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AFGE, Local 3937 - Local Membership Meeting November 20th, 2024 Conference Call Present were: John Pfannenstein, Joyce Bybee, Ross Tewksbury, Tony Tecumseh, Laura Carter, Olga Villasenor, Adam Neff, Laura Novakoski and Jackie Walton. The meeting was held via Zoom conference call with dial-in information posted to the Members section of our Local website. The meeting was called to order at 5:35pm, chaired by John Pfannenstein, Local President. Agenda:
Jackie reports that we have $74,387 in checking and $177,365 in savings. Detailed Treasurer’s information is available on request, and currently she is working on an IRS form with our accountant that will be submitted later this month. At our January meeting we will discuss our budget for the next year. Old Business: None. New Business: Commissioner O’Malley, who has been with SSA for less than a year, is departing on November 29th. He attempted to fit 10 years of necessary advancements and enhancements to our operations in only 10 months. The Agency may not have been prepared for the rapid pace of change and for his passion, but he accomplished a lot. One of the big changes was keeping food support from being counted as In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) in the SSI program. We hope that many of these changes will outlast his term, and will help to alleviate stress on both the public and on our workforce. He's stepping down to run for Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair; it is likely he predicted his role at SSA would be ending under the new administration next year. He worked closely with the union and listened to front-line employees, sincerely seeking to understand the structure of SSA and pull us out of the spiral to dysfunction we were on. We will likely see another Acting Commissioner, at least in the short term. The Appointment Focused Service (AFS) model has come to Field Offices. We heard about it only recently from SSA management – but the Union has actually been pushing for something like this in FOs since we came back from pandemic closures. We have historically low staffing levels and allowing the public to freely walk in all day long, at such volumes, was pushing staff past what we are capable of dealing with. It was supposed to be a transitional model until January, but many FO managers have jumped into its implementation enthusiastically. We have told Labor Relations that it needs to be implemented consistently regionwide to limit people shopping for service. We discussed how it has been going this week at different offices. Issues include offices with large homeless populations or others who might meet “dire need” criteria, what types of contact would require an appointment, and how the WSU, TSC and JDA claims offices would handle claims proofs. We may see employees pressured to move too quickly to the next appointment or lose adjudication time due to overflow work that could not be finished during the appointment. Area Directors were supposed to be working with individual managers in their area to create a comprehensive plan, but so far the rollout has seemed chaotic, allowing every location to try any ideas that occur to them. The Agency, as usual, declined to bargain or consult with AFGE before implementation, but we are continuing to provide feedback and we hope to gather data from employees over the next few months that will help guide improvements. Reports: John recently attended a Council 220 caucus (as a virtual participant), where many of the current issues and fears we’re facing in the Pacific Northwest were also discussed. We don’t feel that the anticipated Schedule F would affect most of us; it would mainly affect those in policy-making roles in GS-13 and above. The general mood was cautious, as we expect some or most of the union-busting ideas in Project 2025 to come into play next year, despite the incoming administration’s protests that it was not part of the president-elect’s plan. Our Congressional and House representatives should be hearing from all of us about our experiences on the ground; union representatives are allowed to make calls and attend such meetings on Official Time, while other employees can only do so on unpaid non-duty time, on personal devices. We can also reach out to our partners in state Labor Councils. Open Floor / Miscellaneous: We offered a Q&A session on issues that members brought up during open discussion. Minutes Review: Jackie made a motion that we accept the minutes as written and read; Tony seconded. Motion passed. You can stay informed about topics like these and much more by going to www.afge.org to sign up for Action Alerts to be sent via text or email so that you are informed of current legislative and political events – please do so on your personal computer or phone, not on duty time or on Agency equipment. Adam moved to adjourn; Tony seconded. Motion passed. The meeting ended at 6:25pm. Minutes written and submitted by Laura Novakoski. |
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