It's only three months until PMA's 40th birthday! Beginning in May, you'll start to see some changes to our website and newsletters. We will invite you to visit our new site and create an account to access new content, new benefits, and a new legislative action center which will empower you to join PMA in our advocacy.
On June 3rd at 3PM Eastern, our celebration will officially kick off with a keynote presentation featuring former NASA Astronaut Mike Massimino, now an engineering professor at Columbia University. Space is limited (no pun intended) so we will send you a special invitation to register for the event on Monday, May 3rd. Members Only registration will be open for a week before we begin to invite all managers to come and learn about the new PMA.
To prepare for our email server changeover, please add our @promanager.org email domain to your Outlook Safe Senders list so that our messages don't end up in your junk/spam folder. Please find instructions attached to help you add PMA to your list.
PMA's official charity, the Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund (FEEA) is celebrating its 35th anniversary. The Feds In Motion 35 Challenge kicks off Public Service Recognition Week on Monday and is all about moving in your favorite way — walk, run, bike, swim, or roll on your favorite route — to reach the goal of 35 miles (or more!) in 35 days. Click here to register for the celebration. If you have coworkers or friends who haven't registered yet, please share far and wide. All are welcome on #TeamPMA and thank you to all who've joined the team so far! We are looking for at least one teammate from Rhode Island (the only state not yet represented in our celebration) - be sure to pass along to your friends and colleagues in the Ocean State.
As a reminder, Challenge registrants will receive t-shirts, participation medals, digital bibs, an easy tool to upload your mileage anytime to the leaderboard, digital finisher certificates, fun digital badges for mileage milestones and fundraising achievements, special Wellness Wednesday events with prize drawings, other cool swag from our sponsors, and prizes for top fundraisers. Be sure to sign up today!
This week, OPM finally issued guidance for the emergency paid leave provision of the American Rescue Plan. This program provides nearly $600 million for up to 15 weeks of paid leave (limited to $1,400/week) to care for others or yourself. It will take time for this program to open at the IRS because the Treasury needs to provide interim guidance for the IRS to follow. We also need to wait for the National Finance Center to update its programming to accommodate this leave and to appropriately track usage throughout the government. PMA meets weekly with the IRS to discuss issues like this and it's our experience that the IRS is doing all it can to get this program started for everyone.
We met with OPM this week to discuss government-wide FEVS results. These scores support what many of us already know - increasing workplace flexibility and access to telework leads to better employee engagement, increased productivity, and better work/life balance for everyone. We will continue to work with OPM as we make the case for enhanced telework and better tools and training to prepare managers for the challenges of virtual leadership. We are also eager to see OPM develop resources for managers with hybrid teams (some remote, some in-office) to improve cohesion within those teams.
Our colleagues at FEMA asked us to share information about their funeral assistance program. It's difficult to talk about this but we want you to have this information - and please share it with anyone you know who lost someone to COVID. FEMA is providing assistance to any American citizen who incurred funeral expenses due to COVID after January 20, 2020. Click here to learn more about this program.
This week, President Biden announced the details of the American Families Plan, which includes a proposal to massively boost funding for the IRS. PMA fully supports this proposal and we are already working with our friends in the Congress to make the case for this historic investment. As the tax gap approaches $1 trillion, our members know better than anyone how badly needed this funding is for the future of our agency. We will keep you updated as we meet with lawmakers to advance this legislation.
The Executive Readiness (XR) program announcement will be up from May 31-June 14 this year. To prepare for that process, click here to learn more about the program and the ECQs candidates need to prepare.
This summer, PMA will celebrate our 40th anniversary as the only association advocating exclusively on behalf of IRS managers, management officials, other non-bargaining workers, leadership development program participants, and retirees from those roles. Through our long relationship with the IRS, we’ve worked to identify problems and recommend solutions around many complex workforce issues such as performance pay, leave, professional liability, and safety, to name only a few. We are working diligently to strengthen the IRS and enhance management through our relationships in Congress - at times even sharing our members' individual stories to fortify congressional understanding of our working conditions. We do all of this and more for only $3.50 per pay period – an incredible value.
If you're reading this and you're not yet a member, use the attached form to join us today and you'll be a member just in time for our anniversary celebration and relaunch! If you know a retiree who would benefit from our advocacy, we offer lifetime memberships to them for a one-time $100 payment. Membership also comes with many additional benefits such as discounted rates from our sponsors GEICO and FEDS Protection. PMA members participating in a FEHB plan may be able to get free, state-of-the-art hearing aids through our partner Eargo. Just mention PMA and they will waive your copay for most health plans. This benefit is available to anyone in your family using your FEHB plan.
Don't forget to follow PMA on social media! You can forward this email to your personal address to check out our Facebook and Twitter pages.
PMA’s National Board is looking for members throughout the country who are willing to consider serving as chapter president. If you're in Colorado or Georgia, please reach out today! We’re also always happy to hear from members who’d like to found a local chapter in their area. Local chapters are active around the country and work with local executives, FEBs, and GLCs to promote the interests of management. Chapter presidents also attend national calls quarterly with the National Board as members of our Association Leadership Committee. The Committee will participate in PMA's modernization project, which is already underway. The time commitment is minimal and it’s a great way to improve conditions in your office. If you or someone you know is interested, please reply to our newsletter and we will connect you with resources to get started.
