The IFPTE ACE Council greatly appreciates those readers who have answered our survey. We
have received responses from bargaining unit employees in Chicago District, Mobile District, New York District, Pittsburgh District, San Francisco District, North Atlantic Division, Northwestern Division, and South Pacific Division. All of the specific issues presented in the survey were identified as important by at least some readers, and there were three issues that were marked as important by clear majorities of survey respondents: “Telework & Remote Work” (80%), “Federal Pay & Inflation” (76%), and “Federal Retirement & Pension” (68%). All three of these issues were focal points of the union’s advocacy with members of Congress and their staff during our recent IFPTE Legislative Week in Washington, DC. Next month’s issue of this newsletter will feature an article related to the “Telework & Remote Work” issue and how you as a bargaining unit employee can best work with your union reps to make sure that your voice is heard when these policies are negotiated. In the meantime, the survey (https://airtable.com/appQHvOYKcTdyNybS/shr3QKsamoGbRkOAL) remains open for new responses, which will continue to inform future newsletter content. Please let us know what is a priority for you!
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IFPTE recently held our annual Legislative Week in Washington, DC, and we (as your fellow USACE employees) took to the halls of Congress to advocate for your interests. IFPTE local leaders representing USACE employees met with Sen. Maria Cantwell (WA), Rep. Frank Mrvan (IN), and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI). We also met with the staff members for Sen. Laphonza Butler (CA), Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (WV), Sen. Tom Carper (DE), Sen. Ed Markey (MA), Sen. Alex Padilla (CA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (MI), Sen. Ron Wyden (OR), Rep. Jamaal Bowman (NY), Rep. Sam Graves (MO), Rep. Jared Huffman (CA), Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY), Rep. Barbara Lee (CA), Rep. Kevin Mullin (CA), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA), Rep. Mike Quigley (IL), Rep. Chris Smith (NJ), Rep. Nydia Velázquez (NY), and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Our advocacy covered issues such as increasing Federal-worker pay (which has not kept up with inflation), eliminating FERS tiers (which force Federal employees hired after 2013 to pay extra, with no additional benefits), protecting against arbitrary restrictions on telework, and protecting the jobs of USACE lock operators and park rangers, among other issues. If you’d like to learn more about the union’s efforts to advocate on behalf of your interests with USACE, the Administration, and/or Congress (or if you’d like to share your own ideas on how we can advocate most effectively), contact your local union rep. Government ShutdownYet another government shutdown deadline is looming on 1 MAR. We featured an article on what to do and what to expect if a government shutdown occurs in the January issue of our newsletter. Please ask your local union rep for a copy if you didn’t receive it. IFPTE International staff have also updated https://www.ifpte.org/shutdown to provide current information and resources to help any Federal employees who might be affected. Remote Lock OperationsIFPTE continues to advocate on behalf of USACE lock operators and their contribution toward maintaining secure waterways for commerce and recreation. This includes our advocacy in the halls of Congress (mentioned above), as well as advocacy with the Administration and through industry publications like this recent article in the Waterways Journal: https://www.waterwaysjournal.net/2023/12/27/letter-infrastructure-and-cybersecurity/
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The ACE AdvocateA publication of the IFPTE ACE Council. Managing Editor, John Berens. Content by the ACE Council Communications Committee. Archives
October 2024
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The ACE Council represents the interests of more than 4,000 federal employees working at district and division offices, and business centers and laboratories of the US Army Corps of Engineers across the country.
All references to the Army Corps of Engineers or other agencies of the Department of Defense and the federal government are for identification purposes only. |