September 3, 2007

AFGE to Testify on Veterans’ Preference

AFGE has been invited to testify before the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity on Sept. 6. The union will testify about how veterans’ preference is weaker under the Defense and Homeland Security departments’ personnel rules and how veterans’ preference is weaker under Title 38 than under Title 5. The union will also testify about how outsourcing targets jobs held largely by veterans.

AFGE Meets with Army on New Physical Test

AFGE officials met with the Army Provost Marshal General Office on Aug. 29 to discuss the Army’s plan to increase both the medical screening and physical testing of Army civilian police and security guards. AFGE voiced its concerns over the new rule which would have a severe impact on employees, especially disabled veterans. The Army did not make any commitments at the meeting but will consider AFGE’s suggestions and will notify the union of its decision in 10 days.

AFGE Holds Town Hall Meeting on Sheppard A-76

AFGE Locals 779 and 1731 in Texas hosted a town hall meeting Aug. 30 in opposition to an attempt to contract out jobs at Sheppard Air Force Base. Approximately 262 federal employees in the civil engineering and public works area, 70% of them military veterans, are at risk of losing their jobs and benefits. The town hall meeting was held at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Wichita Falls, Texas.

New Feature on AFGE Web Site

AFGE has created a new feature that notifies readers when new content is added on AFGE’s Web site, afge.org. To subscribe, for Internet Explorer 7 users, go to www.afge.org/rss and click on the category you are interested in, such as AFGE’s Union Blog and press releases, then click on the subscribe-to-this-feed button. To view the notification, click on the Favorites tab (the yellow star button) of your Internet Explorer browser. For those who are not using Internet Explorer 7, go to www.rssreader.com to download the RSS Feeds program.

Inside Government

AFGE Council of Prison Locals President Bryan Lowry and the Greater Washington Urban League President and CEO Maudine Cooper appeared on AFGE’s radio program “Inside Government,” which was aired on Aug. 31. Lowry addressed the recent resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and detailed his Council’s request to Congress for emergency funding to fully staff the ADX Supermax facility in Florence, Colo. Cooper discussed the benefits her organization provides to D.C. residents and federal and D.C. government employees.

Inside Government airs every Friday at 10 a.m. EDT nationwide on www.federalnewsradio.com and 1050 AM in the Washington, D.C., area. The one-hour program discusses issues that impact all federal and D.C. government employees.