Federal Employees:

Unfortunately government workers at all levels have become a convenient scapegoat for the budget ills facing our nation

Much like government workers in States like New Jersey and Wisconsin, federal workers at the national level are also under attack. In just the first couple of weeks of the 112th Congress multiple bills have been introduced aimed directly at federal government workers, including the so-called Spending Reduction Act of 2011 (HR 408, S 178).
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Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) Funding:

The FLRA was voted the worst place to work among smaller agencies in the federal government three years in a row, most recently in 2009

This is no surprise given the steep budget cuts they endured, when the Authority’s funding was slashed from $29.6 million in Fiscal Year 2004 (FY04) to $22.6 million in FY09. Those cuts led to a staff reduction of 184 to 114 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs), and a backlog of cases that looked insurmountable.
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Immigration:

Some lawmakers in the 112th Congress may still be considering an increase to the number of high-tech guest worker visas through the H-1B and L-1 visa programs

IFPTE remains opposed to any expansion, citing the displacement of workers here in the United States and the inherent unfairness of the program toward visa recipients. There is also a new effort aimed at displacing American high-tech workers quickly emerging.
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Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) F136 Alternate Engine:

IFPTE urges Congress to maintain funding for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) F136 alternative engine program

The GE/Rolls-Royce (GE/RR) F-136 engine is on schedule and on budget, has been approved as a part of the House passed FY11 Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 5136), and appears to have a healthy majority of support among Congressional lawmakers. To add icing to the cake, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GOA) estimates that the GE/RR F136 competitive engine could pay for itself by producing a 9 to 11% savings, which amounts to approximately $21 billion.
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Labor Law Reform:

While there has yet to be labor law reform legislation introduced in the current 112th Congress, The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), H.R. 1409 and S. 560, was highly popular during the 111th Congress

Both of these bills garnered significant support in the last session of Congress, with H.R. 1409 boasting 231 House cosponsors and S. 560 having 40 Senate supporters.
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TVA Unions Need Collective Bargaining Rights

While there are unions at the TVA with historically long representational and jurisdictional status, including the Engineering Association (EA), IFPTE Local 1937, which represents 2,600 TVA professional employees, the ability of TVA workers to collectively bargain is solely dependent on the decisions of management. This is unique and otherwise unheard of within U.S. labor laws, and only applies to TVA employees.
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA):

President Obama put forth a new progressive path for NASA

In February, 2010 President Obama put forth a new progressive path for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), reemphasizing its world leadership role in aerospace Research and Development as the basis for enabling ambitious future human space exploration beyond Low-Earth Orbit (LEO). Despite the controversy it created, including false accusations that the President was cancelling Constellation, and the many twists and turns that have occurred on Capitol Hill, IFPTE continues to support the Obama Administration’s vision for NASA.
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National Budget:

National Budget Should Preserve Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid

Unfortunately a Budget bill authored by House Budget Chairman, Paul Ryan (R-WI) and passed by the United States House of Representatives on April 8th, aims to do-away with Medicare for our nation’s seniors, transform Medicaid into a block grant program to deny health coverage to children, and puts in place a formula that will lead to the reduction in Social Security benefits that American workers have already paid for. To add insult to injury, this budget proposal takes direct aim at federal employees.
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Public Sector Employees:

Opportunist governors are falsely pinning the blame for their treasury shortfalls at the feet of dedicated public servants

Instead of a thoughtful response to State budget crisis’ that were caused by the worst financial collapse since the Great Depression, opportunist governors in places like New Jersey and Wisconsin, just to name two, are falsely pinning the blame for their treasury shortfalls at the feet of dedicated public servants.
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Trade:

IFPTE believes that the proposed US-South Korea Free Trade Agreement falls short

In 2010 the Obama Administration announced an agreement on the US-South Korea (KORUS) Free Trade Agreement (FTA). IFPTE continues to believe that the proposed agreement falls short in several key areas. While the Obama Administration is currently pushing Congress to approve the KORUS FTA as early as this summer, and is primed to ask Congress to pass a similar agreement with Colombia, many free traders in Congress are advocating for bundling the Bush Administration negotiated Panama FTA together with KORUS and Colombia.
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Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Program

The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program was created by Congress in 1962 to provide job training and income assistance to workers who lost jobs due to America’s trade policies. TAA was originally envisioned as a program to assist primarily blue collar manufacturing workers, but the need for this program has expanded greatly with the growth of technology, particularly IT, which opened the doors for many employers to expand their destructive offshoring practices to white collar jobs.
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Water Resources Development Act (WRDA):

IFPTE has been a strong advocate for passage of the WRDA bill

If passed at a $6 billion level, WRDA would create and maintain at least 156,000 critical high quality American jobs, and go a long way toward modernizing and preserving our homeland critical infrastructures such as ports, inland, and coastal waterways. As homeland issues are evolving daily, securing these critical Federal functions are essential to maintaining America’s economic, defense and homeland security.
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