Introduction - Chapter 1 

NFFE Local 1998 Steward Manual

Welcome to the official Union Steward Manual for NFFE Local 1998.  This guide seeks to provide information and self-study training to the Union officers who are charged with representing the needs and the views of the employees of Passport Services. 

This manual is designed to be used both in a printed version as well as online.  The online manual can be found at our Union website: http://nffe1998.org/ under the category “Steward Resources”.  There will be a “printer-friendly” version link in each chapter – print that version and use 19 numbered tabs to create your own printed manual.  Each page contains the edition/version date.  To make sure that you have the latest version, check what is printed in your book against the website.  The website will always include the latest version. 

The goal of this manual is to provide “one-stop shopping” where a Union Steward can go to access most of what he/she needs to do the job.  It is not a definitive resource.  More information can be found at the Union’s website, and Chapter 2 contains information on what is available there and how to use the website.  This Manual constitutes a self-study guide, and Chapter 8 has information on sources of other training.  Chapter 14 provides guidance on how to handle complaints, which springboards into specific avenues in the following chapters (Grievances in Chapter 15, Unfair Labor Practice charges in Chapter 16, etc.).  Chapters 5 and 6 contain internal Union business information.  Chapters 3 and 7 have contact information for other Union officers.  A Glossary of terms makes up Chapter 18.  

Union representatives may use their official time to read this guide - with the exception of Chapters 5 and 6, and a small part of Chapter 3, which contain "internal union business" and must be read on personal/non-work time.  

Table of Contents

Local 1998 and NFFE National officers outside of the old NFFE Building in 2006.  

  1. Introduction

  2. Website Info

  3. Officer Duties

  4. Orientation 

  5. Membership 

  6. Bylaws & Elections

  7. Union Contacts

  8. Training

  9. Representational Issues

  10. Legal Authorities

  11. Contract Issues

  12. UMC Meetings

  13. Negotiations 

  14. Complaints

  15. Grievances

  16. ULP’s

  17. Other Actions

  18. Glossary

  19. Miscellaneous

Who Are We?

NFFE Local 1998 is the Union that represents the approximately 1,400 bargaining unit members of Passport Services.  We are the “exclusive representative” of the employees, which means that we are the only labor union that can speak on behalf of the employees.  
The new NFFE seal. 

We are limited to only representing members of the bargaining unit – employees such as Passport Specialists, Contact Representatives, and Processors – and cannot represent Management officials or confidential employees, such as a Regional Director’s secretary.  We represent the employees in every office that is part of Passport Services, including PPT/TO (formerly Information Management & Liaison) and the Special Issuance Agency in Washington, DC, as well as the Passport Agencies and Centers in: Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Charleston, SC; Connecticut; Honolulu, HI; Houston, TX; Aurora, CO; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; New Orleans, LA; Miami, FL; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Portsmouth, HN; and Washington, DC (and in 2009 expanding to Detroit, MI; Minneapolis, MN; Dallas, TX; and Tucson, AZ).  
The IAM seal.

“NFFE” stands for the National Federation of Federal Employees, and is often referred to as “NFFE National” to avoid confusion between our local and the national organization.  NFFE is the umbrella union of which we are a part.  NFFE was established in 1917 and it was the first union created solely to represent the needs and the views of federal employees.  NFFE also represents numerous other locals, including locals with employees in the Veteran’s Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Defense, the Forest Service, and the General Services Administration, among others.  NFFE’s mottoes are “all for one, one for all” and “We Work For America – Every Day.” 

The old NFFE seal.

In 1999, NFFE voted to affiliate with the IAMAW, which stands for the “International Association of Machinists and AerospaceWorkers”.  The IAMAW has various districts, but NFFE remains its own district within the IAMAW - NFFE is "Federal District 1" or "FD1".  The IAMAW is often referred to as simply “the IAM”, and its members are sometimes referred to as “Machinists”.  Obviously, as the name implies, the IAMAW represent more than just federal employees.  Both private sector and public sector employees from a wide variety of industries are represented by the IAMAW, including employees at Harley-Davidson and Boeing. 

Oftentimes we refer to ourselves as simply “Local 1998”, though our full name is "IAMAW FD1 NFFE Federal Local 1998".  Because there is an "IAMAW Local 1998" that represents private sector employees in Hawaii, to avoid confusion it can be helpful to refer to our union as "Federal Local 1998" or "FL 1998" - especially when interacting with any IAMAW officials or staff.   

 

Bylaws

The inner workings, or internal union business, of NFFE Local 1998 are governed by its Bylaws.  These bylaws must conform to the rules established within NFFE National’s bylaws and the IAMAW’s Constitution.  The bylaws establish who are the Union’s officers, how long are the terms of office, what is the rate of dues payment, and many other issues.  The NFFE Local 1998 Bylaws are included in Chapter 6.  The NFFE National Bylaws, the IAMAW Constitution, and the most current edition of the Local 1998 Bylaws can be found on the Union website at: http://nffe1998.org/bylaws.htm

Contract

The current collective bargaining agreement, effective July 3, 2001. 

The contract, or “collective bargaining agreement”, is negotiated by NFFE Local 1998 and the Management of Passport Services.  The contract is sometimes referred to as the “CBA” or simply as “the Agreement”.  When dealing with Passport Services’ Management, NFFE Local 1998 is often referred to as just “the Union”.  The contract includes articles governing the rights and responsibilities of employees, the use of official time by union representatives to deal with employees’ issues, and also promotions, evaluations, awards, leave, work schedules, and many other issues.  Violations of the contract can be grieved by employees or the Union through the negotiated grievance procedure.  Only the Union can invoke binding arbitration in matters where the grievance procedure failed to settle an issue.

The current contract went into effect on July 3, 2001.  It is required to be provided to each bargaining unit employee and is also available on the Passport Services Intranet as well as the NFFE Local 1998 website at this address: http://nffe1998.org/contract.htm

History

NFFE Local 1998 celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2006.  

NFFE Local 1998 came into official existence on October 19, 1981 when it was recognized as the exclusive representative of Passport Services’ bargaining unit employees by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) in Case No. 3-RO-98.  NFFE Local 1998 was again certified as the exclusive Union representative for the bargaining unit employees on September 10, 1985 (FLRA Case No. 3-UC-50003).  Management made an attempt to decertify NFFE Local 1998 as the exclusive representative in the early 1990’s.  Management’s argument to the FLRA was that because the Union had not prosecuted many grievances, invoked arbitration, or responded to Management initiatives, it had it had not done its job as a Union.  Local 1998 prevailed, and continues to represent the employees of Passport Services to this day.

The Union negotiated four collective bargaining agreements with Management – effective on: June 8, 1983; June 4, 1986; September 23, 1991; and July 3, 2001.  The most recent contract saw the expansion of alternate work schedules, a more defined awards program, improvements in the career ladder promotion requirements, and the inclusion of partnerships as a more friendly and informal mechanism for labor-management bargaining.  The current contract was amended in February 2005.  

NFFE Local 1998 has taken many actions to benefit the bargaining unit employees of passport services.  For example, in April 2004 the Union filed a grievance challenging the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) status of bargaining unit employees and won - as a result, employees received $306,401.09 in back pay.  Even more of a benefit is the change in status to being covered by the FLSA, so that employees at the GS-11 or GS-9, Step 5 and higher levels now earn true time-and-one-half for overtime work (rather than being capped at the GS-10, Step 1 OT rate).  

For more information on the history of NFFE Local 1998, check out the webpage dedicated to this subject at: http://nffe1998.org/history.htm

Updated 3-14-2009