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COUNCIL 216 NOTES

April 29, 2004

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THE OFP CALL

Today, we had a conference call with the Office of Field Programs. On the call were Michael Davidson, President of Local 3504 out of Chicago, and the Council First Vice-President, Levi Morrow, President of Local 3637 and the Council’s Chief Negotiator and myself.  On for management, were Joann Riggs of the Office of Human Resources, Jim Lee of the Office of General Counsel, Lisa Morelli form the Office of Legal Counsel, Angelica Ibarguen, the Director of the Office of Human Resources, Sharon Bowers from the Office of Field Programs, and Diane Holt Norwood of the Office of Human Resources.

Joann Riggs asked that I remind delegates that the Union should not use the agency’s e-mail for internal Union business.  According to Joann Riggs, in particular the internal e-mail is not be used to discuss union elections or provide opinions on various candidates in union elections.

Michael Davidson and the union team will meet with Management the week of May 10, 2004 for the next Labor Management meeting.  If not already received, Council Delegates will receive a memo from Michael Davidson, the Chair of that meeting.  Please respond to Michael’s requests to help ensure that the Union is well prepared.  If there are other topics you want the Council to address, please notify Michael Davidson by phone at 312.353.7374, or Michael.Davidson@eeoc.gov

The Union requested that Management look into the evaluation standard implemented in Chicago.  Investigators are evaluated under what is believed to be an unfair production standard.  The problem is that until the end of the fiscal year, the employee has no way of knowing whether he or she will pass or fail. Michael Davidson will follow up on this with Joann Riggs next week.

I asked Headquarters to remind managers to complete the mid-term performance reviews.  According the Office of Human Resources, offices must verify completion of the Interim Review by April 30, 2004.  The Union also requested that Management have performance reviews timely completed at the end of the fiscal year.

The Union raised the concern of what is going on with the AJ and attorney promotions.  Jim Lee indicated that as far as legal unit promotions, there is a batch, number unknown that finally is moving to approval and signature by Jeff Smith and Lea Guarraia.  As I understand the process, the Office of General Counsel reviews the legal unit submission. If approved, the request will be forwarded to the Office of Human Resources for conformance with grade classification.  The recommendation then goes to Jeff Smith for budget approval.  Finally, the financial verification is approved by Lea Guarraia.

Mr. Lee indicates that at this time, the pending legal unit recommendations have been forwarded to Jeff smith and Lea Guarraia.  I will follow up on these during the week of May 3 when I am in Headquarters meeting with the Performance Management Work Team.  Issues include the number of pending requests, the dates when the requests were sent forward, as well as the availability of funds to approve all of the pending requests.  As for the pending AJ promotions, I will check with the Office of Field Programs and will advise in the next 216 Notes.

The Union raised the question of the hire of term Investigators. Management indicated that the applications were pending at OPM.  Once OPM sends over the lists, the interview and hire processes can proceed. According to Management, to date, no office has hired a term Investigator. The Union will follow-up to determine where these employees are hired. Once we learn where these term employees are hired, we will need to target campaigns in those cities.

The Union requested an update on the status of the Staff Development Enhancement Program. The Chair approved the program documents.  During the legal sufficiency review by the Office of Legal Counsel, a question about saved pay was raised. Levi Morrow is following up on this issue and we will advise you when announcements can go out so that the next class can begin.