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Susan Tsui Grundmann Confirmed as MSPB Chairman
Friday, November 6, 2009
Washington,
D.C. – National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) General Counsel
Susan Tsui Grundmann yesterday afternoon was confirmed by the Senate to
serve as the next Chairman of the Merit Systems Protection Board.
In response, NFFE National President William R. Dougan issued the
following statement:
“Over the course of her six years with NFFE, Susan has been a beloved
and well respected member of our staff – one who will not be easily
replaced.”
“Defending the legal rights of federal employees for nearly 20 years,
she brings a wealth of experience and firsthand knowledge to her new
post. I have no doubt that she will be an honest, dedicated and
exemplary public servant.”
“Federal employees are gaining an exceptional individual to serve as
Chairman of the Merit Systems Protection Board.”
“All of NFFE wishes her the best of luck in her new position.”
The MSPB is an independent, bipartisan agency tasked with upholding the
merit systems under which Federal employees work. The mission of the
MSPB is to protect Federal merit systems and the rights of individuals
within those systems.
Federal Employees Union Praises White House Executive Order Establishing
Labor-Management Partnerships
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Randy Erwin,
Legislative Director Phone: (202) 257-0948
Washington, D.C. – This morning President Barack Obama signed an
Executive Order
(E.O.) establishing labor-management forums, an action that will
improve the delivery of government services by tapping into the
knowledge and expertise that exists within the federal workforce.
By establishing an environment where federal workers have an opportunity
to be heard, the best ideas on how to make government run better can be
brought forward and considered by federal agencies.
A top priority for federal employee unions, the signing of the E.O.
could mark the end of an extended period of poor labor-relations at many
federal agencies. A similar labor-management partnership existed
under the Clinton Administration, but President George W. Bush abolished
the partnerships as one of his first acts in office, an action that
soured labor-management rapport from the very start of his
administration.
“We are very pleased to see the Obama Administration take meaningful
strides to engage the federal workforce,” said William R. Dougan,
national president of the National Federation of Federal Employees.
“Federal employees care deeply about the service they provide to the
American people, but for almost a decade they have lacked an avenue to
contribute ways to make the agencies they work for more efficient and
effective. Going forward, federal workers will have the ability to
contribute their ideas, and the American people will benefit because of
it.”
The E.O. represents a clear step in the right direction, but federal
employee unions did not get everything they desired in the E.O.
Federal unions have been lobbying the Administration hard for mandatory
bargaining rights on all permissive subjects. While the E.O. does
not prevent agencies from bargaining permissive subjects if they choose
to do so, as written, the E.O. gives agencies the ability to opt out of
bargaining permissive subjects with employee unions. The
Administration has committed to testing mandatory bargaining on
permissive subject at some federal agencies through a pilot program, the
details of which are not spelled out in the E.O.
“Mandatory bargaining on permissive subjects would have been the homerun
ball for us, but we didn’t get that,” said Dougan. “Nonetheless,
we are still in a much better place today than we have been for the last
nine years. We consider this executive order a good starting point
as we move into a much anticipated era of labor-management cooperation
in the federal government. We look forward to rolling up our
sleeves and working together to tackle the many important issues before
us which impact the federal workforce.”
Click Here to View the Executive Order
Click Here for Printable Release
Grundmann Nominated to Chair Key Federal Board
President Barack Obama has nominated NFFE-IAM General Counsel Susan Grundmann to serve as chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The MSPB is an independent, quasi-judicial agency with responsibility for deciding federal employee appeals from personnel actions taken against them, protecting the integrity of the civil service and other federal merit systems, and conducting studies of the civil service and other merit systems in the executive branch. On July 30, 2009, the White House issued the following statement about the nomination of Ms. Grundmann: “Since 2002, Susan Tsui Grundmann has served as General Counsel to the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), which represents 100,000 federal workers nationwide and is affiliated with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW). At NFFE, she has successfully litigated cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.” The White House also noted her service representing employees in the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, Passport Services, Veterans Administration, General Services Administration and some 25 additional federal agencies. Since 2003, Grundmann has been a regular instructor on federal sector law at the William W. Winpisinger Education Center in Placid Harbor, MD.
Big changes for Oregon area codes
Changes will begin on July 12, 2009 requiring that you dial 10 digits for all calls made in the 541 area code. Additionally two new area codes are being phased in for Oregon. In the Portland and northwest regions, which have had the 503 area code, they keep 503 and have 971 added to their area. For the balance of Oregon, those of us in the 541 regions, we will see the addition of 458. The end result will be 4 area codes for Oregon. When will these become effective? July 12, 2009 start dialing the area code whenever you make a call, including calls to other 541 telephone numbers. There are grace periods, so if you forget and dial just 7 digits, your call will still be completed until the effective date of January 10, 2010: After that date you must dial the area code – 10 digits.
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Third Quarter 2009