Welcome to PMA’s newest Chapter President, Julian Dozier! Julian works in RAAS and is working to resume Chapter 11’s operations. The Chapter is based in Dallas and covers the state of Texas, except for Austin. For any of you located in Texas, please reach out to say hello to Julian. If you’re interested in joining PMA as a member of the non-bargaining unit in Texas, use the attached form to sign up today! On behalf of the National Board, thank you Julian for helping our Association and stepping up as a local advocate for management.
For those of you in Austin, PMA’s Lone Star Chapter 28 is led by Sonya Rangel, my good friend and coworker.
Effective September 17th, all those who self-certified as “high risk” per CDC guidelines and are currently on W&S Leave are now required to provide medical documentation. Beginning on October 13th, only employees who’ve provided documentation or who’ve received an extension of time to provide it will remain on W&S Leave. If you have a loved one at home who is “high risk” and you’re worried about their safety, please work with your leadership and LR to explore your options. PMA continues to advocate for workable solutions that respect those of us who are caregivers.
FEDS Protection provides insurance solutions for the unique exposures of today's federal employees and contractors. We protect all that you've worked so hard for, we understand what your exposures are and how to manage your situation if faced with an allegation or claim. Read the attached brochure to learn more.
PMA’s National Board is looking for members in Colorado, Georgia, and Ohio who are willing to consider serving as chapter president. 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. 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.
There’s never been a more important time to become a PMA member. Our voice is becoming louder and our leaders are listening. Through our consultative relationship with IRS HQ, we’ve worked to resolve questions, concerns, and inconsistencies around performance pay, leave administration, professional liability, retirement, safety, and leadership succession to name only a few. We are working diligently to strengthen our existing relationships throughout the IRS and to develop new relationships throughout government and with our sponsors so that we can grow our impact. We do all of this and more for a mere $3.50 per pay period – the best bargain I’ve seen in my career. I ask each of you to encourage your peers in the non-bargaining unit to consider signing up using the attached form. 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 benefits such as discounted rates from our sponsors GEICO and FEDS Protection.
Attend a no-cost presentation on long term care insurance on October 1st, offered by the IRS. Click here for registration information.
The Partnership for Public Service’s annual Customer Experience Summit will be held virtually on October 6th from 9-10:30AM Eastern. This year, IRS’s very own Jim Clifford is one of the panelists! Jim leads the Taxpayer First Act Office’s Customer Service Strategy as well as our Customer Experience/Service Delivery Modernization Team. The panel will discuss why customer experience is a top priority for their organizations, and the strategies they are using to understand and meet customer needs during the pandemic. Register here.
On October 8 from 1-2PM Eastern, the Engagement office will host Darrell White, Director of IT Enterprise Program Management Office, CADE and DevOps Practice. Darrell will present 4 Pillars of Success – Showcasing Leadership in Actions (Part 1). Read more
OPM’s Center for Leadership Development recently announced its FY21 courses for registration. As a reminder, PMA members can request grants to help mitigate the cost of training that furthers your leadership career. OPM also worked to create online versions of more than 40 of their most popular courses. Click here to view the schedule. If you missed a webinar and want to view the slides and presentation information, click here.
Questions about Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness? FEEA recently put together this helpful blog post where FEEA Executive Director Joyce Warner interviews Seth Frotman, Executive Director of the Student Borrower Protection Center.
The Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund relies on our support to continue its mission of helping federal employees and their families in times of need. This year, FEEA has continued to support PMA’s scholarship program while sustaining its grant-making and loan-making assistance to those of us in need of a helping hand. NTEU and PMA are both dedicated supporters of FEEA and its mission, and the Fund has worked behind the scenes during this pandemic to provide direct assistance to IRS families when an employee passes away. The Fund is a strong, vocal advocate for civil servants and recently joined us in pressing the Congress for relief from the payroll tax deferral.
Currently, FEEA is working to support feds affected by the recent wildfires. If you need help, click here. To support FEEA in the current CFC round, look for CFC #11185. Click here to join the 2020 giving campaign!
Due to their generosity, we still have face coverings available through FEEA. They’re offering to send a cloth face covering to anyone who must return to work in a space with other employees and/or the public. Register here to receive a complimentary face covering. If you would like to place a bulk order of those masks for your team or department, please let me know. FEEA has provided hundreds of masks to IRS managers and their teams for free!
HCO issued a SHOTs video to help us learn more about the new award pool structure for bargaining unit performance awards. We encourage those of you with BU staff to be familiar with the new structure because the changes impact the current award season. This will help you feel informed when responding to employee questions.
The 2020 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) and Supplemental Survey for seasonal employees began Tuesday, September 15, 2020 and will close on October 27, 2020. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) emailed invitations to employees to take the survey. Please convey your support for the FEVS and encourage employees to take the survey.
Please encourage your teams to take a moment to complete the Climate Pulse Survey each week here: Link to Survey. In the most recent data, we learned that employees are very anxious about the continued state of teleworking during the pandemic. Per the Commissioner’s message, we will remain home for the foreseeable future. We are very fortunate at IRS to be led by many telework-friendly executives! If you’re heading to the office, please be sure to wear an appropriate face covering. As a reminder, face coverings with a exhalation valve or those with a hole for using a straw are unacceptable as they fail to adequately protect those around you.
PMA joins you in mourning the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. As we remember her work on behalf of women’s rights and gender equality, we are deeply grateful for Justice Ginsburg’s legacy of advocacy and her pursuit of a just society. Justice Ginsburg said in 2009, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” Click here to view a video of her major accomplishments.
House leaders reached an agreement with Secretary Mnuchin proposing a continuing resolution free from controversial amendments. The House passed the CR on Tuesday, and it runs through December 11, 2020. While nothing is finalized in the Senate, our contacts on the Hill are optimistic that the CR will become law by Wednesday - just in time to avoid a shutdown in October. PMA will continue its advocacy to ensure a stable appropriation is made for the fiscal year and that it includes an equitable pay increase for civilians. Don’t forget that civilian federal employees are guaranteed back pay in future lapses per the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019. We do not anticipate a lapse in funding but we want to allay any concerns. In the unlikely event of a lapse, we’ve included an attachment to help you navigate it and we encourage you to check our website for updates.
In light of recent civilian deaths and issues of police brutality, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has created a landing spot which provides a broad look at GAO’s work on racial inequality over the years. GAO has identified racial inequalities and provided recommendations for addressing them in government and in the United States generally in many reports since the 1970s. The new landing spot provides easy access to all of these reports in various categories.
