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Inside
this Issue:
July 18,
2006
Top
Stories: Report: IRS
Outsourcing Plan Opens Seniors to
Harassment
Headlines:
Senate Bolsters
Northern Border Patrols, OKs Spending Bill
Get
Involved: LEO Bill Introduced in the
Senate
New on NTEU.org:
Get the Real Story on
the IRS Contract
Top
Stories
|
 LEO
Bill Introduced in the Senate
Legislation was
introduced in the Senate last week that would right a
wrong for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers
who everyday put their lives on the line securing
America's ports of entry.
The Law
Enforcement Officers Retirement Equity Act (S. 3652),
sponsored by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.),would extend
law enforcement officer (LEO) status to CBP Officers.
The LEO designation allows for retirement at age 50 with
20 years of service.
The
NTEU-supported bill is a companion measure to
(H.R.
1002), a
bipartisan proposal in the House that would accomplish
the same purpose.
To support the Mikulski bill,
click
here or visit
<http:
//capwiz.com/nteu/issues/
alert/?alertid=8906466&
type=CO>.
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Report:
IRS Outsourcing Plan
Opens Seniors to
Harassment
There's a new addition
to the long list of reasons to oppose the outsourcing of debt collection—the
IRS plan would make senior citizens prey to the increasingly
aggressive tactics of the private debt
collection industry.
A June government report warns that the IRS
cannot ensure that taxpayers, who have levies placed on their
incomes under the Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP), will be
excluded from private collection actions. Many taxpayers under the
levy program are seniors on Social
Security.
The report by the National Taxpayer Advocate notes
that since January there has been a 165 percent spike in cases where
Social Security checks are being levied inappropriately to capture
tax debts. Handing such cases to private debt collectors is "not
appropriate," the report says.
NTEU President Kelley,
a fierce opponent of tax debt privatization, called it "shocking"
and "scandalous" that the agency would still move forward with the
deeply flawed plan.
For the
complete story, click
here or visit
<www.nteu.
org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=930>.
NTEU Chapters Ban
Together To Save EPA Libraries
The
presidents of four NTEU chapters representing employees of the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have joined forces to protest
closures of technical research libraries.
The administration
proposed slashing $2 million in funding to support the agency's
libraries in its fiscal 2007 budget. Even before the measure was
sent to Congress, EPA began reducing services and shutting libraries
in four regions serving 19 states.
As part of a coalition
of unions representing 10,000 EPA employees, the NTEU chapters sent
a detailed, three-page letter to Congress
expressing their concern over the closures.
"The ability of EPA to
respond to emergencies will be reduced because important reference
materials may be unavailable or take significant time to receive
from storage or another library," they wrote.
The NTEU chapters that
signed the letter are 279 (Cincinnati/Edison, N.J.), 280
(Headquarters), 294 (Kansas City) and 295 (San
Francisco).
NTEU Chapter 243 Signs
Telework Agreement for Trademark Employees
NTEU Chapter 243
(Patent and Trademark) has reached agreement on a one-year pilot
telework program for Technology Center Legal Instrument
Examiners at the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). If successful,
the telework program will be made permanent and available to more
PTO employees.
Under the pilot,
participants will be permitted to perform official duties during
work hours at alternate sites, including their homes. Employees
will be required to come to the PTO workplace a minimum of one-hour
per week, Monday through Friday, from 6:30 a.m. to 7
p.m.
PTO will soon begin
collecting applications from employees to participate in the
telework program, which starts Sept.
25.
Headlines
Senate Bolsters
Northern Border Patrols, OKs Spending
Bill
GovExec, July 14,
2006
The Senate unanimously approved its
version of the fiscal 2007 Homeland Security spending bill Thursday,
after plowing through dozens of amendments affecting everything from
the number of Border Patrol agents to whether citizens can carry
guns during times of crisis.
A few amendments to
boost spending were approved this week, meaning the final bill would
provide the department with about $32.8 billion in discretionary
spending. The House version of the budget bill would provide about
$32 billion.
For the complete story, click
here or visit
<www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=
34553&dcn=todaysnews>.
New on
NTEU.org
 Get the Real Story on
the IRS Contract
The Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) is engaging in a war of words with NTEU about the June
30 expiration of the national bargaining agreement.
The latest example of
management's practice of using its workers as pawns came last week
when the agency sent employee messages with inaccurate information
about the contract termination. NTEU is committed to fighting for
the continuation of hard-won rights and benefits, as well to
ensuring employees have correct information about their current
workplace situation and what they can expect when the union returns
to the bargaining table next month. To that end, NTEU has devoted a
web page to the IRS contract featuring messages from President
Kelley and other helpful materials. The page will be updated
frequently, so check back often for the latest news and resources.
To visit the NTEU-IRS contract page, click
here or visit
<www.nteu.org/Members/IRSContract.aspx>.
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