laws, programs.
Official time is used to go over new laws and regulations that are complex and ever changing. If employees don’t understand these directives and laws, they cannot implement them. This is especially important at a massive agency like the Department of Veterans Affairs that serves 9 million veterans every year and where a single mistake could mean life and death. Read about how a nurse from Minnesota used official time to help her hospital implement a new complex directive on prescription drug here. In Houston, Texas, employees used overtime to work with management on a new program to improve the adjudication of compensation claims filed by veterans seeking benefits at the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Regional Office. As a result, the accuracy rate for claims improved from 74% to 90%, meaning veterans got their correct benefits more quickly.
Create safe working conditions.
Official time is used to help identify health and safety hazards in the workplace. When the workplace is safe, workers tend to use less sick leave and workers’ compensation benefits. At the Bureau of Prisons, for example, employees used official time to successfully negotiate equipping federal correctional officers with pepper spray to keep officers safe on the job. Keeping government facilities safe also prevents injuries to the American people who visit a government office.
Uphold democracy and save taxpayers money on legal fights.
Due process is crucial in a democratic society, and official time is used to protect employees from discrimination on the basis of race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation and other factors unrelated to their job performance. It saves taxpayers money by helping resolve workplace problems before they escalate into costly, time-consuming litigation. Employees also use official time to address various workplace incidents, such as the one in which a noose was placed on the chair of an African-American worker at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.
Report waste, fraud, and abuse.
Federal employees take the oath of office toserve the American people and protect the Constitution. These employees use official time to blow the whistle on wrongdoing, such as VA management’s attempt to cover up an outbreak of Legionnaires disease that killed at least six veterans and sickened 16 others in Pittsburgh.
Negotiate contracts.
Managers and employees use official time to negotiate a labor contract. Having an agreed-upon labor-management contract benefits both the employer and employees because a contract establishes an agreement that sets working conditions and serves as a reference when disagreements arise. It makes the costs associated with employment more predictable and reduces employee turnover and the costs associated with it.
Official time costs very little
Compared to other expenses, official time costs very little. According to the administration’s own numbers, official time cost $174.8 million in fiscal year 2016, compared to $200 billion the Department of Defense spends annually on service contracts despite the fact that contractors cost two to three times more than federal civilian employees doing the same job. $174.8 million is also minuscule compared to the recent massive tax cut given to corporations, which is projected to cost the U.S. Treasury more than $100 billion in lost revenue this year, or $1.3 trillion over 10 years.
What you can do right now
If you believe it’s wrong for the administration to cut the time that employees use to make our government better, speak up by joining AFGE or ask your coworkers to join if you already are a member. By joining, we’re sending a message to the administration that we reject this disgraceful assault on our government and its workforce.
AFGE is also urging our members to write to your lawmakers now and tell them to issue a public statement supporting federal workers and condemning these baseless attacks. You can send a letter to your members of Congress here.
The AFGE/SSA National Agreement, Article 31, section 3D, authorizes the use of Administrative Leave to VOTE.
Don’t forget to exercise your rights on Election Day.
“The Employer will excuse employees for a reasonable time, when practicable to do so without seriously interfering with operations, to vote or register in any election or referendum on a civic matter in his/her community.
An employee will be excused from duty so as to permit him/her to report for work 3 hours after the polls open or to leave work 3 hours before the polls close, whichever results in the lesser amount of time off. Under unusual circumstances, an employee can be excused up to the full day.
The Employer will notify employees of this right at the beginning of each fiscal year and shall encourage employees to avail themselves of the right to register and vote.”
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.
