A message to members of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) working for Social Security:
AFGE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF SSA FIELD OPERATIONS LOCALS, AFL–CIO
SSA Budget Cuts Furlough Update
Yesterday, Acting SSA Commissioner, Carolyn Colvin met with SSA’s [Social Security Administration's] AFGE General Committee Officers to brief the Union on sequestration. [After one initial meeting, former Commissioner Astrue had refused to meet with AFGE leaders. This meeting is one sign that things have changed at least a little since Astrue left.]
AC [Acting Commissioner] Colvin informed AFGE that under the current budget continuing resolution (CR), she believes SSA will not have to furlough employees if sequestration is implemented. However, she is clear that if the budget changes, furlough may have to be revisited.
There are two current situations that may change SSA’s current budget:
AC Colvin also informed AFGE that to avoid furloughs, there will be cuts to SSA’s budget in other areas. Some of those areas are expected to include a freeze on all overtime, hiring and travel; and release of all temporary hires and reemployed annuitants. As employees leave the agency for retirement or other reasons, their positions will not be replaced.
- The CR expires at the end of March. Congress is working on a new CR for the remainder of the year. Some Members of Congress want to see cuts to the CR in place of sequestration, as stated in the Budget Control Act of 2012.
- Legislation to override sequestration. Current discussions in the House and Senate may lead to fewer cuts in the Department of Defense cuts and shift to additional discretionary spending cuts. SSA’s budget is included in the discretionary spending.
All of this will lead to fewer employees to do the work. Backlogs will grow; waiting times will rise; reception areas will become and/or remain full; calendars will back up; more calls will be in cue; and busy rates will increase. AFGE is very concerned that the adverse impact on public service will result in more complaints and hostility from the public.
AFGE will be providing you with information during this difficult, confusing period of budget discussions.
If SSA dodges the bullet of furloughs, many of our fellow Federal employees who work in our communities and cities, may not. AFGE will be planning a number of events in the next month to address the impact of budget cuts for all federal agencies, including SSA.
not sure why any commissioner would need to meet with AFGE.
ReplyDeleteIn other news, seems like this sequester stuff is just another scare tactic...in the end, no real worries or changes ahead.
The claim that "AFGE is very concerned that the adverse impact on public service" because of cutbacks is hard to believe. AFGE actions to support and retain employees with well documented poor quality, timeliness, and interviewing skills are not those of an organization concerned with service to the public. While SSA management has their share of people with poor public service skills, part of that is due to an unwillinging to face up to management responsibilities that include dealing with an often hostile, irrational union rep. Too many managers and supervisors discover that if they try, they will not receive upper management support because of attitudes of not to rock the boat or that the time and effort needed prevent attention to even more critical needs. When the better and best employees see that the slackers are tolerated, given more support and adjudication time, and have the same options to work overtime as those who are productive, they understand that concerns voiced for good public service are just lip service and morale suffers.
ReplyDeleteEven without a budget crisis, the practice of rehiring annuitants would be worthy of further examination. Where else can you retire one week draw your full pension and then be rehired in the same job shortly thereafter, with limited or no impact on the pension.
ReplyDeleteThe irony grows when the rehired annuitant must explain the impact of the annual earnings limits to those who retired early under SSA's rules.
I think that the rehiring of annuitants is a crime against the taxpayer. I thought this was ended after the "stimulus" money ran out.
ReplyDeleteThe stimulus money never went away - that's basically what the sequestration is about - the end of the stimulus.
ReplyDeleteRehired Annuitants = Joke. People who failed to do their Federal job when they were getting paid to do it.... ... retired, then rehired by their friends to do the same job.... when current employees are just as qualified to do that job... which requires no special skill or knowledge that only the annuitant has. Just another example of friends doing favors for friends... avoiding the competitive process for recruitment and selection.
ReplyDeleteIt is March the 1st. Sky still up in the air, sun rose, moon still in sky.
ReplyDeleteThis entire notion that AFGE cares about the public is a travesty and a joke. The AFGE mission in life is to do all possible to undermine SSA management and adopt this "holier than thou" attitude that they are really doing something. I am but one of many SSA employees that feels that this union is a joke.
ReplyDeleteI really, really struggle with my union views after being under AFGEs protective umbrella.
ReplyDeleteI am very pro worker, and am naturally distrustful of management generally. I have seen AFGE intervene on behalf of employees who were legitimately and horribly wronged by capricious, stupid, and sometimes evil members of management. Without AFGEs power and intervention, these employees would have been SOL.
However, much more often I have seen AFGE intervene on behalf of a crap employee who deserved everything management was trying to do. And after succeeding with their grievance or getting management to back off, oh, I don't know, reprimanding the employee for taking two hour lunches or hour long 15-minute breaks on the regular or some such, the emboldened crap employee oftentimes winds up getting the next promotion they apply to (because mgmt doesn't want to deal with that process again or they just want the person gone).
It sickens me to see my union spending much more time protecting the crappiest of employees who deserve adverse action than it does working with the Agency to get things that would benefit all employees or protecting those who are actually harmed by bad management.
Amen.... You couldn't be any more correct. Nothing is more demotivating than attempting to deal with a slack non-producing malcontent who spends 8 hours per day doing all possible to avoid work. Next AFGE comes charging in, villifies Management and they give up in disgust. Who loses in the end? The good/great SSA folks who come to work everyday to do the best possible job.
ReplyDeleteMy experience has been that management is usually too incompetent to take care of equally incompetent employees. I have had to endure lazy or incompetent employees, who are buddies of management, and step in on behalf of decent employees who are not so favored. AFGE-bashers are usually those who quit the union because it could not protect them from their own failings. If you dislike the union, do not take advantage of the benefits that it provides.
ReplyDeleteLOL,spoken like a true union thug!
ReplyDelete