Can you explain what changes in official time allocations and use of official time are in the new contract? Each leadership team, after confirming its understanding of the changes in the contract, should sit down with the local union officials and discuss how the changes will be implemented locally. Local allocations of official time which exceed the new allotment of official time for AFGE Locals will remain in effect. Union representatives will be on official time while performing all representational duties including “pre-decisional involvement” at the local facility. Time which in the past has been used “as needed” by the stewards should be included in the calculation of official time and should be counted when reporting official time. Union representative participation in committees, training, joint labor-management forums, quality programs and other activities as provided in the contract shall be considered official time not duty time. The Master Agreement provides for specific language to clarify when official time will not be counted against any allocated official time as described in the agreement. 6a. How will the Union receive a change in official time under Section 10 of Article 48? Determining a Change: Determine the current official time allocation; Determine the amount of bargaining unit employees represented by the local union on March 15, 2011; Use the formula in section 10A – is it more or less than the current allocation?; If you do the calculation and determine that the current local allocation of official time (via written local agreement or past practice) is greater than the formula in Article 48, above the Master Agreement, then the current amount continues and no increase is given. (Refer to Section 10(C.)(1.)); If the current local allocation is below the 4.25 calculation, the local union should get the increase no later than May 14, 2011 (60 days after the Master Agreement became effective based on the number of bargaining unit employees onboard on March 15, 2011). When this occurs, local management and the local union have an opportunity to discuss/negotiate local implementation concerns. Some issues that may be discussed include: when the allocated time will be taken; which representatives will receive time and the amount of time; procedures for informing management of changes in representatives; and, so on. If the union is proposing more time than mandated by the contract, seek guidance from LMR. If the parties are engaged in negotiation of official time issues and have not reached agreement by May 14, 2011, any increase in official time resulting from the application of the
When can we get training and guidance? VACO LMR and the VA / AFGE National Training Committee have developed a joint Labor/ Management training on the new Master Agreement. Training will begin in May. The first tier of training will be to train trainers for both union and management. The second tier will be to deploy these union/management training teams to conduct training for additional facilities. It is expected that the first tier will be completed by June 2011 and the second tier by the end of the fiscal year. Additional details about training dates will be sent out soon. In addition, the Department will develop a Managers’ Guide to the master agreement. Although this tool will be created to assist VA managers and supervisors, it will be consistent with the information the parties develop in joint training. The master agreement and related information is available on the LMR website at