June 29, 2022
Last week, NFFE-IAM members returned to Capitol Hill for the first time since 2019 for this year’s IAM Legislative Conference. Employees from several different agencies traveled from across the country to hear from lawmakers and lobby congressional offices on critical issues pertaining to the federal workforce.
“I am thrilled that we could finally welcome NFFE-IAM members back to Washington, D.C. for the 2022 legislative conference,” said NFFE National President Randy Erwin. “There was definitely a sense of revived energy after three years of not being able to do this conference due to the pandemic. It was truly awesome to interact with our members face to face once again, and to see them garner support from members of congress for federal employees.”
The group attended speeches in the mornings from labor allies like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and many more. In the afternoons, employees stormed capitol hill for appointments with lawmakers and distributed position papers to highlight important legislation for federal employee pay and retirement, wildland firefighters, Veterans’ Affairs, the NDAA, and many other topics.
Earlier in the week, federal wildland firefighters also got great news that they would be receiving pay raises nationwide as authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. This was a direct result of intense advocacy from NFFE and wildland firefighters across the country. The group of NFFE firefighters in town met with OPM Director Kiran Ahuja, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and Forest Service Chief Randy Moore to talk strategy on achieving a permanent solution on pay, and to discuss details regarding the new job series for wildland firefighters.
“The victory for wildland firefighters was a remarkable step forward, and further proof that collective action through your union will result in meaningful changes in your workplace,” continued President Erwin. “Attending events like this week’s legislative conference to meet with lawmakers has a tremendous impact on those members of congress and is the best way to have your voice heard. I want to thank every NFFE-IAM member and their spouses for attending this year’s conference. Because of your energy and commitment to improving your workplace, it was a great success.”