The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has announced that Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) insurance premiums will be increasing 13.5% on average across all plans. OPM stated that this increase--its highest in over a decade--is due to price increases, expanded coverage of prescription drugs, and behavioral health spending. Paired with the White House’s meager proposed pay raise of only 2% for 2025, these FEHB premium increases will likely lead to less coverage for any federal workers forced to choose between certain healthcare expenses and so many other inflated costs of living.

There are currently two initiatives by lawmakers that would, if passed, alleviate the problem:

1. Passing The Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act This would provide a 7.4% pay increase in 2025 for federal employees. The bill was introduced in the Senate early this year and was referred to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC, often pronounced hiz-gak). HSGAC is the Senate committee responsible for handling most federal worker issues, so it’s worth knowing who is on it and to develop relationships with their offices, if possible. The equivalent committee in the House of Representatives is the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
2. Accelerating The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 The act is famous for a provision that allows the federal government to negotiate drug prices under Medicare. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that this provision would lead to savings for FEHB as well as Medicare. These savings would take away reasons for the FEHB premium increase, but the negotiated drug prices won’t go into effect until 2026 at the earliest. There are some lawmakers who are pushing to accelerate this timeline.

In the meantime, please note that the open season for the FEHB program has begun and will run until 9 DEC.

To quote General Graham: “If we always keep our focus on taking care of these great people (on taking care of you), everything else follows.” Whichever USACE office you happen to work in, your local’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) likely has language that can help make sure that you’re taken care of. Being able to negotiate good contract language on safety in the workplace helped Local 777 (representing USACE Chicago District employees) push for training for their environmental and geotechnical engineers.

​Local 777 negotiated language that encouraged workers to cease work and request alternative duties when unsafe conditions are encountered. This language helped to strengthen the union’s position when protecting Chicago District engineers who were asked by management to work at superfund sites without the proper training and PPE. Being able to point to this paragraph led to a temporary stoppage of those work duties and brought the seriousness of the working conditions to management’s attention – making the training of these workers a priority. If you’d like to know about any negotiated language related to your safety, ask your local steward or any other union representative for a copy of your CBA.

A process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers.

The interests of the employees are commonly represented by elected leaders of one or more unions made up of dues-paying members.

A collective bargaining agreement (CBA) reached by these negotiations functions as a binding contract between the employer and the union(s), and typically establishes terms regarding wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance procedures, payroll deductions for dues, and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs.

Donald Trump has been elected president for a second time, and his incoming administration will be supported by a House and Senate controlled by Republicans and a conservative-majority Supreme Court. While we cannot say for certain what the next Trump administration will hold, we can reasonably expect that he will push forward policies that would reduce protections for federal workers by fundamentally changing the institutions that protect us. This is based on his actions during his first term, promises made during the recent campaign, and his association with Project 2025 and its architects. For example, here are some initiatives that have been pushed by Trump and his allies since 2016:

• Strip DoD unions of their right to collectively bargain, as previously attempted by Trump in 2020 (FR Doc. 2020–03578).
• Reclassify large amounts of federal workers under Schedule F, making them vulnerable to firing without cause, as previously attempted by Trump through Executive Order 13957 in 2020.
• Force so-called Return-to-Work policies. Two proposed bills have recently been introduced: S. 4834 and H.R. 10014.

Stripping our DoD unions of their collective bargaining rights would eliminate contracts enshrining protections and benefits that federal employees have fought long and hard for. These contracts make our jobs safer and gives us a voice in the workplace, so that we can focus on the task at hand: delivering our programs for the public. Schedule F would eliminate the current due process that holds our bosses accountable when they choose to remove a fellow worker. Your boss’s bad day could turn to catastrophe for you and your family faster than ever. As a result of forcing employees back into the office, remote workers may be forced to relocate (themselves and their families) across the country (or resign). Workers who telework regularly will have to reorganize their lives, while those who have the option to telework situationally will lose a significant source of flexibility.

IFPTE and its locals are prepared to use institutions such as the courts, the FLRA, and the MSPB to counter these actions as they have always done to fight for the wellbeing of the federal worker and ultimately for the wellbeing of our fellow Americans. However, with Donald Trump and his allies in control of all branches of government, it is likely that they will limit or remove the ability of these institutions to protect us. Furthermore, we can expect them to begin decertifying federal sector union locals altogether. Federal workers were a prime target for scapegoating during the last Trump administration.
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While this paints a bleak picture of the future of federal sector labor, it is important to remember that federal unions have been around for more than a century and have faced many setbacks in that time. Federal Sector Locals have previously been under attack when Nixon tried to use Schedule F reclassifications to install political allies in agencies. During his presidency, Ronald Reagan broke a strike and jailed union organizers. When the institutions failed unions in the past, unions survived through solidarity and collective action. To survive another Trump presidency, we must do the same now.

To our fellow USACE employees (and allies),

BLUF:
If you're interested in attending an after-hours meeting of USACE workers on next steps after the election, register here. The meeting will be over Zoom tomorrow (Thursday) evening starting at 8:30pm Eastern / 7:30pm Central / 5:30pm Pacific.

It's fair to assume that many of you have questions about the election's implications for Federal-sector workers and want to better understand the challenges and opportunities ahead, as we continue to fight together for better working conditions and for a better government. In that spirit, the ACE Council Communications Committee will hold a meeting tomorrow to share what we know about the work that we have ahead of us and to answer questions that you may have. Please sign up here and encourage your coworkers to sign up as well! Also feel free to forward to other Federal-sector workers who might be interested.

In recent years, Army Corps leaders have begun championing the promise of remotely operated waterway infrastructure. The ACE Council has been fighting throughout for greater transparency and accountability when it comes to this ill-conceived plan. In a truly promising development, the following has appeared in this year’s Senate Appropriations bill.

There’s more to be done to get this in the final Senate/House Appropriations bill, but this is a big step in protecting these jobs from being automated away. A lot of effort went into this from many ACE Council locals getting meetings with congressional staffers, sending people to Capitol Hill for IFPTE’s Legislative Week, the IFPTE ACE Council setting up meetings, and IFPTE President Matt Biggs, IFPTE Legislative Director Faraz Khan, and USACE Lock and Dam operator Mike Arendt (SAM) all spent many hours advocating for this language in an effort to protect these jobs.

As a Bargaining Unit Employee (BUE) you are entitled to have a union representative present for any formal meeting with management. But what is a “formal meeting?” The Federal Labor Relations Authority’s (FLRA) “Guidance on Meetings”, dated September 1, 2015, is a useful resource to better understand.

The Federal Service Labor Management Relations Statute (FSLMRS, or “the Statute”) provides rights to union representation at formal meetings in Section 7114(a)(2). However, the Statute is not specific as to when these rights are triggered. According to the FLRA guidance, “In order for the section 7114(a)(2)(A) formal discussion right to exist, the following elements must be satisfied: (1) a discussion; (2) which is formal in nature; (3) between at least one or more agency representatives and one or more unit employees or their representatives; (4) concerning any grievance or personnel policy or practice or other general condition of employment.”
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However, not every discussion between an employee and management triggers this benefit of representation. For example, routine counseling sessions are typically not considered formal meetings. To be “formal” with the right to union representation, something must elevate the discussion above the routine. This can be highly case-specific but includes such considerations as the amount of notice given for the meeting, whether there was a set agenda, and the significance of the issues discussed. Contact your union to know more about formal meetings and the Statute, in general.

Retirement is supposed to be a time of excitement. Unfortunately, for many Corps employees, it’s a period rife with stress.
There are so many questions to consider. Do I move my TSP to the G-Fund? When can I draw on my TSP? When must I draw on it? What are my tax implications? Am I supposed to select a survivor benefit for my pension? Can I afford to keep my Federal Employees Group Life Insurance policy? When am I going to elect to receive social security benefits? Am I going to work after retiring from the Corps? How do I plan for long-term care? If you’re a Veteran, did you exercise your options for the military service buy back? This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to questions heading into retirement, and, honestly, they can be frightening enough that some Corps employees delay retirement rather than attempt to answer them all at once.
We have done a lot of research into retirement and found there are resources out there available to help those Federal employees who have worked hard and earned their retirements.
- FED IMPACT https://fedimpact.com/attend-retirement-workshop/ is an excellent source for Federal employees beginning to plan for retirement. They host seminars across the United States, registration is free, and they encourage your spouse to attend.
- TSP https://www.tsp.gov/login/ also has some tutorials and offers some live training through their website.
There are other resources out there, including using your own financial planner to assist you with your retirement plans and decisions. Note: If consulting a financial advisor, make sure that they are designated as a fiduciary and always ask how they are compensated.
As always, if you have any questions or need help, reach out to your union rep for assistance. If your local union rep is unsure of where to start, they can reach out to the ACE Council, and we can help get you going in the right direction.

Do you know your office’s policy on telework and remote work? If your office has such a policy, do you know how it was created?
With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 we saw a shift (virtually overnight) from the vast majority of our work as USACE employees being conducted in-person to the vast majority of our work being done via telework. In the years that have followed, we’ve seen each office establish its own new “normal,” which may or may not be consistent with what’s being done in other USACE offices. In many cases the amount of telework that’s permitted is either based on the preferences of the office’s senior leadership or left to the preferences of individual supervisors. The exceptions are the USACE offices where a union representing the employees has bargained with management on a negotiated telework agreement.
One such example is North Atlantic Division (NAD), where the union (IFPTE Local 98) bargained on a negotiated telework agreement last year. When NAD leadership announced their intention to bring employees back to the office after 3 years of 100% telework, the union replied that it would bargain on the change in working conditions. NAD leadership tried to implement the change without bargaining, and the union responded by filing an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP), after which NAD leadership then came to the bargaining table. Later, while negotiations were still ongoing, NAD leadership tried to bypass the union and pressure employees into an agreement during a secret meeting, without the union’s negotiating team being present. The employees informed their union representatives, and the union filed another ULP. After the 2nd ULP, NAD leadership once again agreed to come to the bargaining table. The result was a negotiated telework policy that guarantees every NAD employee at least 4 days of telework per week.
If you have questions about the details of your office’s telework policy and/or when and how such policies can be negotiated for your office, contact your local union rep for additional information.