NFFE-1998 would like to wish all a safe Memorial Day weekend. Please take a moment to remember the service and sacrifice made by our veterans.
Month: May 2022
Reminder: All Dues Paying Member Call – May
This is a reminder that there will be a Dues Paying Member call on Sunday, May 22, 2022. Dues Paying members should sign in for more information.
Department of State is Redesigning the Civil Service Appraisal System
Last year, Headquarters facilitated working groups to get feedback on the proposed changes to performances evaluations and the civil service appraisal system. If you participated in one of these working groups, please email your Union officers at NFFE1998-NationalOfficers@state.gov.
The Union is very concerned that upcoming proposed changes in performance appraisal processes will make it even more difficult for specialists to achieve overall ratings of exceeds expectations and outstanding. The Union has shown Headquarters the concerning data and trends that shows that passport specialists are routinely rated lower at certain agencies, and across the board when compared with passport management and other employees Department wide.
For example, this graph shows outstanding ratings at our passport centers. In 2019 40% of the National Passport Center (NPC) specialists received outstanding compared to just 4% at the New Orleans Passport Center (NOPC).
Disclaimer: The data relied upon was provided to the Union from the Labor Relations Office on an “as is” basis and is subject to change.
Additionally, this 2018 ratings graph shows that about 70% of passport managers and department wide employees receive Outstanding ratings. This contrasts sharply with passport specialists 25% outstanding ratings.
Disclaimer: The data relied upon was provided to the Union from the Labor Relations Office on an “as is” basis and is subject to change.
The Department of State is changing to a 4-point system, that is being implemented Department-wide in management positions, in American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) positions and in American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) positions. This change is being referred to as Civil Service Reform. The Department is proposing a similar change in the performance evaluation of all positions under NFFE1998, as their goal is to have the same process, terminology, and forms for foreign and civil service employees.
A 4-point system means that the outstanding rating option has been added in each individual category. If adjudicators already struggle to show exceeds expectation in individual categories with the current rating system, we expect it will be even more difficult for adjudicators to show outstanding in individual categories in the new system.
New Appraisal System Proposed by Passport Management
Pros:
- It is possible to get an overall outstanding without getting the highest rating in each category
- Toolkits to assist supervisors
- More accountability and consequences for low performing supervisors
- More frequent feedback
- Updated list of Inadmissible comments (list of things that cannot be written into the performance evaluation narrative)
- The addition of a DEIA – diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility into a competency
Cons:
- May be more difficult for specialists to show exceeds expectations and outstanding performance
- Mathematical weighted averages formula used that could be complicated and not easily understood
Finally, Headquarters will decide by the end of August 2022 if the new system will be used in 2023; and the new system will likely be used for more than a decade by the Department. According to our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) Article 12.8, “Subjects appropriate for negotiations are personnel policies and practices and other matters relating to or affecting working conditions of bargaining unit employees.”
The Union is committed to working towards creating a more equitable and fair evaluation process. We are actively engaged in this proposed changed to our working conditions because of its great impact on all of us. We will continue to present the data showing the disparities to HQ so that our ratings improve with the new performance evaluation system.
May the 4th Be With You – Happy International Workers’ Day – Haymarket Affair
Hi everyone, this is Emilie, your NFFE 1998 Communicator. Two ideas I have recently been in the back of my mind over the past few months is “it could be worse,” and “it should be so much better.”
I’d like to share a little bit of history – related to it could be so much worse. This past Sunday was May Day – International Workers Day! International Workers Day, was designated in 1889 to support workers and remember the 1886 Haymarket Riot. The day celebrates history of struggle and gains made by workers and the labor movement.
Haymarket Affair aka Haymarket Riot aka Haymarket Massacre
Background: In the 1870’s and 1880’s a large number of Europeans and Chinese immigrated to the US. The majority of these new arrivals were fleeing financial and economic hardship. During these decades industrialization was transforming workplaces into a more mechanized environment. Jobs that required specialized training and special skills, that were paid more, were being replaced my mechanization. That resulted in more lower paid, less skilled jobs.
Additionally, workers were often required to work 10-12 hour shifts, with no overtime, and worked 6 days a week. Some factory shift work even had 16 hour shifts. Nationwide, laborers spent decades trying to lower the number of hours worked per day to 8 hours. The 8 hour movement pushed for 8 hours work, 8 hours rest, 8 hours recreation.
Chicago was a city experiencing massive changes in the workforce due to industrialization. Days were long, wages were decreasing. Chicago laborers were protesting, demanding for the right to unionize, and demanding an 8 hour work day.
On May 3rd, 1886, police officers killed several protesting workers at the McCormick Reaper Plant in Chicago. Labor organizers called for a meeting at Haymarket Square the following day. Then on May 4th, when police moved in to shut down the rally, and someone threw a bomb at the police, killing seven officers. There were no real suspects, and no evidence for who had thrown the bomb, but 8 men were arrested, 4 of whom were sentenced to death. The way the men were arrested and sentenced without evidence caused public backlash, and the men became martyrs. The Haymarket Riot is associated with May Day and the international struggle for workers’ rights.
In conclusion, I’m thankful our labor struggles are non-violent. I value our ability to have civil conversations, hold management accountable, and come to agreements without the use of force. I’m also very aware that if we don’t continue to work to understand our rights, and continue to hold management accountable to our rights, that we could lose them. The contract has been repeatedly breached by management and it is everyone’s responsibility as bargaining unit employees to report these occurrences to our union so we can take actions to prevent future contract violations and work to reverse the harm done against us.