January 28, 2010
Implementation of GS 12 Increase Nears
NTEU Reviewing Drafts of New GS 12 Positions
NTEU is reviewing CBP's draft position descriptions for CBP Officers and Agriculture Specialists, including the Agriculture Specialist (Canine) position, as a key part of moving toward implementation of the increase in the journeyman level to Grade 12. The new position description for the CBP Officer (Enforcement) position has been drafted and is currently being reviewed by CBP after which it will also be provided to NTEU.
NTEU’s work played a key role in securing this upgrade and the union continues its efforts to see that other deserving groups of CBP employees also get a career ladder increase. NTEU is working with the agency and has involved key members of Congress concerning the pay inequity for Entry Specialists, Import Specialists, Paralegal Specialists and Seized Property Specialists, among others. NTEU is also working to secure an increase in the journeyman pay level for CBP Technicians from GS 7 to GS 9.
CBP provided NTEU with draft position descriptions for the two positions at all grade levels; the agency also provided modified position descriptions for the CBP Agriculture Specialist Canine-GS/GG-9 position. As part of its review, NTEU is determining whether these changes trigger any bargaining obligation on the part of the agency. CBP has said it hopes to implement this change by the end of March, effective in the second quarter.
The tentative plan is that all affected employees would be assigned the new position descriptions first, followed by the processing of those eligible for the upgrade in the next pay period as a career promotion. CBP has informed NTEU that it expects the upgrade to be effective no later than the end of March. NTEU will continue to keep employees updated on the progress.
NTEU Brings Fight for Fair Weapons Removal Policy to FSIP
NTEU is preparing to bring its six-year fight for a fair weapons removal policy to the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP), the body that decides disputes between unions and federal agencies.
NTEU opposes the current practice where management often takes months or years to complete investigations when a firearm is removed. In the meantime, the employee is not eligible for overtime and must come to work in uniform but without a weapon, advertising that the officer is under investigation.
"Anyone who has a grudge against a CBP Officer—an angry ex-spouse or neighbor—can make an unsubstantiated allegation and the employee can lose his or her weapon without due process," said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley.
NTEU has opposed—in negotiations, as well as in local and national grievances—CBP’s inability to return an employee’s firearm carriage authority in a timely fashion. In its latest effort, the union will work to convince the FSIP to order the implementation of NTEU’s proposals that are designed to expedite the return of an officer’s weapon, benefiting both the employee and CBP.
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