NFFE Newsroom

Last week, NFFE set an internal organizing record by signing up over 100 new Forest Service employees as dues-paying members of the union. It was the first time in NFFE history that an organizing campaign resulted in the addition of over 100 members from one agency in a single week.

The Winpisinger Center’s call for 2023 Leadership Programs has been distributed to Local and District Lodges. Members must be registered by an officer of their local lodge.

Yesterday, NFFE sent a joint letter addressed to President Biden, OPM Director Ahuja, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack, and Interior Secretary Haaland on wildland firefighter workforce reforms. The union teamed up with Grassroots Wildland Firefighters and the U.S. Hotshots Association to urge the President and agency leaders to take action to improve pay, housing, work-life balance, and other concerns.

In just a few weeks, the Federal Benefits Open Season for the 2023 plan year for health insurance under the FEHB Program, dental and vision insurance under FEDVIP, and flexible spending accounts under FSAFEDS, will be held from November 14 through December 12.

NFFE is encouraging all veterans to take advantage of the IAM Veterans Services Program. The program assists veterans in understanding and applying for earned benefits and helps with submitting claims, so that veterans and their families have access to the multitude of benefits offered to former servicemen and women.

Today, NFFE received a notification that the Department of Defense (DoD) is extending its emergency telework policy until further notice. The extension is a result of advocacy from the Federal Workers Alliance, a coalition of 34 unions representing civil servants, including NFFE. The group sent a letter to both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees earlier this month urging members of Congress to request an extension from the DoD.

Earlier this week, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) responded to correspondence from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack with a letter outlining solutions and next steps to help alleviate retention problems among federal wildland firefighters. The proposed solutions include permanent pay raises, increased funding and staffing, and the development of a robust occupational series, among other things.

The National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) is issuing a survey to better understand federal employees’ experience and satisfaction with the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). We invite all federal workers, members and non-members, from all agencies to take the survey.

Last week, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force released updated guidance regarding COVID policies for federal employees and contractors. The protocols remain largely unchanged since the previous updated guidance released in mid-August.

Yesterday, National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) President Randy Erwin sent a letter to the Labor Relations Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture with comments for the agency’s draft regulation on its Anti-Harassment Program. The letter urges USDA to include the union’s comments on the draft regulation, which aim to ensure that harassment reports are properly addressed and do not result in retaliation.