As the end of the fiscal year starts to draw near, we felt it was time once again to touch on a couple of topics that seem to be hot button issues now.
The first issue that we want to talk about is the recent topic of COVID vaccine attestation and issues wrapped around the vaccine. We really want everyone to please make sure they are doing things that will not harm their careers. For everyone’s knowledge there are some things the Union can work to change and there are other things we have no say about regarding the vaccine. One of the areas that we will have a hand in, is bargaining around testing. We are in the question phase of testing with bargaining to come in the next week or two. If anyone has thoughts or concerns, please don’t hesitate to pass them on to us via your local union steward. It is important that we hear from as many of you as possible.
Our second topic is regarding the Safer Federal Work Force which in essence is an attempt to get everyone back to work in the safest manner possible. How the Department will go about this is still yet to be determined, but we expect many changes. We just want to make sure that folks prepare for what may be a slew of trial-and-error initiatives as they (management) and we (Union/BUE) figure what works best for the employees and still meets the Department’s mission. As we learn more, and bargaining/discussion continue we will let everyone know as much as we can as soon as possible.
Finally, as a reminder please make sure you check the NFFE1998.org website for up-to-date information. Sometimes we are not able to send out ALL BUE emails due to the time of day we receive information. So, we always try to post the most recent information that we have to the website.
As always, none of this would be possible without all of you.
In Solidarity,
Lee Wentz and Your NFFE1998 National Officers