Vernon Early, Peter Jeffrey, John Powers, and Deborah Edge represented Local 2578 as delegates at the AFGE National Convention in Las Vegas, August 16--22. The convention theme, "A Strong Collective Voice, A Secure Workforce, A Safe America" rallied the 1,200 delegates. While there, the delegates elected a new National President, John Gage, and re-elected National Secretary-Treasurer Jim Davis and National Vice President for Woman and Fair Practices Andrea Brooks. The delegates also debated and voted on changes to the AFGE Constitution and charted a course of action the next 3 years.

Local 2578 played an important role in this process by submitting and advocating for several resolutions (see next article)

--John Powers

Local 2578 submitted several important constitutional resolutions at the AFGE National Convention. These resolutions were the subject of serious and lengthy debate during the 2 days of Constitutional workshop sessions, including a marathon 12-hour session on Wednesday. These resolutions were heavily debated on the floor of the full convention on Thursday and Friday. Of the seven constitutional resolutions submitted by Local 2578, two were adopted, two were amended, and three failed.

Resolution 1032 dealt with National Executive Council (NEC) meetings, requiring that they be open for all AFGE members in good standing to attend. Resolution 1035 mandated that each District provide local presidents with a quarterly list of District expenditures. Local 2578 delegates spoke several times during the debate and argued successfully for their passage. These two resolutions were adopted by the Convention.

Resolution 1037, dealing with internal offenses, trials, penalties, and appeals, was passed with amendments. Resolution 1041 was the subject of considerable debate, since it dealt with a per capita tax increase. In the end, this resolution, like 1037, was amended on the Convention floor. In view of the significant dangers to the Federation because of the Bush Administration’s efforts to privatize and contract out Federal jobs as well as their efforts to gut Merit Systems Principles and Civil Service protections, delegates voted to the national per capita tax by $2.50 per member per month and assess a one-time $5 per member fee to be used in a national media campaign to educate the public on the importance of a strong and healthy Civil Service.

Three Local 2578 Constitutional resolutions failed: 1040 dealt with the structure of the NEC; 1036 dealt with hiring national representatives; and 1039 dealt with redistricting. Local 2578 delegates were nonetheless pleased with the overall outcome of debate, especially because of the two important resolutions that did pass, and that as a result AFGE will be more democratic and more accountable to its members. As for resolution 1037, the delegates were also pleased, believing that the debate and subsequent changes improved upon the original resolution.

In reference to resolution 1041, one delegate stated, "We now have a dedicated fund that we can use now to educate the public about the dangers of what is happening to the Civil Service and of contracting out. Do we really want the meat and poultry companies inspecting their own products without Department of Agriculture Meat Inspectors oversight? Do we want to return to the pre-September 11 days of having our airports ‘protected’ by contractor screeners making minimum wage?" New National President John Gage thanked Local 2578 for their leadership during this debate.

-- John Powers

The AFGE 2003 Convention opened to a full day of business Monday, August 18. Bobby Harnage, National President, shared with the delegates a powerful message about continuing the Federation lobbying for Federal worker protections under a hostile Bush administration. He also affirmed that we must continue our activities against the current Bush administration and its efforts to dismantle the Federal workforce. Key to the concerns of Federal workers are the effects that the current 6% unemployment rate and the 450 billion dollar deficit will have in being used as an excuse to cut services to the public and also cut Federal worker benefits. The good news is that AFGE membership is up 20,000 since 1997. Many other speakers shared their views on the current climate for Federal workers. They all agreed that two major challenges are the economic slump (placing undue pressure on most State and municipal budgets), which puts more pressure on the Bush administration to follow through on its proposal to privatize 850,000 Federal jobs, about half of the Federal workforce.

Council 260’s two locals--2578 and St. Louis Local 104--actively participated on the convention floor. College Park, MD, delegates: Peter Jeffrey, Vernon Early, John Powers, and Deborah Edge (alternate) pressed our agenda and submitted several resolutions. They lobbied other delegates for support and were at the microphone whenever possible to keep our positions up for consideration.

As at every convention I've attended over the years, the per capita tax was the subject of disagreement, but finally a decision was made to increase the tax by $2.50 per member per month, effective January 2004.

-- Deborah Edge

-- Deborah Edge

On Wednesday, August 20, delegates elected John Gage as the new National President of AFGE. The delegates also re-elected Jim Davis National Secretary-Treasurer and Andrea Brooks National Vice President for Women and Fair Practices. Each position carries a 3-year term. Gage won 53% of the vote on the second ballot,defeating two-term incumbent Bobby Harnage, Jr. Davis won 60% of the vote on the first ballot, and Brooks faced no challengers and was re-elected by acclamation. Gage has been President of Local 1923 for the past 20 years. Local 1923, based in Baltimore, represents over 30,000 Federal workers nationwide, including employees from the Social Security Administration, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, and National Mediation Board. Under his strong leadership and through his organizing skill, this local has become the largest in the Federation, with over 8,600 members. He has successfully negotiated tough but fair contracts, won hundreds of thousands of dollars in court cases defending Federal employees, and has testified at many Congressional hearings on behalf of Federal workers.

Gage spoke to the convention delegates about his plans—vowing to fight for Federal workers. He plans an aggressive assault against Bush administration policies that he and AFGE believe are dismantling critical government services to the public. "AFGE has the responsibility to let the American public know what is really going on with government," Gage said. "The Social Security Administration is being starved of resources, VA hospitals are being threatened with closures, billions of taxpayer dollars are being dumped into Defense contractors pockets, and public services are being directly converted into ‘for-profit’ corporations. We will make it clear to the American people that the Bush administration’s efforts to privatize half our government’s workforce have nothing to do with saving money or improving services. Further, Bush’s efforts to eliminate collective bargaining rights have nothing to do with ‘flexibility’ and everything to do with ‘de-unionization!"

-- John Powers