Congressional Research Employees Association

Everybody Wins! Reading Mentors

admin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:31:06 +0000

Would you be interested in becoming a “Reading Mentor” for one hour, one day a week? CREA and the Library of Congress Professional Association (LCPA) are launching a new initiative to place LC volunteers in a nearby school for lunchtime reading. We are working with the non-profit organization Everybody Wins!, who sponsor a Power Lunch program that pairs students with Reading Mentors. The Reading Mentors read with students in first through fifth grades during their lunch times once a week. The program is “based on the belief that the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.”

The program would begin in late September or early October and run throughout the school year with expectations of regular attendance once a week. Participants will need to use personal leave or flex time; no official time will be granted by the Library. The reading sessions generally last about an hour and travel time to and from the school can take up to half an hour.

We are currently trying to get a sense of how many of you would be interested in participating. Please e-mail CREA if you would like to volunteer or if you have questions. We will have an informational session in late June or July with Everybody Wins! staff to get additional details.

CREA Statement on Outside Writing

mals — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:43:20 +0000

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CREA has a position statement on outside writing, revised in January 2010. Please see CREA on Outside Writing. Also feel free to consult your CREA representative with questions.

CRS Proposed Reorganization Announced; CREA Requests your Input

jack — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:51:28 +0000

Last week, CRS management announced a proposed reorganization of several offices.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the proposed reorganization, please contact CREA. CRS management is obliged to negotiate with CREA appropriate arrangements for those bargaining unit members who may be adversely affected by the reorganization.

CREA will be scheduling meetings with those bargaining unit employees most immediately affected to discuss their concerns and quesitons.

Telework Begins at CRS

jack — Tue, 18 May 2010 22:08:31 +0000

Lists of First and Second Round of Teleworkers Available
On Tuesday, May 18, the CRS Office of Workforce Management and Development (WRK) forwarded to the Office of Information Management and Technology (IMT) the names of the first cohort of CRS employees that have been approved for telework. You can see your order in the queue by looking at the First Telework Cohort List. If you applied after May 3, and were approved, you can check your order in the Second Telework Round List.

Laptop Configuration to Begin
There are 148 employees in the first cohort. IMT hopes to complete 50 laptops per week. However, the process is the same as if you were receiving a new desktop computer. Files must be transferred from your desktop to the laptop, etc. Depending on each employee’s situation, the process may take several hours.

How the Queue Was Determined
Per agreement between CREA and CRS management, all CRS employees eligible for telework (i.e. all non-supervisory employees), whether interested in telework or not, have been assigned a random number. That number was generated by IMT using a standard random number generating algorithm. All those employees who submitted their telework application on or before May 3 (the first official date for submitting applications), and who were subsequently approved, form the first cohort. The order in which they will be contacted by IMT was based on their random number, starting with the employee with the lowest number and proceeding upward.

Second Round
Those employees who submitted their application on May 4, and were subsequently approved for telework, form a second cohort. They will be contacted by IMT after the last employee of the first cohort receives his/her laptop. Again, the order within the second cohort is determined by the employee’s random number.

Future Rounds
Which cohort an employee is in is determined by the date they applied. Their order within the cohort is determined by their random number. Additional cohorts will be forwarded from WRK to IMT until the number of applicants are reduced to a level which IMT can handle on a routine basis.

Questions?
If you have any questions about the process of applying for telework, getting approved, receiving a laptop, and starting your telework experience, please contact CREA.

Implementing Telework: Q and A

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 20:26:18 +0000

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CREA and CRS management met last week to discuss telework implementation issues that employees have brought to CREA’s attention since the announcement of the CRS Telework Progam. The Questions and Answers below reflect the consensus reached by CREA and CRS management on those issues.

Q. Why do employees who are already approved to work from home [based on the health and/or ad hoc off-site work provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement], have a CRS issued laptop, and have been approved to telework, need to participate in the allocation of laptops pool before beginning to telework?

A. The laptops currently in circulation are unlikely to have the latest configuration that the Information Management and Technology Office (IMT) has determined is necessary for effective and secure off-site work. Therefore, according to IMT, all previously distributed laptops must be examined and their configuration updated as needed before they can be used for telework on a regular basis. Therefore, those employees already with laptops who have been approved to telework still must wait their turn with IMT. However, whatever off-site work arrangement an employee is currently working under may continue.

Q. Must an employee be able to get to the office in two hours or less in order to be accepted into the telework program?

A. No. The Agreement states that: “Normally, an employee will be given a minimum of two hours notification [if required by management to return to the office in order to accomplish the work].” Employees who live more than two hours away should be given more notification; e.g., three hours if it will take them more than two hours to return to the building.

Q. Are probationary employees excluded from the telework program?

A. No. Per the terms of the Agreement “all” employees are eligible. Reasonableness must be applied. It may not be appropriate for an employee to telework immediately upon joining CRS. Training requirements and time needed to demonstrate the ability to work independently may keep a probationary period employee from the program initially. Once those matters have been dealt with, any employee may be permitted to telework.

Q. May an employee have a different fixed telework day each week of the pay period?

A. No, the same day must be taken each week.

Q. If an employee needs to submit documentation for repayment of long distance telephone calls, what documentation is required?

A. The employee must submit a copy of the telephone bill showing the calls for which the employee seeks reimbursement. All other information may be redacted for privacy concerns.

As implementation moves forward, employees are encouraged to bring to CREA’s attention any issues or questions that may arise. You may contact CREA directly by email or phone, or through your division/office representatives.