Federal workers’ rights are under attack!
We have to act now to pressure the Senate to stand with us by ensuring that language stays in the FY 2020 funding bill to prevent agencies from imposing collective bargaining agreements that are not fairly bargained or arbitrated.
Click here to send a letter to your Senator about the FY 2020 funding bill.
Sending this letter is another way for you to fight back against the attacks on federal workers.
In Solidarity,
AFGE
It is important to know how Office of Personnel Management (OPM) effects you as a federal employee.
This is the description OPM has on their website to describe their role in the employment process.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) serves as the chief human resources agency and personnel policy manager for the Federal Government. OPM provides human resources leadership and support to Federal agencies and helps the Federal workforce achieve their aspirations as they serve the American people. OPM directs human resources and employee management services, administers retirement benefits, manages healthcare and insurance programs, oversees merit-based and inclusive hiring into the civil service, and provides a secure employment process.
OPM’s divisions, offices, and their employees implement the programs and deliver the services that enable the agency to meet its strategic goals. OPM works in several broad categories to lead and serve the Federal Government in enterprise human resource management by delivering policies and services to achieve a trusted effective civilian workforce.
The American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO—the nation’s largest federal employee union—has officially opposed the nominee for the Office and Personnel Management.
Read AFGE Notice to Senate Committee members:
The 27th annual National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) 
Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is set for this Saturday, May 11. To make a donation, simply leave a bag of nonperishable food items by your mailbox on Saturday and your letter carrier will do the rest. All donations stay local.
Saturday’s union-made food drive is the largest one-day food drive in America. National partners with the NALC include the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and the AFL-CIO.
Set out your nonperishable donation well before your letter carrier’s normal pickup time. Letter carriers will be delivering and collecting mail as usual, on top of collecting food donations, so pickup time may slightly vary.
Show your union and community solidarity by making a food donation during this year’s Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
Be sure to leave a bag of nonperishable food items by your mailbox on Saturday, May 11, and thank a union member for doing the rest!
Most people living in the United States know little about the International Workers’ Day of May Day. For many others there is an assumption that it is a holiday celebrated in state communist countries like Cuba or the former Soviet Union. Most Americansdon’t realize that May Day has its origins here in this country and is as “American” as baseball and apple pie, and stemmed from the pre-Christian holiday of Beltane, a celebration of rebirth and fertility.
Over one hundred years have passed since that first May Day. In the earlier part of the 20th century, the US government tried to curb the celebration and further wipe it from the public’s memory by establishing “Law and Order Day” on May 1.
The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, which become the American Federation of Labor, during a Chicago convention in 1884 proclaimed that a legal work day would be eight hours starting on May 1, 1886.
On that day, 40,000 workers in Chicago and more than 300,000 laborers from 13,000 businesses across the U.S. staged walkouts, with the proclamation backed by the country’s biggest labor organization at the time, the Knights of Labor.
May Day Link to More information on May Day
*Discounted Park Admission Tickets
*FREE LUNCH!
*FREE ADMISSION HURRICANE HARBOR
*FREE THRILL PASS–(Unlimited return visits thru 9/2/19)
*SPORTS BOTTLES (Free Refills) Limited Supply
Tickets will be available soon!
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:
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
In May of 2018, the Administration announced three executive orders that chip away at due process and collective bargaining rights for federal employees and impede employee representation at the job site. Within three business days of issuance of the orders, AFGE filed a lawsuit int he U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. We won that suit, 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.
On April 4, 2019 we’re headed back to court to fight the appeal. We need you and your coworkers to show management and the administration that our union isn’t going anywhere.
#AFGE
Are your Senators and U.S. Representative members of the Expand Social Security Caucus?Click here to find out.
FERS Retirees Deserve a Fair COLA
Congressman Gerry Connelly (VA) reintroduced legislation to equalize the cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) for Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) beneficiaries. Currently, retirees under the older Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) receive a higher COLA in most years because of differing calculation formulas. For 2019, CSRS beneficiaries received a 2.8% COLA while FERS annuitants received only 2.0%. Dubbed the Equal COLA Act, H.R. 1254 would change that formula so that everyone would receive the same higher COLA. Here is moreon Congressman Connelly’s bill.
Voter ID Laws May Disenfranchise Older Voters
Congressman Rick Larsen (WA) is concerned with the impact of voter ID laws on older voters and others who may be unfairly disenfranchised. He noted that some older voters may not have a driver’s license and find that obtaining an ID can cost $75-175. He just introduced H.R. 650, the America Votes Act of 2019 to allow voters to submit a sworn, written affidavit affirming their identity. This piece describes the troubles some older voters experience in getting required ID to vote.
From our Brothers and Sisters at the Alliance for Retired Americans
As an AFGE Retiree, you are a member of the Alliance for Retired Americans, the leading voice for union retirees. Here is a report on the Alliance’s participation in the House Ways and Means Committee’s recent hearing on improving retirement security:
“On February 6, the House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Representative Richard Neal (MA), held a hearing on Improving Retirement Security for America’s Workers. The multiemployer pension crisis, the lack of retirement savings and the need to expand Social Security, as well as the need to lower prescription drug prices, were all discussed. The Alliance submitted a statement for the record for the hearing with its views on these issues.
“In light of the fact that 77% of Americans fall short of the savings target for their age, in large part because workers’ wages have been stagnant for 20 years while the cost of living has increased, Congress must take bold action to improve retirement security for all,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “We are committed to helping the new Congress find ways to address these critical issues for current and future retirees.” Read more coverage of the hearing here.
Federal Retirement Facts – Take this Quiz
Whether you are retired or getting ready to retire, it’s important to know your benefits. The answers to this quiz may help you make the best decisions.
Benefit Focus – Hotel Discounts in Time for Spring Travel
Did you know your AFGE retiree membership gives you access to discount hotel room rates? Your rates could be up to 70% lower than public online travel sites and hotel websites for over 800,000 participating hotels and resorts worldwide. Learn more here.
