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In NFFE National Office’s ongoing effort to modernize and maximize the efficiency of servicing NFFE-IAM members, the National Office is currently undergoing an overhaul of Union record-keeping procedures. The ultimate goal of a streamlined document management system that allows for improved functionality and access. This reform will result in more effective document sharing between NFFE-IAM members, officers and staff – all in the pursuit of reducing the administrative burden at all levels so that all NFFE Locals can focus more of their time on representation and growing Union membership.
Many of the changes currently underway are a direct result from collaboration between NFFE-IAM members and the National Office. What would often start with a simple phone call or e-mail quickly evolved into shaping the direction NFFE’s documentation and record-keeping overhaul. It is the conversations with NFFE-IAM members that drive many of the reforms NFFE National is undergoing. Remember, NFFE is only as strong as our membership – and more engaged NFFE-IAM members means a stronger and more effective Union.
Membership servicing efficiencies can be found in some of the most routine of interactions between NFFE-IAM members and the National Office. Recently, Carline Eliezer, the newly-elected President of NFFE Local 1431 (a VA facility in East Orange, NJ), called the National Office Membership Department seeking membership cards. The call quickly developed into a much broader discussion, with President Eliezer providing an updated officer list for the National Office and receiving a detailed walk-through of the suite of services available to her rapidly-growing Local. And before she knew it, President Eliezer was equipped with a greatly-expanded toolkit to maximize the organizing and servicing effectiveness of her Local.
But these efficiencies are not limited solely to internal Union records. When NFFE began consolidating and streamlining its record-keeping in conjunction with this year’s office move, an otherwise routine interaction with the Department of Interior (DoI) resulted in a boon of formerly-inaccessible information. During a conversation with DoI to ensure updated mailing addresses for remittance reports, the Membership Department was able to quickly identify missing remittance data and request specific lapses of information that had occurred intermittently over the last several years. Because of the record-keeping updates, remittance data was quickly accessible and resulted in correcting nearly seven years of previously incomplete remittance data.
Moving forward, the NFFE National Office continues to identify new efficiencies in membership services – but it is a team effort in conjunction with all NFFE-IAM members, Locals and Councils
“We are very serious about improving the way NFFE does business so that we can help facilitate success throughout this Union,” said NFFE National Secretary/Treasurer Randy Erwin. “Too often in the Union world, we do things a certain way because it is the way it has always been done. At NFFE, we really reject that notion. We do not want to do things the way they have always been done, we want to innovate and deliver our services better than ever before. We are aiming to share more information and increase transparency. Ultimately, we want our members to have the tools they need to help this Union excel and grow.”