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| AFSA FAS Vice President Update: June 2006 |
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Pay for Performance for FS:Revised pay for performance legislation for the Foreign Service will likely be introduced in July with potential action
before the August recess. The legislation was revised to address AFSA concerns regarding the “sole and exclusive” authority given to the Secretary of
State and the ability of AFSA to negotiate implementation.
Pay for performance is a significant change in the way FSOs are compensated. Under pay for performance, FO-1s and below will lose their automatic step increases. Instead all pay increases (except COLAs) will be tied exclusively to individual performance and will be determined by the selection boards. In return for pay for performance, overseas comparability pay will be phased in over time. If all goes as expected, FO-1s and below serving abroad will receive comparability pay in the form of approximately a 9% pay increase during the second half of fiscal year 2007 and the full amount, approximately 18%, as of April 2008. The specifics of how pay for performance will be implemented still need to be negotiated. Based on our experience with the SFS pay-for-performance system, a primary FAS AFSA objective will be to minimize the "all or nothing" aspect of the system. We are also advocating a number of improvements to our performance management system including specific changes to Article 25 of our contract, training for selection boards, a more formalized feedback mechanism from selection boards to employees, and a career development and leadership program for FSOs. These improvements should result in more precision in differentiating performance, meaningful rewards for strong leadership and management and employee confidence in the system. Pay for Performance for CS: Pay for performance for the Civil Service is hung up in the court system and is not expected to be implemented in the near future. Status of AFSA?s Request for Changes to our Collective Bargaining Agreement: AFSA has been meeting with FAA over the course of the past year regarding changes to Article 25 of our contract (performance management/selection boards). We focused on Article 25 for three primary reasons: • Our human capital survey reflected a lack of FSO confidence in ourThe specific Article 25 changes we are advocating are summarized in the attached email and in a recent FAS AFSA VP article in the Foreign Service Journal (332KB-pdf). The next step is for the Administrator to approve these changes. With his approval, these changes will be implemented in the 2007 rating cycle. AFSA Reception at the Global Attaché Conference: AFSA is hosting a reception for all FSOs on Tuesday, July 18 at 6:00 p.m. The reception will be held at the conference hotel, the Doubletree, in the Windows over Washington Room. The address is 300 Army-Navy Drive in Pentagon City. There is a shuttle bus between the hotel and the Crystal City Metro. It is also a ten-minute walk from the Pentagon City Metro. Members and non-members are welcome. The first 100 to arrive will receive a free drink coupon. Come join us to socialize with your colleagues and to learn more about FAS AFSA. Security Breech: As reported in Notes to the Field, there was a breech of employee data in USDA. Over the June 3 weekend, USDA cyber security staffers monitoring our systems detected some suspicious activity involving an Office of Operations workstation and two servers containing employee personal data. The unauthorized intrusion occurred on USDA information systems used to maintain and issue identification cards for Washington, D.C., employees, contractors, and retirees. The examiners verified that the systems had been accessed but could not confirm or deny whether the database had been viewed or downloaded. Until a final determination can be made, USDA is taking every precaution to safeguard its data systems and inform potentially impacted employees of this event. The security breech affects anyone with a USDA badge issued in Washington, so many overseas FSO's could be impacted. Please see attached memo. Still Looking for Next FAS AFSA VP: I have enjoyed working with FAS management, my colleagues and the AFSA team over the past two years. However, it is time to move on. If you are interested in the AFSA VP position, contact me or Robert Curtis. You would have the option of serving for one year and both your TIC and TIS would be extended. Returning to FAS/W this summer? If so, you should be aware of the basic rule that, in order to receive locality pay, you have to be actually occupying a position in the locality pay area. If at all possible, "check in" for your Washington assignment before going on home leave so that you will receive locality pay. Should FAS Classify Positions as either FS or CS? FAS AFSA recently learned that the FS Act requires foreign affairs agencies to designate and classify positions in Washington and overseas as FS positions. The specific language is as follows: “Sec. 3981. The Secretary shall designate and classify positions in the Department and at Foreign Service posts, which are to be occupied by members of the Service (other than by chiefs of mission and ambassadors at large). Positions designated under this section are excepted from the competitive service. Position classifications under this section shall be established, without regard to chapter 51 of title 5, in relation to the salaries established under subchapter IV of this chapter.” To our knowledge, FAS is the only foreign affairs agency that has not designated Washington-based positions as either FS or CS. Classifying positions has advantages and disadvantages. While it would minimize management flexibility, it has significant implications regarding the Washington Placement Plan. We would appreciate hearing your views on this subject. Interested in Becoming an AFSA Member? Email nishi@afsa.org to obtain a payroll deduction form (SF1187). Fax the form to 202-338-6829 or mail it to 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037. Laura Scandurra FAS AFSA VP 14th and Independence Ave, S.W. Washington D.C. 20250 tel: 202-720-3650 fax: 202-720-1139 email: Laura.Scandurra@usda.gov website: http://www.afsa.org/fas/index.cfm |
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| Copyright © 2002 AFSA, American Foreign Service Association, 2101 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037 1-800-704-AFSA (within the US) or 202-338-4045 Fax: 202-338-6820 email: member@afsa.org |