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August Recess Brings Opportunity for NTEU Members Congress left for its August recess with unfinished bills providing different 2007 pay raises for federal civil and military personnel. The full House in June approved a 2.7 percent raise for civilian employees in the 2007 Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee included the same figure in its reported version of the bill, but the measure still needs to pass the Senate. Military pay, however, is still set at 2.2 percent in both the House and Senate versions of the Defense Appropriations bill. Military and civilian employees both deserve a 2.7 percent increase in 2007. For information on how NTEU members can educate lawmakers about the need for a 2.7 percent raise for all employees, click here or visit <http://capwiz.com/ nteu/issues/alert/?alertid =8957331&type=CO>.

Senate Blocks Estate Tax Bill; NTEU
Renews Opposition to Attorney Cuts
For the second time in as many months, the Senate has rejected a Republican bid to raise the federal estate and gift tax exemption by a near party-line vote.

On the heels of Thursday's vote, NTEU reiterated its strong objection to plans by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to cut by nearly a half the number of estate and gift tax (E&G) attorneys. Given the federal deficit and tax gap, NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley questioned the logic of cutting these employees, who the IRS admits are its most productive tax law enforcement officers.

NTEU will continue to actively oppose the proposed staffing cuts and any efforts to reduce or repeal the tax on multi-million dollar estates. As part of these efforts, NTEU has unveiled a new web page with NTEU materials, letters from lawmakers and news articles on the planned reduction in IRS attorneys. Click here or visit <www.nteu.org/egattorneys.
aspx>.

NTEU Emphasizes Need for
Appropriate Training of CBP Officers
If lawmakers want to close border security lapses they need to ensure Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers have adequate resources and appropriate training to do their jobs, President Kelley told a Senate committee on Wednesday. NTEU submitted testimony as part of a high-profile hearing on addressing vulnerabilities the Government Accountability Office found in detecting fake identification documents at U.S. borders.

In addition to personnel shortages at the nation’s 317 ports of entry, Kelley pointed to the issue of inadequate document training provided for frontline officers. Whatever minimal documents training CBP Officers do receive focuses mainly on passports and other international documents, while there are thousands of state- and government-issued forms of ID, Kelley said.

Kelley also reiterated concerns raised by NTEU and frontline officers regarding the 'One Face at the Border' initiative, which has resulted in a loss of inspectional expertise needed to ensure that secondary inspections are done properly.

For the complete story, click here or visit <www.cbpunion.org/PressRelease/PressRelease.
aspx?ID=945>.


NTEU Faces Resistance From IRS As Ground Rules Bargaining Begins
As NTEU and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sat down for a two-day bargaining session last week to set ground rules for negotiating a new contract, it became clear that the agency intends to assume an adversarial role in the process. The IRS wants to replace the ground rules the parties have used since 1980 with a process that would have NTEU waive many statutory rights it has on behalf of employees. For example, rather than allowing NTEU to wait until the IRS submits its opening proposals before deciding how much time to allot for bargaining, management is pressing NTEU to commit to a schedule before the union knows whether the IRS wants to open one or all the articles.

NTEU stands prepared to step up pressure on management at the bargaining table and in other venues. In the meantime, NTEU reminds its members that the vast majority of the rights, benefits and protections contained in the previous contract remain in effect.

For more on the IRS contract, click here or visit <www.nteu.org/Members/IRSContract.
aspx>.

ATF Director Truscott Steps Down
On Friday, Carl J. Truscott announced his resignation, effective today, as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

His two-year tenure was marked by complaints from agency officials and inquiries from lawmakers into his spending on the agency's new headquarters in Washington, D.C., set to open later this year.

In May, NTEU won a first-ever telework agreement at ATF after years of resistance from management. NTEU worked successfully with lawmakers, including Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), to bring public attention to management's reluctance to negotiate over telework. NTEU and ATF finally inked a telework agreement following a 12-hour conference at the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP).

Under the agreement, 90 percent of all bargaining unit employees have the potential to telework, 80 percent are guaranteed the right to telework on a part-time or full-time basis, while 70 percent are guaranteed the right to telework on a full-time schedule.

Headlines

Kelley Discusses Implications of DHS Regs Win on 'FedTalk'
President Kelley gave radio listeners a comprehensive look at NTEU's legal victory against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel regulations and how it affects employees at all federal agencies on Friday's 'FedTalk'.

During the hour-long talk show, Kelley traced NTEU's early role in trying to work collaboratively on drafting new rules with a resistant DHS management to the three legal decisions the union scored declaring wide portions of the regulations illegal. As the push to extend similar rules governmentwide continues, NTEU's favorable decision takes on an added importance for all federal employees, Kelley said. To hear the broadcast, click here or visit <www.federalnewsradio.com/index.php?nid=16>.