Hello to ALL Bargaining Unit Employees,
The past few weeks have been a very tumultuous time, with people being cajoled to resign, and threatened with potential mass firings. We hope that working for Passport Services will insulate us from firings, and the fact that we got a hiring freeze exemption is hopeful, but we do not know what the future holds.
Please know that your union, both NFFE Local 1998, as well as our parent union, the National Federation of Federal Employees (“NFFE National”), are working hard to protect your rights. On behalf of NFFE Local 1998, I have filed grievances in response to the rollouts of some of the Executive Orders that violate our collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Simultaneously, NFFE National has been advocating for federal government workers on national news broadcasts, and in myriad ways, such as gathering and distributing information.
Please click on this hyperlink to see guidance from NFFE National which contains information that is important for all federal government workers to know, and especially for probationary employees. Being as knowledgeable as possible can help folks feel a bit less stressed while we go through this period of uncertainty, and being prepared gives workers a better chance to win back their jobs if firings do occur. For instance, having a copy of your eOPF available to you at home is important; click here to read how to download your entire electronic personnel file (eOPF) at once. (I also emailed both of those resources to your work email address.)
NFFE Local 1998 and NFFE National will keep working hard for BUEs. And, in case you haven’t heard it lately, I want to thank all BUEs in all parts of Passport Services for the hard work you do every day to ensure American citizens have the freedom to travel the world. The work you do matters.
In Solidarity,
Boyd Hinton
President
NFFE Local 1998