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Fedblog
New Collective Bargaining Pact at VA
- By Kellie Lunney
- March 29, 2011
- Comments
The largest federal employee union and the Veterans Affairs Department signed a new collective bargaining agreement that expands training and telework opportunities for VA workers.
The American Federation of Government Employees on Monday announced the pact, which covers more than 200,000 workers at the department. The agreement replaces the previous contract signed in 1997.
"This master agreement is on the cutting edge of technology and incorporates wellness, telework, partnership and many other initiatives designed to make the Department of Veterans Affairs an employer of choice," said Alma Lee, president of AFGE's National VA Council.
The contract also adds protections to health care employees exposed to hazards on-the-job while treating veterans and clarifies worker rights and protections under Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Kellie Lunney covers federal pay and benefits issues, the budget process and financial management. After starting her career in journalism at Government Executive in 2000, she returned in 2008 after four years at sister publication National Journal writing profiles of influential Washingtonians. In 2006, she received a fellowship at the Ohio State University through the Kiplinger Public Affairs in Journalism program, where she worked on a project that looked at rebuilding affordable housing in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. She has appeared on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, NPR and Feature Story News, where she participated in a weekly radio roundtable on the 2008 presidential campaign. In the late 1990s, she worked at the Housing and Urban Development Department as a career employee. She is a graduate of Colgate University.
