Top Stories

NTEU Posts New Letters in Support of LEO Bills The House Homeland Security Committee recently marked up legislation that would give Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers law enforcement officer (LEO) retirement status retroactive to the March 2003 creation of CBP. As the Department of Homeland Security reauthorization bill moves forward, NTEU will be working with the appropriate House and Senate committees to combine the LEO provisions in that legislation with two NTEU-supported bills, H.R. 1002 and S. 3652, that would extend the designation to all current and legacy CBP Officers. NTEU has posted a sample letter for members to send to their representatives emphasizing the importance of providing all these groups with LEO status. For more information, click here or visit <http://capwiz.com /nteu/issues/alert/?alert id=8906466&type=CO>.

NTEU Separates Fact from Fiction About Federal Pay
In an open letter on NTEU's web site, NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley takes on assertions made by a conservative think tank that government salaries and benefits top those of the private sector.

NTEU first addressed the backwards study through letters to the editor in May when the paper by so-called federal government expert Chris Edwards was first released. In recent days, Edwards' views have been the topic of several newspaper articles, prompting Kelley to once again come out strong to provide taxpayers the truth about federal pay and benefits. Specifically, Kelley fired back at Edwards' study for failing to account for the fact that most positions in the public sector are professional while the private sector has many service or retails jobs.

"Valid salary surveys, conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and confirmed by the Bush-appointed Federal Salary Council, show that federal employees earn about 13 percent less than their private sector counterparts in similar positions," Kelley clarified.

In addition to the open letter, Kelley sent letters to the editor to many of the newspapers that ran articles citing Edwards' inaccurate information.

NTEU Weighs in on Proposal to Change Awards Rules
NTEU supports the government's goal of increasing objectivity in how employees are recognized and rewarded, but not the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) approach to accomplishing it.

President Kelley sent this message in a letter to OPM addressing new regulations that would change the rules for employee awards programs throughout the federal government. In her letter, President Kelley warned that the proposed regulations ignore many of the persistent problems of favoritism, secrecy and lack of uniformity with awards programs at many agencies.

To ensure the success of an awards program, Kelley emphasized that all decision-making must be transparent and performance-based awards should be given to all employees at the same performance level. She added that awards budgets for bargaining unit and non-bargaining unit employees should be kept separate to prevent potential bias.

For the complete story, click here or visit <www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/
PressRelease.aspx?ID=949>.


NTEU Chapter 284 Celebrates 'NTEUsdays'
While others are kicking back and slowing down during these dog days of summer, NTEU Chapter 284 (Atlanta Customer Service), led by President Brenda Elam-Brown, has been working hard planning fun and educational activities for IRS employees.

On Tuesday afternoons from July 11-Aug. 15, the chapter hosted "break-and-learns" featuring informative talks on everything from performance appraisals to the Family Medical Leave Act. After learning about these important topics, attendees were treated to light-hearted activities including scavenger hunts, NTEU quizzes and drawings for prizes.

Headlines

I.R.S. Enlists Help in Collecting Delinquent Taxes
The New York Times, August 20, 2006
If you owe back taxes to the federal government, the next call asking you to pay may come not from an Internal Revenue Service officer, but from a private debt collector.

Within two weeks, the I.R.S. will turn over data on 12,500 taxpayers — each of whom owes $25,000 or less in back taxes — to three collection agencies. Larger debtors will continue to be pursued by I.R.S. officers.

The move, an initiative of the Bush administration, represents the first step in a broader plan to outsource the collection of smaller tax debts to private companies over time. Although I.R.S. officials acknowledge that this will be much more expensive than doing it internally, they say that Congress has forced their hand by refusing to let them hire more revenue officers, who could pull in a lot of easy-to-collect money. For the complete story, click here or visit <www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/business/20tax.html?_r=1&adxnnl=
1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1156169139-n8AJOy/TKgSWXOGa2C4M1Q>.

The NTEU web site www.nteuIRSwatch.org now features a statement about this article and resources for taxpayers including tips for those who are contacted by a debt collector and a sample letter requesting to work with the IRS instead of a debt collector.

Kelley Does Two Radio Interviews in One Day on Tax Debt Privatization
NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley spent last Tuesday afternoon informing the public about the IRS's dangerous tax debt privatization plan as the guest of not one, but two radio programs. Kelley's first stop was Air America where she appeared on the Thom Hartmann Program, followed by Pacifica Radio's TalkBack! with Hugh Hamilton.

To listen to President Kelley on TalkBack!, click here or visit <http://archive.wbai.org/>. For the Thom Hartmann Program, click here or visit <www.airamerica.com/premium/broadcast.
php?bid=1324>. Please note that a paid subscription is required to access the Air America archive.