Read the stories as covered by the Washington Post and The New York Times

Workers will still receive 3.5 percent raise, observers say
By David McGlinchey
dmcglinchey@govexec.com mailto:dmcglinchey@govexec.com
Legislation still is on track to implement a 3.5 percent average pay raise for federal civilian workers in fiscal 2005, despite a White House proposal to hold the increase to 2.5 percent.
On Monday, President Bush sent an alternative pay plan to congressional leaders, proposing an across-the-board 2.5 percent pay increase with no locality pay adjustment. In his message to lawmakers, President Bush said the decision was based on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the costs of the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Under the 1990 Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act, the president was compelled to propose an alternative pay plan by the end of November. The plan, however, almost certainly will be overridden by the fiscal 2005
omnibus spending bill, which includes a 3.5 percent average pay raise for all civilian federal workers.
On Friday, an official from the Office of Management and Budget said the White House issued the 2.5 percent raise because the omnibus bill has been delayed, and administration officials did not want FEPCA to take effect in January. If the spending bill is not approved by the start of 2005, the pay comparability act would grant federal workers a 2.5 percent base pay increase and locality pay raises averaging 10.6 percent. "The alternative locality pay plan submitted to Congress prevents locality
pay increases averaging 10.6 percent from taking place beginning in January," said the official, who asked not to be identified. "Enactment of the omnibus appropriations bill will render the alternative locality pay plan moot. The plan was submitted just in case the omnibus is delayed past
January 1, 2005. The alternative locality pay plan will almost certainly have no effect."
The 3.5 percent average civilian pay raise in the spending bill was included after a strong push from a group of Washington, D.C.-area lawmakers, including House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., and Reps. Jim Moran, D-Va., and Frank Wolf, R-Va. Lawmakers already have rejected the initial fiscal 2005 budget proposal from the Bush administration - which would have awarded a 1.5 percent raise to civilian workers. Congressional officials said they are confident that the spending bill will be passed and that the 3.5 percent raise will
take effect.
"Federal employees will get the full pay increase supported by a large majority in the House of Representatives, mark my words," said Drew Crockett, a Davis spokesman. Democrats echoed that sentiment, and took issue with Bush's invocation of
military conflicts to justify cutting the pay raise. According to Moran, keeping the pay of federal workers competitive has never been more important.
"During this time of increased homeland security and defense abroad, we need all the tools we can get to recruit and retain valuable personnel," Moran said. "I believe the 3.5 percent increase for federal employees is well deserved."
The omnibus spending bill is being delayed because House members are attempting to remove language that would have increased lawmakers' access to individual tax returns.
This document is located at
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1204/120304d1.htm

Nurse Commission Recommends Strategies on Recruitment

WASHINGTON (May 17, 2004) - Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi has accepted recommendations from a blue-ribbon commission that looked at issues affecting the nurses of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) -- from recruitment and education to retention and pay.

"The panel's recommendations provide a springboard for our success in answering the concerns of VA nurses, who are the spirit and soul of
our Department's noble and time-honored mission," Principi said. "The
commission's report establishes the organizational, legislative and
cultural tools by which VA can make a difference in the lives of our nurses."

The commission studied leadership, professional development,
compensation, technology, respect and recognition, work environment, and research for VA nursing personnel. The panel's proposals included:

* Strengthen line authority and accountability for facility
nurse executives;

* Support nursing education guidelines comparable to medical education guidelines;

* Establish nationwide staffing standards that ensure adequate
nursing resources;

* Improve recognition of achievement and performance;

* Support legislation to ensure competitive locality pay for
registered nurses; and

* Establish a Center for Excellence in Quality Nursing Care.

"VA and Congress must allocate resources to strengthen the ability of
local facilities to attract and retain a qualified nursing work force," said
Linda Burnes Bolton, chairperson of the National Commission on VA Nursing.

With many VA nurses approaching retirement age, Congress created the 12-member commission, in part, to ensure VA had the financial and professional incentives to attract and retain a qualified work force.

Archived News From Headquarters

       Alma L. Lee President

     National AFGE VA Council

e

The President's briefing is sent to each Local to keep it's members informed of the progress of negotiations as it occurs. Thus far there are many roadblocks in the bargaining process. We'll try to keep you up to date as they become available.

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As we find out the names of the committee members on these two key subcommittees we will let
you know.

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In This Briefing: Who's Who of Key Players for VA in the House of
Representatives
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Who's Who of Key Players for VA in the House of Representatives House
Republican and Democrat leadership today released a preliminary list
of who will be on key congressional committees affecting the VA and
federal employees.

House Veterans Affairs Committee:
There will be 16 Republicans on the committee and 13 Democrats. The
Repbulican leadership has named 13 of the 16 Republican members. They
will still add 3 more Republican lawmakers to the Committee. The 13
Republican U.S. Representatives are: Steve Buyer (R-IN) Chairman (The
Chairman's name is pronounced Boo-yer) for more information about the
new chairman http://veterans.house.gov/about/aboutchairman.html
Mike Bilirakis (R-FL)
Terry Everett (R-AL)
Cliff Stearns (R-FL)
Richard Baker (R-LA)
Rob Simmons (R-CT)
Henry Brown, Jr. (R-SC)
Jeff Miller (R-FL)
John Boozman (R-AR)
Jeb Bradley (R-NH)
Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL)
Rick Renzi (R-AZ) plus 3 more Republicans to be named to the committee by
the House Republican leadership at a later date.

The 8 of the 13 Democrats to serve on the committee are: Lane Evans
(D-IL) Ranking Member Bob Filner (D-CA)
Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)
Corrine Brown (D-FL)
Vic Snyder (D-AR)
Mike Michaud (D-ME)
Stephanie Herseth (D-SD) NEW TO COMMITTEE
Brian Higgins (D-NY) NEW TO COMMITTEE AND TO CONGRESS
The Democrat Leadership will name 5 other democrat US Representatives to
the committee at a later date.

The Senate VA Committee roster is:
Republicans: Chairman Larry Craig (Idaho), Arlen Specter
(Pennsylvania), Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas), Lindsey Graham (South
Carolina), Richard Burr (North Carolina), John Ensign (Nevada), John
Thune (South Dakota), and Johnny Isakson (Georgia).

Democrats: Ranking Member Daniel Akaka (Hawaii), John Rockefeller
(West Virginia), Jim Jeffords (Vermont - Independent), Patty Murray
(Washington), Barack Obama (Illinois), and Ken Salazar (Colorado).

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In This Briefing: Area House Members Implore
Bush to Support Pay Parity
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washingtonpost.com
Area House Members Implore Bush to Support Pay Parity
By Stephen Barr

Tuesday, January 25, 2005; Page B02
Ten members of the Washington area delegation plan to send President Bush a letter today urging him to provide equal pay raises for civil service and military personnel in his fiscal 2006 budget proposal that goes to Congress in two weeks.
A draft of the letter, organized by Rep. Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the House Democratic whip, calls on Bush to "embrace the principle of pay parity" when making his recommendation for federal employees' 2006 pay raise.
Bush has objected to parity raises since taking office but has been overridden by Congress each year. The most recent instance came last year, when Congress approved an average 3.5 percent pay raise for the civil service and the military in 2005 despite the White House contention that a 1.5 percent raise for the civil service would be adequate.
The letter is being signed by Hoyer and Reps. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.),Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) and Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), a Hoyer spokeswoman said. Hoyer, Moran and Wolf serve on the House Appropriations Committee, which typically makes the annual recommendation on pay raises. Davis is chairman
of the House Government Reform Committee and served as chief sponsor lastyear for a resolution, approved on a 299 to 126 vote, reiterating the House's support for pay parity.
"As we fight the war on terrorism at home and abroad, both the armed services and the federal civilian workforce are integral to fulfilling the role of government for the American people," the draft version of theletter says.
"We believe anything less than an equal pay adjustment in 2006 sends the regrettable message that the services civilians provide to America every day are not highly valued," the letter says.
The House members also point out that many experienced civil service employees are nearing retirement and that a parity raise will help ensure that the government remains competitive in recruiting and retaining employees.
In the letter, the members write that they are open to administration initiatives that would more effectively allocate payroll dollars but, in fiscal 2006, plan to support a single pay adjustment for the civil service and the military.
The Bush administration supports efforts that would link federal pay raises more closely with the job performance of employees. Two departments -- Defense and Homeland Security -- have launched plans to shift nearly 850,000 civil service employees into pay-for-performance systems.
The Office of Management and Budget opposed this year's raise on grounds that it exceeded inflation and average raises in the private sector.
Because Congress does not always approve funding for pay raises, OMB said, agencies are forced to absorb payroll expenses by cutting back on programs and hiring.
In most years, Congress uses formulas based on the Employment Cost Index, which measures changes in salaries, health insurance and employee benefits, as a starting point for the annual debate.
If the pay formulas were followed for next year, civil service employees would be in line for a 2.1 percent across-the-board raise and members of the armed forces would receive a 3.1 percent raise.

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In This Briefing: Update on ULP
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As you are aware when the V.A. and A.F.G.E. were in negotiations on the
Master Agreement, V.A. suspended the negotiations and filed a ULP on the
fact that we were bargaining in bad faith because we did not give them all
of our proposals for the contract at one time.
The FLRA dismissed the V.A.'s charges that the union did not bargain in
bad faith and that we could give proposals in accordance to our ground
rules. Our ground rules allowed us to give them our initial proposals and
give them additional proposals thereafter. Of course the V.A. can appeal.
As you may also be aware that we have filed a grievance and waiting on
arbitration for V.A. not signing off on articles during the negotiations
that both sides had agreed to.
We won this one and we believe we will win the arbitration.

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In This Briefing: Senate panel approves military-civilian pay parity
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By GOVEXEC.com
Senate panel approves military-civilian pay parity
By David McGlinchey
dmcglinchey@govexec.com
 

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Treasury on Thursday approved a 3.5 percent pay raise for all federal civilian employees in fiscal 2005.
The move - which took place as the subcommittee adjusted its spending bill- comes despite extensive White House efforts to hold the civilian pay raise to 1.5 percent in the coming year while granting a 3.5 percent raise to military personnel. President Bush has said the military deserves the higher raise because of continued deployments overseas, and his supporters in Congress have complained that the 3.5 percent civilian raise will cost the federal government too much money. Supporters of equal pay raises have said the pay boosts are needed for recruitment and retention.
Several lawmakers have noted that many civilian workers are heavily involved in
homeland security, anti-terrorism and military efforts.
In March, the House overwhelmingly endorsed equal pay raises for the
military and civilian workforce in a nonbinding "Sense of Congress"
resolution. Several months later, in July, the House Appropriations
Committee voted to support pay parity but the full House has not yet
officially addressed the issue.
The language in the Senate subcommittee's spending bill is very similar to
the language in the matching House bill, according to sources. This could
potentially pave the way for a smooth adoption of the pay-parity language
in a conference committee, if it is ultimately approved by both chambers.
Federal workers unions moved quickly to commend Thursday's Senate
subcommittee vote.
"There is a growing bipartisan majority in Congress, which recognizes that
federal employees deserve pay parity with the military and a level playing
field in the face of this administration's continuing ill-advised policy
of opening up government work to a private sector that is unaccountable to
our nation's taxpayers," said Colleen Kelley, president of the National
Treasury Employees Union.
The American Federation of Government Employees applauded the subcommittee
and noted that the pay raise would apply to all government workers,
including Defense and Department of Homeland Security employees whose
entire personnel and pay system is being overhauled.
"We are particularly pleased that the 3.5 percent pay raise covers not
just [General Schedule] workers government wide, but also blue-collar
employees paid under the Federal Wage System," said AFGE President John
Gage. "Although, the actions of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee are
an important victory, we can't presume the pay raise is a done deal. AFGE
will need to be vigilant to make sure that the pay increase is not lowered
as the appropriations process continues."
This document is located at
<http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0904/090904d1.htm>

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 In This Briefing: Contract Negotiations Suspended - 5/4/04
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Today, Mr. Ron Cowles, a member of Management's Negotiating Team, filed a ULP on behalf of the VA, against the National VA Council. The ULP stated that we have not given them all of our proposals for the Master Agreement.
Management has also suspended negotiations until we do so. As you are aware the National VA Council filed a grievance on the VA because they gave us an article on Staff Lounges, their proposal, their language, we accepted the proposal, signed the article and then they refused to sign.

Their statements to the FLRA are inaccurate. They have stated in the ULP that we want to delay negotiations as long as possible to avoid losing any favorable provisions that we were able to negotiate in the 1997 agreement. The ULP also states that we refused to discuss any of the articles for which the VA had submitted proposals and the Union had not. Additionally, the ULP states this process left the Union in effective control of the conduct of negotiations as it foreclosed discussion of any of the 40 articles on which AFGE had not yet offered its proposals.

We will continue the fight for a fair, just and deserving contract.
Continue the mobilization and don't forget to wear your RED T-shirts and buttons, on the first day (Monday) of each contract negotiation session.