Federal Daily - November 13, 2009

Unions Offer Help to Bolster Lagging Telework Numbers

The Obama administration may have embraced the concept of telework, but that willingness is not translating into more feds teleworking, unions say.

So this week, about a half dozen unions offered Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry a hand in developing policies that would help ratchet up the numbers of teleworking feds.

The coalition of seven unions—including the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, the National Association of Government Employees and the National Federation of Federal Employees—sent Berry a letter requesting a seat at the table as agencies work to develop federal telework policies and expand telework options.

As part of his telework initiative, Berry earlier this year announced the creation of an advisory group of key telework program managers who would help formulate standards for agency policies and programs.

The unions say they need a role in that process.

“Creating and implementing a successful telework program would obviously require the involvement of the unions representing federal workers,” the letter said. “We can provide unique insights into identifying employees that are best suited for telework.”

The Nov. 10 letter also offered a short list of initial suggestions to get the ball rolling. The unions said a successful telework policy should:

• Inform feds and their unions of available teleworking options.
  
• Provide resources to train managers on telework policies and enlist employee input.
  
• Train eligible employees to ensure teleworking productivity and success.
  
• Ensure that IT procurement policies dovetail with the goal of increasing telework.
  
• Review successful teleworking programs annually so those programs can be replicated.

“We are hopeful that given your support for telework we can finally put in place a working telework program,” the unions told Berry. “Our labor organizations would like to work with you to ensure that your efforts of providing meaningful telework opportunities to federal workers are a success.”

See the letter click here, or go to http://www2.opm.gov/News_Events/congress/
testimony/111thCongress/05_14_2009.asp.

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DHS Unveils New Veterans Hiring Web Site

The Department of Homeland Security is looking for a few good former servicemen and women—and has launched a new Web site to serve as a one-stop location for vets to learn about DHS hiring opportunities.

The new Web site, www.dhs.gov/veterans, was launched Nov. 10 in the wake of President Obama’s executive order requiring all federal agencies to emphasize recruiting and training opportunities for vets.

The new site is also the latest step in the agency’s program to reach out to veterans and vet-owned businesses, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said. DHS has pledged to grow its veteran workforce to more than 50,000 employees department-wide by 2012. The DHS civilian workforce currently includes about 47,000 vets, or about 25 percent of all DHS employees—including Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute.

The site also features DHS procurement opportunities for veteran and service-disabled veteran business owners, and information about DHS policies.

Napolitano recently met with leaders of several veterans service organizations to discuss its ongoing collaboration with veterans, and the agency recently established a Veterans Outreach Steering Committee— a group of DHS staffers who will advise Napolitano on efforts to improve and integrate veteran outreach.

To see more, go to: www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1257889987186.shtm.

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