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:
In the meantime, please note that the open season for the FEHB program has begun and will run until 9 DEC.
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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. kəˈlektɪv bɑːɡənɪŋ 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. Expect Solidarity: A Message from the ACE Council Executive Officers on Federal Election Results11/14/2024 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:
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. 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. |
The ACE AdvocateA publication of the IFPTE ACE Council. Managing Editor, John Berens. Content by the ACE Council Communications Committee. Archives
January 2025
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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. |