FIRESTORM 2003

On Sunday Morning October 26, 2003 I woke up to the smell of smoke. I looked outside to see if there was any evidence of a fire nearby. The Sky was brown and ahs was falling from the sky like a light snow. I checked for any news alerts as to how close the fire was. I was more than a little nervous as I ,like so many others in San Diego like in an area surrounded by natural open space.

I contacted a few of the neighbors to have a fire suppression team ready. Most were confident that they would not be needed until hot birds nest ash began falling.  By  2 PM  the adjacent canyon was on fire. We were fortunate that The Bonita Fire Department and San Miguel Fire were able to contain and control this small fire.    By 2:30 PM I able to return to get the horrific news of what had been happening around the county. I learned that a civil emergency had been declared for all of San Diego County. Everyone was asked to conserve water, electricity and stay off the roads. This alert had been delivered via Weatherbug. I soon watched the Mayor of San Diego on the news and had this information verified via the news conference. I was checking on as many of our coworkers as possible when I received a telephone call from Commissioners Representative Gloria Orozco.  A Specific Question was raised as to whether the agency would follow the direction of the Mayor and to my  surprise the response response was yes. With that in mind the web page was updated to reflect this information as was the hotline.

When I was contacted by my GM, Somehow it was now, “Liberal Leave”. In other words no real changes in the current leave policy.

Smoke Covers San Diego

            The Phone Tree had some degree of success, but many employees were not able to be contacted due to the service interruptions of phone service. We were lucky but we can due better. NTEU believes that once the civil emergency was declared at 11:20 AM on Sunday October 26, 2003 the rules CHANGED. Were employees not to follow direction of local authority, and get in the way of emergency equipment?  If an employee had been working at home and calling taxpayer as all is normal, how would we look on 60 minutes?

All of that being said, NTEU believed that consistent with the actions of The Department of Homeland Security and virtually every other Federal Agency in San Diego. No leave should have been charged to employees. A  Mass Grievance has been filed on this issue.

September 11 Leave Grievance moves forward.

September 11, 2001 the agency officially closed at 6:58 Pacific Daylight Time. Despite this some managers were insistent that you should be charged leave until the official word was received from the Senior Leadership team who were being shuttled off into safety form the Washington D.C. Area. Some official notices to evacuate and send employees home arrived via email some two weeks later. On September 27, 2001 a mass grievance was filed.  Management claimed to have “lost” that one so another copy was provided to Senior Labor Relations Specialist Sally Ruhnau. NTEU was advised that local management officials were compiling the information. Sally Ruhau stated that the TM assigned was Gloria Orozco. Ms Orozco stated that she was not the TM responsible and then Sally Ruhnau transferred to the Bureau of Reclamation in Las Vegas.  Following Up as to where the process was and when the employees were going to get the leave and or money. SURPRISE, management can not find the file. On November 13, 2003 copy three was hand delivered to the new Chief Labor Relations, Ed Paquin. If the matter is not resolved by the end of November NTEU will proceed to Arbitration. 

Now if an employee lost critical case information I am sure that TIGTA would be knocking at their door. Think that going to happen? 

Oh well, guess I could go work for the Postal Service.

Registering to Vote for the March Election

To ensure receipt of sample ballot materials for the March Primary Election, applicants are encouraged to register to vote by January 26, 2004. The Chapter has Voter Registration Materials so stop by and Register or Visit the ROV Website at’   http://www.sdvote.com/index.html  

 Chapter 92 Convention 2005

The 50^th NTEU National Convention will be hosted by NTEU Chapter 92 in August of 2005,. If you are interested in assisting other NTEU Members and their families in enjoying our fine city, please contact the NTEU Chapter office.

Wanted, your email address

In these rapidly changing times getting fast accurate information is essential. The fastest way to convey that information is the telepathic transmission. The problem is that not everyone has honed those skills as of this date. As a reasonable alternative, we would ask for a home email address so that critical information can be quickly transmitted. Yes we already have your work email, but some information can not be transmitted on government computers. We would like to ensure that we have current address information for each member. If you have not received a NTEU Bulletin or other correspondence recently, you may want to contact the NTEU Chapter 92 Office.

If you would like to receive the Chapter 92 Newsletter, Newsline 92, via the web then send an email from your home email address to

:mediarelations@nteu92.org.

 You will be added to our email list and save the Chapter some postage.

With an estimated 5.2 Million contractors doing the work of the government, it is easy to seem like all is lost. Or it is not important until your job is lost to the contractor who gave freely to his PAC.

Currently The IRS has announced RIF’s  in the area of MITS, Mailrooms and Area Distribution Centers.  Been wondering why that mail in Laguna is being misrouted?

What is TEPAC? This is the Treasury Employees Political Action Committee. It is a way to collectively support those who support you as a Federal employee. This is done without regard to political party. If they support Federal Employees, TEPAC supports them, plain and simple.

Want more information? Remember it must go to your home in accordance with the Hatch Act and various other regulations. Provide NTEU with a home email address and phone number and we will get the information to you.