Feds Feeling the Danger of Anti-Government Anger

Anti-government threats against federal employees and gun violations on federal property are going up.  The press continues to vilify bank examiners in the media as being asleep at the wheel; and now over-reacting and causing a credit crunch.  Should OCC employees be concerned about physical safety? 

NTEU posed that question to OCC management at our most recent Labor Management Relations Committee meeting.  OCC management responded that it is looking closely at that issue and is re-evaluating current security measures.  While guards are posted at HQ, the OCC remains one of the few federal agencies where armed guards are not utilized.  However, what is management doing to ensure the safety of OCC employees outside of Headquarters?  Should they be taking more measures? 

The recent tragedy in Austin, Texas raised the awareness of personal safety with all government employees.  Unfortunately, there were politicians on Capitol Hill who actually expressed understanding of the mindset of the deranged individual who flew his airplane into the IRS building.  Such comments only served to endorse the fringe element that blames “career government workers” for our nation’s problems.  And yet, these same politicians and/or political appointees actually created the rules, organizations, budgets, oversight, and boundaries that we operate within.

Elected representatives have a right to express their views.  However, they also have an obligation to do so responsibly and to ensure that employees who do their bidding are treated with respect and dignity.  Next time one of your elected officials speaks out against government workers, write them and make them aware of your opinion.  We encourage any feedback on your views of personal safety on the job.

Conservative Ben Stein:  A friend of Feds

Conservative and comic Ben Stein recently appeared on television and came out in strong defense of federal employees.  Below is a brief summary of his comments:

There is a basic assumption among many of us conservatives that bothers me.  Basically, the assumption is that if a person is a government employee, then he or she is lazy and shiftless, a parasite just eating up tax dollars without doing anything.  “Bureaucrats” is what the sneering expression usually is.

To put it mildly, this is unfair and not even in the ballpark of what’s true.  Government employees include cops and firefighters, who do some of the most dangerous, vital work in our society.  Government employees include prosecutors and prison guards, who do work that is often extremely difficult and deeply necessary.  Government employees are the doctors and nurses at VA hospitals.  They are the teachers who try to teach our kids.  They are the mean and women who keep track of our economic and health statistics, without which we cannot measure success or failure.

Government employees are the CIA agents who launch drone strikes to kill terrorists and who sometimes get killed.  Bureaucrats include the people of the FBI and it would also include the men and women at the Pentagon who guide our armed forces.  These people are the bone and muscle of our nation.

Long ago, Alben Barkley, Harry Truman’s Vice President, said that “a bureaucrat is a Democrat who has a job that a Republican wants.”  I am not sure that’s true, but I have been a bureaucrat in my youth and I never worked so hard for so little money in my life, and my fellow employees were in the same galley slave boat.

I am sure there are many government employees who waste money but so are there wasteful private sector people.  Let’s take our conservative noses out of the air and stop sneering at the people who serve us in the civil service.  We would be awfully sad if they were gone, even the ones in the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Senator Collins wades in on Federal Pay Debate

There are many headlines these days about how overpaid Federal Employees have become.  According to the USA Today, even the government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics says so.  

Fortunately, Senator Susan Collins (R-MA) and the Office of Personnel Management says you should not believe everything you read.  Senator Collins is pressing the administration to counter those claims.  According to the labor statistics report, the average federal pay is $66,591, compared with a private sector pay of $55,500 equivalent to a $11,091 pay gap.

Sen. Collins and John Berry, head of OPM says the report is ‘not really comparing apples to apples.”  According to Mr. Berry, when comparing “like jobs to like jobs,” government workers are actually far “behind the private sector.”  He noted that federal work has become increasing less and less blue collar and more high tech, requiring more skills and higher education and corresponding, higher pay.  “The private sector” he said, “includes service sector jobs that the federal government just doesn’t have.”

Educating the American Public on the important role of federal employees is extremely important.  Federal employees are blamed for many things, but when you think about 2 million federal employees serving a country of over 300 million that is a good efficiency ratio.  What they provide:  Clean air, safe water, food and drugs, a world class national park system, protection of our borders and airports, space exploration, airplanes that fly safely, protection of intellectual property through patents, copyrights and trademarks, collection of taxes to keep government running, protection of our banking system, just to name a few.

Fed Friendly Bills Introduced in Congress

Some potentially very positive developments for federal employees!  Obviously NTEU is supportive of all of these "fed friendly" bills.  HR. 1772 would allow all federal employees to telecommute up to 20 hours per pay period.  Another rule would allow employees to roll over any unused annual leave into their thrift saving plan at retirement.  Finally, a drug-pricing bill attempts to address the cost of medicine by leveraging the collective buying power of the United States government.  Rising costs of medicine has frequently been identified as the primary driver of rate increases in FEHB plans.  

Despite a lot of bad press, 2009 was collectively one of the best years for federal employees in terms of expansion of benefits in many, many years and 2010 is looking like more of the same.  NTEU remains at the forefront promoting these issues.

FERS Back- Buy Opportunity

If you left government service as a FERS participant and received a refund of your money, and are now back in government, a law passed last fall at NTEU’s urging will give you the opportunity to redeposit the amount refunded, plus interest.  In return, that time will be credited to your retirement computation.  OPM’s Service Credit System is in the process of being modified to correct some technical issues and to include a FERS Redeposit module.  Once they complete the testing and the new version is ready for production, OPM will begin processing FERS redeposit’s. 

In the meantime, if an individual wishes to make a redeposit, he or she should use the current SF 3108.  The individual must indicate on the application that the period of service was refunded.  OPM does not want any payments from individuals at this time. The system has not yet been developed to take payments.  For additional assistance, employees should check with the OCC Compensation and Benefits Office.

 As always we want to hear your feedback, good, bad or indifferent. Write us at this website.

A seat at the table, professionalism and fair and equitable treatment of employees…union values that you can count on (through out the year)!!!