On 18 JUL, USACE-Headquarters put out OPORD 2023-41 with its stated mission being “USACE Civil Works will implement lock and dam remote operations on Inland Marine Transportation System (IMTS) and develop a transition and training plan for existing staff.” To advance this initiative, USACE leadership intends to establish a Governance Board led by USACE-Headquarters by 31 AUG and to provide “at least $20 million of O&M funding annually for the implementation of lock and dam remote operations” going forward.

Many lock-operator jobs are in rural areas where good jobs with benefits are hard to find, and many of these jobs are held by veterans who have dedicated themselves to protecting their fellow Americans. These lock operators provide a valuable service to the nation, serving as the eyes and ears necessary to ensure the safe transit of more than 630 million tons of cargo per year across 11,000 miles of inland waterways. IFPTE is committed to advocating for and, where possible, bargaining to protect the jobs of our fellow USACE employees.

Please reach out to your local union representative if you have questions or concerns about the future of your position with USACE.
[link to OPORD 2023-41]

The federal workforce is subject to a four-tiered pension under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and three different tiers of the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS). You can find which tier you’re in by looking at Block 30 of your most recent SF-50. Within FERS, employees hired in 2013 under FERS-Revised Annuity Employees (RAE) are paying 2.3% more than those hired earlier, and those hired after 2014 under FERS-Further Revised Annuity Employees (FRAE) are paying 3.6% more. But despite paying more, neither FERS-RAE nor FERS-FRAE employees have any corresponding benefit increase.
​
To make matters worse, coding errors have recently been identified throughout DoD with many employees having been assigned to the wrong FERS tier and, as a result, receiving either an overpayment or underpayment of salary due to the difference in contribution rates.

If you’ve received a notification that you’ve been miscoded, please reach out to your local union representative for help in getting a fair resolution of the issue.

The purpose of this newsletter is to provide representational information to bargaining-unit employees of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) who are represented in their workplace by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE). IFPTE is a union representing more than 90,000 working people in North America. More than 4,000 USACE employees across 16 different districts, divisions, labs, and support offices are represented by various IFPTE “locals.” If you are in one of these bargaining units, our union represents you and is committed to advocating for your interests in the workplace, regardless of whether or not you have made the decision to sign up as a member. And we want to hear from you, our fellow USACE employees.

To help us better represent your interests in the workplace and provide you with the most relevant information available, please fill out our brief survey: [link to the survey]