Congressional Research Employees Association

On January 19, 2010, the Director announced a telework program for non-bargaining-unit, non-supervisory staff. These are employees not covered by CREA’s contract.

This program is the same as the program proposed to CREA in October. Then and now, CREA considers the program more restrictive than necessary. Our bargaining team is still negotiating to develop a better program (for details, see telework update of December 12 at http://creaunion.org/2009/12/14/telework-negotiation-update-crea-in-mediation-with-crs-management/).

Among the changes we are working to include are the following.

1. The ability to grieve inappropriate denials of telework.
2. The ability to participate in telework while on a compflex schedule.
3. The ability to request a substitute telework day if required to report to the Library on your regularly scheduled telework day
4. When appropriate, the ability to telework up to two days per week.
5. The assurance that the Director cannot make any changes to the program without negotiating them.

None of these are included in the program announced by the Director for non-bargaining-unit employees.

While progress has been made in negotiating, certain important issues remain; CREA and CRS met with a mediator during December and January. Three more sessions have been scheduled in early February. If we cannot resolve our differences, the mediator will declare impasse and the matter will be forwarded to the Federal Service Impasses Panel for a final determination.

The negotiating team and CREA’s Board of Governors remain committed to resolving the outstanding differences quickly and providing CRS bargaining unit members with a model telework program.

 
All CREA members are invited to apply for the new CREA Scholarship and Loan Repayment Grant Program.

Deadline: Friday, January 29, 2010

If you have outstanding student loans, or wish to pursue career-related education, please consider applying for support from the CREA Scholarship and Loan Repayment Grant Program. Guidelines and applications are available at the links below.

Guidelines for Eligibility
Scholarship Application Form
Loan Grant Application Form

To apply, please print the appropriate application, complete and sign it, and bring it to the CREA office in LM 412 by COB Friday, January 29.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call or e-mail a member of the Scholarship and Loan Repayment Grant Committee.

D. Andrew Austin, 7-6552
Carol Hardy-Vincent, 7-8651
Vastine Platte, 7-7975
Mallary Stouffer, 7-8767
Sibyl Tilson, 7-7368

 
In light of the recent removal of Morris Davis as Assistant Director of FDT, CREA has reissued and revised its position statement on outside writing. Please see CREA on Outside Writing.

CREA and CRS management are negotiating a congressionally mandated telework policy. In its FY2010 CRS appropriation, the House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Legislative Branch included language instructing the Director to “adopt and implement…a telework program modeled on the Library’s existing system.” The Subcommittee expected that CRS should have its new telework policy in effect no later than January 1, 2010.

On October 14, 2009, approximately four months after the bill was reported, CRS management presented its initial proposal to CREA. After negotiating over a 15-day period, including three exchanges of proposals and counterproposals, CREA and CRS management called in a federal mediator. CREA and CRS met with the mediator on December 9 and 10. Additional meetings are scheduled for December 16, 17, and 18. If the mediator determines that the two sides have reached an impasse, the matter will be forwarded to the Federal Service Impasses Panel.

A number of important differences are evident at this point in negotiations; these include the following.

1. CRS has proposed that an employee may request to work from home on a regular basis up to 1 day each week in a pay period. That day would be fixed. An employee may not request a different day, if  the employee is asked, or the employee decides, to come to the Library for work-related reasons on his/her regularly scheduled telework day .

CREA is seeking a more flexible program. CREA has proposed that employees be permitted to request a change in their scheduled telework day for work-related reasons. CREA also has proposed an additional option that would allow employees to occasionally request to work from home when appropriate for such reasons as weather or when a doctor’s appointment makes commuting back and forth to the Library impractical. CREA also favors the possibility for staff in certain jobs to telework up to 2 days each week in a pay period. 

2. The CRS proposal does not allow an employee to telework and participate in compflex.  CREA proposes employees on compflex be allowed to telework.

3. The CRS proposal does not allow an employee to grieve a decision that denies, suspends, or terminates a telework arrangement. CREA proposes that such decisions be grievable.

The purpose of the current mediation is to try to get the parties to move closer together and avoid the step of calling in the Federal Service Impasse Panel.

CREA is committed to resolving these issues in mediation, in time to meet the Subcommittee’s deadline. It is also committed to bargaining for a flexible program that maximizes service to Congress while helping balance home-life demands.

CREA is also committed to ensuring that future changes to the conditions and policies governing telework be negotiated.

CREA will keep the bargaining unit informed about telework negotiation with postings on this website. Please feel free to send comments to the CREA office through the website or via e-mail (crea@crs.loc.gov).