News Letter 12 May 1998 AFGE LOCAL 1836, EIELSON AFB & CLEAR AFS, ALASKA The May Eielson Membership Meeting will be 14 May 1998 at 5:00 pm In the Family Day Care Office Open Area in Building 3108 (Near the Eielson Union Office) The Meeting Agenda will include: 1. Formalities => Roll Call, Last Minutes, Financial Report 4. Partnership Report 2. Humanitarian/Recognition Fund Disbursements 5. Report of Representational Efforts within the Local 3. A-76 =>Outsourcing & Privatization Report 6. New Issues/Members Comments and Discussion AFGE Local 1836 Officers & Stewards President Mark Templeton Union Office 372-1191 CEOWD Water Distribution Shop Work Phone 377-2172 Union Office Fax 372-3069 Home 452-5530 First Vice President Cathy DeHaven Work Phone 377-1270 CEORH Horizontal Const. (Days) Vice President Eielson, & Ch. Stew. John Beckley Work Phone 377-4184 CEOPM Power Plant Maintenance Vice President Clear, & Ch. Stew. Ron Herren Work Phone 585-6404 CEOIG Power Plant Maintenance Secretary/Treasurer Don Russell Work Phone 377-2574 CEOVH HazMat Disposal Shop Seargent-at-Arms Dave Polly Work Phone 377-5248 LGMGW AGE Dispatch (Days) Trustee Doug Grant Work Phone 377-2297 CEOZE Interior Electrical Shop Trustee Tom Peluso Work Phone 377-2172 CEOWD Water Distribution Shop Trustee Brett Wenzlick Work Phone 377-2291 LGTM Heavy Equipment Maintenance Eielson Stewards 354th Transportation Squadron Klaus Gumb Work Phone 377-1843 or 2806 LGTO Transportation Dispatch 354th Maintanance Squadron Leroy Gross Work Phone 377-1346 LGMGW AGE Repair and Inspection Bob Hill Work Phone 377-5248 LGMGW AGE Dispatch (Swings) 354th Civil Engineering Squadron George Bennett Work Phone 377-5133 CEOMH Heat Ventilation & AC Shop Doug Grant Work Phone 377-2297 CEOZE Interior Electrical Shop Rhynard "Butch" Hayes Work Phone 377-7074 CEOMI Insulation Shop Al Newby (alternate) Work Phone 377-5133 CEOMH Heat Ventilation & AC Shop William M. Pruitt Work Phone 377-4156 CEFO Fire Department Operations Clear Stewards Clear Civil Engineering Squadron Mark Christopher Work Phone 585-6432 CEFO Clear Fire Department Millard Fudge Work Phone 585-6432 CEFO Clear Fire Department Al Maddox Work Phone 585-6494 CEOIG Power Plant Coal Crew Ken Tolley Work Phone 585-6404 CEOIG Power Plant Operations Mike Triolo Work Phone 585-6432 CEFO Clear Fire Department Communications from Local President Mark Templeton Hello to All, Many things are changing and/or evolving within AFGE, and here in Local 1836. We are seeing more National political pressure being applied to Congress and the Executive Branch and it's various Agencies and Departments by special interest groups. Congress has in recent years transferred that pressure to DoD Departments by making them operate within previous years budgets. Specifically, pressure is being applied within the Department of Defence (DoD), to downsize, outsource, and privatize in order to get the cost of Government down. A correlary of this downsize, outsource, and privatize initiative is to allow Defense Contractors and the private sector in general (who claim to be more efficient) access to work that has for many years been done by federal civil service employees. It has become progressively harder from year to year for DoD to live within these budget constraints. DoD continues to try to squeeze more out of each individual installation budget in order to find funding for "Force Modernization." We have probably all experienced or can recognize differences in funding availability for various efforts over the past few years. Furthermore, local funds availability in the short term probably aren't going to get any better. Senator Stevens told the Alaska AFGE Lobbying Delegation in Washington D.C. in March (of which I was a member), that the Pentagon has a long term plan or initiative to have only two bases in Alaska. Senator Stevens speculated that this scenario would have an Air Force Base south of the Alaska Range (Elmendorf), and an Army Post north of the Alaska Range (Wainwright). In his estimation there were some preconditions for this scenario to actually be realized: 1. The potential for armed conflict on the Korean Pennisula would have to be minimized; i.e. North and South Korea would have to develop some sort of mutual agreement to end hostilities there. We have seen very active U S diplomatic efforts to this very end in the past couple of years. 2. The most recent rounds of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) will have to be completed to Congressional satisfaction, before any additional BRAC rounds will be authorized. Senator Stevens said another round of BRAC would have to be authorized by Congress in order to close/realign any more bases in Alaska. He spoke specifically about the difficulties that have developed between the Clinton Administration and Congress over how Kelly and McClellan AFB's were to be closed and/or realigned. He said he would do his best to prevent any further BRAC authorizations until the Kelley/McClelland situation was dealt with appropriately. AFGE Local 1836 continues to work with our Alaska Congressional Delegation on local downsizing, outsourcing, and privatization concerns. We have recently met with and passed along an information packet to Congressman Don Young's local reprensentative, Mr. Royce Chapman, concerning ongoing Eielson "A-76 Cost Comparison" initiatives. We spoke with him about our inability to initially be granted access into critical local meetings dealing with these A-76 Studies, and about our perceptions of how local functions are being selected to be studied. Ms. Wanda LaLiberte (AFGE Local 1834 President, Ft Wainwright), Don Russell, and I attented this meeting. It would have been better if we could have had individuals from the affected local functions attend this meeting with Mr. Chapman. Those affected individuals surely could have provided more explicit and graphic details of the weaknesses and/or inequities of ongoing A-76 Cost Comparison Studies here at Eielson, for elevation to the realm of National Politics. Congressman Young has pledged to assist Alaskan AFGE Locals with any problems we may encounter as we continue through these ongoing and future downsizing, outsourcing and privatizing initiatives in Alaska. AFGE's reciprocal pledge to Congressman Young specifically, and the rest of our Congressional Delegation in general, is; to forget the traditional ties that Labor Organizations have had with the Democratic Party, and simply support those Polititians in the future (regardless of partisan political affiliation), who have supported our issues and those initiatives affecting local political constituencies. Politicians who have provided appropriate Representational Initiative and support at the National Level for local issues and initiatives will be supported locally by AFGE Labor Organizations. Alaskans are extremely lucky right now, in that we probably have the most powerful and well situated Congressional Delegation of any State in the Union. Furthermore, Senator Stevens has always been a firm and dependable advocate for civil service employees within Congress. Senator Stevens indicated to us when we visited with him in March of this year, that he would continue to support federal civil service employees, within reason, at every opportunity. When I thanked him, at the end of our meeting, for the long term support he had provided for civil service employees, he said, and I paraphrase "You [civil service employees] are welcome. I understand the issues you are facing." He continued by saying, "I was once a civil service employee myself you know, a long time ago." I reaffirmed several things for myself during this recent Lobbying trip to the Nations Capital: 1. We, civil service employees, can affect our long term viability in terms of our jobs and future economic prospects. To insure our future viability we need to rapidly become more active in the Political Arena. Our Congressional Delegation, was in general, very receptive to the Unions concerns about how National Political Initiatives, i.e. downsizing, outsourcing and privatization particularly within DoD, is and will continue to affect Alaska's state and local economies. I believe we were able to affectively extrapolate this on down to how these initiatives will affect local Alaskan families as well, particularly those of federal civil service employees. 2. Recent changes to the Hatch Act allows civil service employees greater ability to participate in political activities where we had traditionally been barred. Hatch Act restrictions on civil service employees as defined by OPM are provided at the end of this section of the News Letter. 3. If we sincerely want to be able to affect downsizing, outsourcing and privatization, we must begin to exercise the collective will of the Eielson and Clear Bargaining Units of AFGE Local 1836 within the state and local political arena. This means voting in state and local elections. Additionally, the Union needs to get someone to regularly attend meetings of the State and Local AFL/CIO Organizations, to which we now belong as dues paying members. Meetings of the local AFL/CIO entity, the Fairbanks Central Labor Council, are every other Monday. This group typically meets for lunch and discussion of local labor issues at the Fairbanks Westmark. 4. AFGE Local 1836 must open and carry forth an ongoing dialog with our Alaska Congressional Delegation. Anyone who is interested in being involved in any of these activities should make that interest known to a Local Officer or Steward, and we will arrange for your immediate participation and involvement. The Monday-Morning-Quaterback routine just simply will not get us there. Only through active participation will we increase our effectiveness. Those who believe it is someone else's responsibility, are only entrusting their fate to someone who might not have their best interests at heart. 5. Only those who are actively involved will be heard and have their concerns considered and/or transposed to the national political arena, where many of the broad perspective decisions are made that will affect us here at Eielson/Clear in the future. Because Alaska is a small state population wise, we are extremely lucky to have such a well placed Congressional Delegation with so much seniority, at this crucial time. This fact alone will allow us to affect future legislation to a much greater extent, if we just become active in the political arena. 6. AFGE National President Bobby Harnage, has made it public knowledge in Washington D.C., and to AFGE Locals throughout the nation that AFGE and the AFL/CIO is going to support those legislators who have supported the issues of working class Americans in general, and federal civil service employees specifically. AFGE Local 1836 will work in Interior Alaska to support the economic well being of working class Alaskans in general, and federal civil service employees specifically. Your voice and participation are definitely needed, we must organize and affiliate to develop and support an Alaskan working class agenda within the state political systems. We will not be the best financed, or initially the most influencial group with a political agenda. However, working class Americans are definitely the democratic majority, and that is how we have chosen to define our Democratic Institutions, and broker change within all our political systems. You must make your opinions known, within your Union Local by coming to meetings and working to further the working class agenda at Eielson/Clear. You must vote in local, state and national elections to make sure the working class agenda is elevated to prominence locally, in Alaska and at the National level. Come get involved and vote with a working class agenda as your basis for positive change for working Americans. Sincerely in Solidarity Mark Templeton Your democratically elected AFGE Local 1836 Union President Recent Hatch Act Regulation Changes (ammended 1993, promulgated as Regulation 1996) On August 5th, 1996, final regulations applicable to political activities of federal employees took effect. The regulations, published by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management amended the previous, interim regulation published at 5 C.F.R. Part 734 ( 1996). Ref: 61 Fed Reg. 35,088 (1996) (to be codified at 5 C.F.R. Part 734) Federal Hatch Act Do's Federal employees covered by the 1993 amendments may- •be candidates for public office in nonpartisan elections •register and vote as they choose •assist in voter registration drives •express opinions about candidates and issues •contribute money to political organizations •attend political fundraising functions •attend and be active at political rallies and meetings •join and be an active member of a political party or club •sign nominating petitions •campaign for or against referendum questions, constitutional amendments, municipal ordinances •campaign for or against candidates in partisan elections •make campaign speeches for candidates in partisan elections •distribute campaign literature in partisan elections •hold office in political clubs or parties Federal Hatch Act Don'ts Federal employees covered by 1993 amendments may not- •use official authority or influence to interfere with an election •solicit or discourage political activity of anyone with business before their agency •solicit or receive political contributions (may be done in certain limited situations by federal labor or other employee organizations) •be candidates for public office in partisan elections •engage in political activity while- •on duty •in a government office •wearing an official uniform •using a government vehicle •wear political buttons on duty Federal employees should also be aware that certain political activities may also be criminal offenses under title 18 of the U.S. Code. AFGE Bulletin A publication for union leaders and activists Volume 14, Number 3 May 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOBODY DOES IT BETTER! Given a fairly level playing field, federal workers beat out contractors in the A-76 competitive bidding process more than 50 percent of the time. But under "The Freedom From Government Competition Act" (S. 314 and H.R. 716), the playing field will be tilted, trashing A-76 and replacing it with a pro-contractor, anti-federal worker competitive process. And then, over the next five years all federal work, with few exceptions, will be subject to "competition." Make no mistake--the threat is real. These bills are on a fast track in both the Senate and the House, and as many as 1.4 million federal employees will lose their jobs if this legislation passes. It sounds unbelievable, but this frightening scenario could happen all too soon. That's why it's imperative that you mount a strong grassroots lobbying campaign at your local right away. What You Can Do •Start a postcard-writing campaign urging your Senators and Representative to oppose these dangerous bills. Copies of a ready-to-go postcard are available through your district office or the Legislative Department at AFGE Headquarters by calling (202) 639-6413. •Send an e-mail message to your Congressional members using AFGE's website-- www.afge.org. Let your lawmakers know that their vote on this bill will determine your vote on Election Day. •Set up a schedule of Lunch & Learns to get your members and potential members involved. Ask them to join the union and join the fight. This legislation is being pushed hard by business and pro-contractor lobbying groups and has the support of a number of anti-federal worker politicians and the powerful Chamber of Commerce. We must act now if we are to save our nation's government from profit-driven contractors and provide the quality services Americans rely on. The Government Standard A publication for government workers and their families Volume 14, Number 2 March/April 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ AFGE Reaches Out to Both Sides of the Aisle "Federal Employees need a majority of friends in both parties." --NP Bobby L. Harnage Some 600 AFGE activists from around the country came together in Washington, D.C., to attend AFGE's Legislative and Political Conference. Delegates attended a celebration of the late John N. Sturdivant's life; heard from such leaders as AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, Representatives Tom Davis (R-Va.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights--Department of Justice Bill Lann Lee and Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). The conference theme--"The Ballot Box is Your Bargaining Table"--set the tone for the many political training panels that were offered and reminded the delegates of the critical nature of this election year. AFGE On the Hill AFGE's 1998 Legislative and Political Conference AFGE members put their lobbying skills to work meeting with Members of Congress on these issues: Federal Pay The Administration and Congress have year-after-year failed to provide federal employees with the pay raises recommended by the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (FEPCA). Yet over the last 18 years, federal employees have sacrificed over $180 billion to balance the budget. Now that those sacrifices have paid off in the form of a surplus budget, it's time for politicians to pay federal employees the raises that are their due under FEPCA. Providing federal employees with the pay raises called for by FEPCA would recognize the sacrifices federal employees have made both to reduce the deficit and make the federal government into the world's greatest service provider. That's why AFGE National President Bobby L. Harnage has made six percent pay raises in 1999 and 2000 AFGE's preeminent legislative objective over the next two years. Government-wide Contracting-out AFGE has taken the lead against contracting-out with a two-part strategy: Prevent the passage of pro-contractor legislation and enact legislation that would call contractors to account for their waste, fraud and abuse. The Freedom From Government Competition Act (S. 314, H.R. 716) would essentially scrap OMB Circular A-76 in favor of a more contractor-friendly system. "A-76" is shorthand for the rules and regulations governing public-private competition for the federal government's commercial activities. Now that government workers are winning more than half of all A-76 competitions, contractors, who once sang A-76's praises, want to get rid of the process. AFGE is fighting against this legislation because it would needlessly mandate public-private competitions in every case--even when federal employees are performing the work efficiently and cost effectively. The Union's Political Voice Some anti-labor politicians, with strong backing from special corporate interests, are aggressively pushing "paycheck protection" legislation (S. 9 and H.R. 2608) which would punish union members for their support of programs that benefit workers and help families. This would cost unions millions of dollars to implement. Supporters of "paycheck protection" say that unions should be required to needlessly spend time and money to get union members and non-members to fill out forms saying it's okay to spend some of their dues on legislative and political activities--even though no union member is required to contribute to a union's endorsed candidates for office or a union's "political activities." All political contributions to AFGE-PAC are made on a voluntary basis. The real agenda is that these politicians want to prevent working Americans from participating in the legislative and political process, punish unions for being effective advocates for working Americans and make even worse the 11 to 1 spending advantage corporations had over labor unions in 1996. With Congress as the bargaining table for federal employees, government employee unions must remain active in the legislative and political process. Passage of "paycheck protection" legislation would immediately jeopardize the jobs, pay, health care and retirement benefits of all federal employees by taking away our political voice. AFGE is working with other AFL-CIO unions to defeat this damaging legislation. For more details, please call AFGE-PAC at (202) 639-6457. AFGE LEGISLATIVE DATELINE May 1, 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GOVERNMENT-WIDE CONTRACTING OUT: THE WAR CONTINUES Pro-contractor lawmakers in the House scrapped two markups--which is what happens when a Congressional committee or subcommittee votes to approve or disapprove legislation--of "The Freedom From Government Competition Act" (H.R. 716). However, federal employee-friendly staffers warn that the House Government Reform and Oversight Management Subcommittee might meet to mark up the bill next week. There is now much talk among supporters about making substantial changes in the legislation. Representative Tom Davis (R-VA), a member of the Management Subcommittee, attempted to broker a compromise late last week. However, the contractors rebuffed his efforts even before the details of his proposal had been worked out. There has been less action on the Senate side. A broad coalition of labor and management groups met with Democratic staff on the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. Although led by AFGE, the delegation included representatives from American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; National Treasury Employees Union; Service Employees International Union; International Association of Machinists; National Association of Government Employees; and Federal Managers Association. Republican staff are still redrafting the Senate's version of "The Freedom From Government Competition Act" (S. 314). The legislation, as it is now written, would subject to competition the jobs of 1.4 million federal employees under a more pro-contractor system over the next five years. It is clear that the work already done by AFGE Activists is having an impact. Instead of trying to defend their legislation, pro-contractor groups are now going after AFGE for leading the fight against selling off the government. In fact, not only are contractors trying to steal the jobs of federal employees, now they're trying to prevent federal employees from learning the truth about their awful legislation. For example, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a right-wing, anti-labor business group leading the charge for passage of "The Freedom From Government Competition Act", has unfairly and untruthfully alleged that AFGE Activists in the Social Security Administration (SSA) may have lobbied illegally against the government-wide contracting out legislation. According to an article which appeared in the Bureau of National Affairs' Federal Contracts Report, "(t)he U.S. Chamber of Commerce April 22 urged Reps. John Mica (R-Fla), Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich), and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan) to investigate possible illegal use of government resources to oppose the legislation." It was further reported that the Chamber claimed that information distributed by AFGE Activists in SSA used "scare tactics and misrepresentations" about the legislation. In fact, the information distributed about "The Freedom From Government Competition Act" by AFGE Activists in SSA was a concise, comprehensive, and accurate summary of the most recent version of the legislation made available to the public. Moreover, the manner in which the information was distributed was entirely legal. While the Chamber of Commerce's singling out of AFGE for its leadership of federal employees during this fight constitutes a backhanded compliment, it's obvious that the contractors are becoming desperate and perhaps even reckless in their efforts to steal our jobs. News You Can Use ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mortgage News Take advantage of the lowest interest rates in almost 30 years with AFGE's Union Privilege Mortgage Program. Whether you're a first-time home buyer or just want to refinance, this special union-member program is just the thing for you! Through the Union Member Mortgage Program, you and your parents and children can have access to mortgage counselors, competitive mortgage rates, discounted real estate services and special help for first-time home buyers. The program--available in all 50 states and Puerto Rico--also offers you protection if you are laid off or disabled. For more information on the program, call AFGE's toll-free benefits line at 1-888-844-AFGE. Due to the high demand for this program, you may get an answering machine. Just leave your name and phone number, and an attendant will return your call as soon as possible. AMERICAN CONSUMERS BEWARE! A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulation that requires federal food inspectors to merely monitor plant records rather than inspect the food Americans eat is being challenged in court by AFGE. The lawsuit, filed April 8 on behalf of the meat and poultry inspectors AFGE represents, seeks to halt USDA's implementation of a rule that in effect deregulates the critical post-mortem inspection of meat and poultry carcasses and instead relies on an industry "honor system." "The meat and poultry industry should assume more responsibility for its products but not at the cost of eliminating vital hands-on inspections by qualified government inspectors," emphasized Delmer Jones, head of AFGE's National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals and a 39-year veteran meat and poultry inspector. AFGE is asking that the court order the USDA to continue its post-mortem examination of all meat and poultry carcasses by federal inspectors rather than turning the plant inspection process over to the industry. "This is a backdoor attempt to change administratively what Congress would never consider changing legislatively--severely weakening the entire meat and poultry inspection process," National President Bobby L. Harnage pointed out. "We're not about to sit back and watch while USDA abdicates its responsibilities to American consumers." Note: If any of the above information strikes a cord in your moral, political, or economic conscious, take the time to set down for a few minutes and write a short letter or e-mail to our Congressional delegation, (their addresses are provided below). Tell them you want them to support an agenda freindly to American working families, and our continued economic health and well being. Tell them to oppose the "Freedom from Government Competition Act," the "Pay Check Protection Act," and USDA's implementation of new Regulations that in effect deregulates the critical post-mortem inspection of meat and poultry carcasses and instead relies on an industry "honor system." We don't even have enough meat inspectors to prevent bacteria (salmonela and e-coli) contaminated meat from being distributed now, think what it might be like with even fewer inspectors ??? Are there that many moose and caribou in Alaska ??? Congressional Staffers told us letters from constituents are the most important and determinate type of constituent communication they receive in Washington D.C. Please get active and write a letter or e-mail message about any or all of the above proposed Legislation or Regulations. Thanks, Templeton Addresses for the Alaska Congressional Delegation ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Honorable Ted Stevens United States Senate 522 Hart Senate Office Building Washington , D.C. 20501 DC Phone 202-224-3004, DC Fax 202-224-2354 Fairbanks District Office Voice 907-456-0261 Fax 907-451-7290 Fairbanks District Office Address/Location Federal Building, Room 206 101 12th Avenue Fairbanks, AK 99701-6236 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Hororable Frank Murkowski United States Senate 322 Hart Senate Office Building Washington , D.C. 20501 DC Phone 202-224-6665, DC Fax 202-224-5301 Fairbanks District Office Voice 907-456-0233 Fairbanks District Office Address/Location U S Federal Building 101 12th Avenue Fairbanks, AK 99701-6236 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Honorable Don Young United States house of Representatives 2111 Rayburn House Office Building Washington , D.C. 20505 DC Phone 202-225-5765, DC Fax 202-225-0425 Fairbanks District Office Voice 907-456-0210 Fairbanks District Office Address/Location U S Federal Building 101 12th Avenue, Box 10 Fairbanks, AK 99701-6236