Last month, NFFE achieved an important victory as, after years of work, the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) was signed into law (Public Law 114-47). The new law makes long-serving and successful temporary seasonal employees of land management agencies, most of whom are wildland firefighters, eligible to compete for vacant career positions under the same merit promotion procedures available to other federal employees. Currently, agencies are waiting for guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) prior to implementing the law. If OPM follows the normal rule-making process, this would at best take several months. NFFE is not just sitting back and waiting for this slow train to arrive at the station.
Yesterday, NFFE National President Bill Dougan sent an open letter to President Obama urging use of what is called an interim final rule, under which procedure rules could be implemented in a matter of days. President Dougan also met personally with OPM Director Beth Cobert to press the case for rapid implementation. Finally, NFFE Vice-President Mark Davis reached out to key Congressional staff to advocate for rapid implementation.
This kind of ongoing engagement can be the difference between things getting done and things languishing on the back burner. It pays to have a union on your side. It pays to have union representatives in Washington, DC. This is just one example what your dues pay for. If you are a dues-paying member, thank you for your support. If not, please consider joining today to support this kind of work.
Click here to read NFFE’s letter to President Obama.
As the fire season rages on, OPM has been slow to issue guidance on LMWFA implementation