Thanks to all who participated in our recent election! To learn more about the members of our new Executive Board and Steward Team, visit the Our Team page on the website.
President: Genevieve Locksley                                       Vice President: Mike Black​
Secretary: Ashley Acosta-Fox                                         Treasurer: Joshua Castro
Events Coordinator: Josephine McGugan                     Membership Coordinator: Sakeena Ali
Chief Steward: Mathew Crichton

To encourage Bargaining Unit Members to take advantage of the 52 hours of leave available through the Employee Volunteer Program, we hosted 28 members for our first Volunteer Day on 10/19! Volunteers distributed food, transcribed documents for the Smithsonian and Library of Congress, and captioned educational video content.
 
Reminder: Make sure to check your annual leave accrual, because any annual leave in excess of 240 hours will be lost at the end of the year.
 
While we encourage all employees to take the time off that they have earned, if you have excess leave that will be lost, you can show solidarity towards your fellow workers by donating a few hours through the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program.

The Joint Labor Management Committee convened on 10/5 for our quarterly meeting. These meetings provide an opportunity for the union to raise concerns and improve communication with HR and agency leadership. We discussed issues around:

• merit selection,
• whistleblower protection and protected union activities,
• delayed promotions,
• telework and other policies.

We welcome your input for future topics to cover in these quarterly meetings.
Past JLMC meeting notes

​We here at the Union hope you are all enjoying your summer! As Peace Corps enters Phase 2 of Peace Corps Everlasting and begins to prepare for a new normal, one of our top priorities as a Union and as an organization must be to ensure a flexible and fair telework policy for all. So many of us have gone above and beyond with our work during the pandemic – and we simply cannot just go back to the way things were before.
 
Our recent telework survey led to a number of recommendations regarding the future of telework, which we have presented to management – you can review them here (also attached).  
 
We look forward to continuing to represent your voices in this important conversation. If you want to share your views with us, please reach out. 

​Over the past few weeks, the Union has added a number of new stewards to its ranks. Stewards represent and advocate for you as a member of the bargaining unit, and are your first point of contact for any concerns you have regarding your rights or your treatment on the job. The newest stewards are:

• Ryan Haefke
• Ryan Stannard
• Joshua Castro
• Sakeena Ali
• Josephine Pacheco

 
Stay tuned, as in the coming weeks we’ll be assigning stewards to each office to be your personal point of contact. Feel free to reach out to the new stewards or to the rest of the union team with any questions or issues. 

The Union Executive Board meets with the organization’s OHR leadership quarterly to discuss issues relevant to Peace Corps employees. We were joined by Chief of Staff Dave Noble at the last meeting. The minutes from the latest JLMC meeting on 6/29 are here.
 
Topics covered include:

• Telework policy updates & survey results
• Return to office planning
• Notification process for department/office restructuring

​Samantha Reisher, organizer for Council 20 (our DC-area parent union) joined us at our union office hours on 7/8 to discuss ways she and Council 20 can support our efforts to advocate for employees here at Peace Corps. You can review the notes from our conversation here. 

​The Union holds weekly lunch meetings on Tuesdays over Zoom. Want to attend? 

Good afternoon, bargaining-unit employees! We’re coming to you after this afternoon’s quarterly meeting with HR leadership – which we spent advocating for safety and transparency as the organization plans our return to the office, as well as for your right to telework flexibility based on the results of the recent survey so many of you completed.
 
All of us who are involved with the union’s work have full-time jobs here at Peace Corps – we are recruiters, placement officers, IT staff, administrative specialists, and so much more – and our strength as a union is directly tied to the participation of our members. Which is why we want to take this opportunity to invite you to join us in our efforts to ensure that all Peace Corps employees receive fair treatment and to make our voices heard!
 
How can you get involved?

• Volunteer your time and energy by attending our weekly meetings, joining our working groups, and helping plan events.
• Step up and become a dues-paying member, providing support for the advocacy and organization work done by our regional council and AFSCME international (our parent union), as well as funding the activities of our local union here at Peace Corps.
• Become a union steward to represent and advocate for your fellow Peace Corps employees.*
• Serve in a union executive board role after elections this September.*

*Dues-paying status is required to serve in union positions per the union constitution
 
Want to learn more, or have questions we can answer?

• Feel free to drop into our weekly Zoom office hours each Thursday at 12:00pm ET to talk with active union members (calendar invite attached).
• Or come attend our weekly meetings on Zoom each Tuesday at 12:00pm ET – new agenda items are always welcome (calendar invite attached)!
• Are you ready to jump in? Or would you prefer to email us your questions? Reach out to our inbox here. 

Hi all! We wanted to build on the message Employee-Labor Relations helpfully emailed to us all on 4/1, and remind everyone that you have a right to have union representation at any interview or meeting that you believe could lead to disciplinary action against you.
 
You can always reach out to the Union and we will have a steward get in touch with you as soon as possible.
 
We’ve included a useful Weingarten reference here – feel free to save or print it out!

The Union Executive Board meets with the organization’s OHR leadership quarterly to discuss issues relevant to Peace Corps employees. The minutes from the latest JLMC meeting on 4/12 are here.
 
Topics covered include:

• Telework policy updates
• Domestic deployment of PCVs, and the participation of Peace Corps staff
• Facilitated discussions and letters of counseling for resolving worker-manager issues

​Join the Union for an informal lunch event in honor of May Day and in celebration of the 8 hour workday. We will take a guided tour through the history and current practice of Unions and Labor Laws in the US and some of our Peace Corps Countries.
Save the date: April 30 from 12-1pm Eastern Time. Invitation to follow.

​The Union holds weekly lunch meetings on Tuesdays over Zoom. Want to attend? 

As we pass the one-year mark since the global evacuation of Peace Corps Volunteers, we also keep in mind all of the amazing work Peace Corps employees have been doing from their homes during this time.
 
Recently, we were able to support the placement team in ensuring they had the technology resources they need to do their jobs from home. The Union raised employee concerns with management, and as a result all placement team members will be receiving organization-provided cell phones to facilitate their work.
 
If we might be able to help advocate for you or your colleagues, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at union@peacecorps.gov. 

As noted in HR’s March 2021 email sent out on 3/11, you are eligible to request administrative leave to get vaccinated during working hours:
Peace Corps U.S. Direct Hire employees can use up to four hours of administrative leave per dose – for a total of eight hours of administrative leave for two Covid-19 vaccinations. 
Note that advance approval is required. You should reach out to HR or your supervisor with any specific questions you might have.

The Union holds weekly lunch meetings on Tuesdays over Zoom. Want to attend?