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John,

This has been another extremely busy week for AFGE. I have been down in Alabama at my home local at Anniston Army Depot helping with negotiations. We’re working with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) trying to find a way to come to agreement over some contentious issues. DoD wasn’t the worst agency when it came to implementing the previous administration’s executive orders, but there is much repair work that is necessary and management isn’t giving up on what they took away from us without a fight. I know that at this point, compliance with the Biden EO is either non-existent or happening in very few places and in very modest ways. But I remain optimistic that we will make progress soon.

NAPA Study

On Wednesday afternoon, the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) released a long-awaited, Congressionally-mandated study of the Trump administration’s proposal to dismantle the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and send its parts to the General Services Administration and the Office of the President. The substance of the report was about the best we could have hoped for: they rejected the notion of dismantling OPM. In fact, they call for strengthening it, ending the practice of having OPM play second fiddle to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on federal personnel management, mostly getting rid of its fee-for-service funding structure and providing more direct appropriations, plus adding more staff and new IT.

There was no call for re-organization or any more contracting out. AFGE staff and OPM staff were both consulted by the report’s authors, and although we don’t like every single thing NAPA suggested, we breathed a sigh of relief. I think we would likely have seen a very different report if the election had gone the other way, so I will call it another win from the Biden administration.

AFGE Leaders Call

Wednesday night we had an AFGE leaders call to go over our analysis of OPM’s guidance for implementing parts of President Biden’s executive order that repealed the 2018 union-busting EOs. We had almost 200 people on the call, which was an excellent turnout. I do believe that we all recognize the importance of making the most of this historic moment.

I believe that we’re all determined not to let this opportunity slip through our fingers. We must each do our part to get rid of all the contract provisions and policies from the Trump era, after all the work we did to get President Biden to issue his revocation EO and get OPM to issue guidance so early in this administration’s tenure. There are few of us who have experience bargaining permissive subjects and it’s now up to us to get educated on how to maximize this opportunity. So I am working with staff to prepare training for everyone who wants and needs it.

COVID-19 Update

On Thursday, OPM and OMB held a meeting to update us on what the administration is doing to protect the federal workforce from COVID-19. They’ve appointed COVID “coordinators” at each agency and created a website that addresses COVID-related issues (https://www.usa.gov/safer-federal-workforce).

They also provide information about the new paid-leave provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act that was just enacted. Federal workers are eligible for up to 15 weeks of extra paid leave connected to the pandemic. OPM will soon issue guidance on eligibility. But please be aware that if you take it, the time spent on this category of leave does NOT count toward time in service for retirement purposes. Also, there is a finite pot of money provided by Congress to pay for this leave, and it only lasts until September 30, 2021. If the money runs out before that, it may be the case that the eligibility for using the leave will also run out. We’re still working with OPM on that guidance.

Solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities

It’s hard to think back on this week without mentioning the terrible slaughter in Atlanta. Obviously, we don’t know yet exactly what happened, but the fact that six of the eight people murdered were women of Asian descent tells me hatred of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders played a role. And I think about the previous administration calling the COVID-19 virus the China virus and I can’t help but link the two together. My deepest sympathies go out to the families and loved ones of the victims and to all AAPI people who are experiencing the trauma of feeling targeted. As a black man, I know what that feels like. But I also know that the solidarity of your union family does a lot to take the sting out of that feeling, and I ask that each of us be especially sensitive to what our AAPI members are going through right now.

Have a great union weekend!

In solidarity,

Dr. Everett Kelley
AFGE National President

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