The President’s Voice: Upcoming Contract Negotiations
As I mentioned in a message last month to the membership our union continues to move forward towards contract negotiations with the Command. A number of steps have been taken including allocating funds in our union budget for negotiations, arranging for collective bargaining training for union negotiators, forming a Union Negotiation Team and proposing a set of Ground Rules setting forth how the negotiations will be conducted. Any such Ground Rules have to be negotiated and agreed upon by both parties.
Once again, there is no firm answer as to when these negotiations will begin and how long they will last since it is very important to keep in mind that those events are dependent upon both parties (the union and management). Moreover, there are events that cannot always be controlled or predicted by either or both parties. While we all want to complete these negotiations as soon as possible we also want to end up with a good end product – a better contract.
These negotiations will take into account the results of the survey conducted with our bargaining unit (BU) members last year. That survey indicated a number of issues considered to be more important for our BU members including: Telework, Unsafe Work Conditions, Wellness/Fitness Programs, and Duty Hours/Flex Time. I strongly urge our members to contact the union on an ongoing basis on issues you want us to consider during these negotiations. Your input is very important.
After our union completes negotiating changes to our Negotiated Labor Management Agreement (NLMA) any such negotiated changes will need to be submitted to a vote of our dues-paying union members for ratification. No negotiated changes to the current NLMA can be approved without the approval of our dues-paying members.
The union will keep you posted as to the general progress of these negotiations such as when they begin.
Paul Veselenak
President, AFGE Local 1658
