At the October monthly meeting, AFGE Local 2578 adopted a new Constitution and By Laws for the organization. The proposed Constitution and By Laws were read into the minutes of the September meeting. Prior to the adoption of the new Constitution, the Local was operating under a document originally adopted in 1981.

The Constitution is based primarily on that recommended by the AFGE National Office. It defines the organization’s objectives, membership, dues and fees, recordkeeping, officers, election procedures, executive board and committee structure, and convention delegates. It is, therefore, the basic document on which the Local functions.

The By Laws provide guidance on the day-to-day operation of the Local. They define the basic meeting structure, executive board composition and duties, election procedures, and dues structure.

Both of these documents are available on the AFGE Local 2578 web page at http://www.afgecouncil260.org/loc2578.html

During October, the local’s Organizing Committee sponsored four Lunch and Learn sessions with selected units located at Archives II. Units invited to these sessions during October were NWM/NWML, NWMD, and NWME. The Local provided pizza and sodas, and Peter Jeffrey led the discussion and focused on four areas: 1) enforcing management’s duty to bargain over workplace conditions; 2) representation of employees; 3) AFGE’s legislative action; and 4) organizing, including union buying power benefits for group discounts.

Currently scheduled for November are Lunch and Learn sessions for the following Washington, DC, units:

• November 7: NWMW, NWMWA, NWMWR
• November 19: NWCS

Members in these units are welcome to attend and should encourage non-members to participate.

One of the goals of the Lunch and Learn sessions is to increase membership in AFGE Local 2578. Only through increased membership can we support the work of the national office and continue the work of the Union.

The AFGE Council 260 web site has been updated to include a section titled the Virtual Classroom. Currently included in that section are the PowerPoint slides from the two Brown Bag sessions conducted during October. They are the slides from the Brown Bag on the new Uniform Performance Appraisal Rating Period and the Hatch Act.

Visit the Virtual Classroom at http://www.afgecouncil260.org/virtual.html

As per Article 11, Section 2 of the National Agreement, we are in the process of forming a National Safety and Health Committee.

The National Safety and Health Committee duties include:

• Report their dissatisfaction to the Secretary if a committee determines there are deficiencies in the agency’s safety and health program or is not satisfied with the agency’s reports of reprisal investigations;

We need one more member to serve on the Committee. Any member interested in serving on the Committee, should contact Ira Kirshenbaum via E-mail or at 301-837-1881.

We welcome the following Brothers and Sisters to the membership of AFGE Local 2578:

• Brett Abrams, Deborah Bush, Randy Bush, Monsita Janifer, John Keller, Leslie Watson, and Ivonne Vega

Since 1992, The AFGE Union Plus Scholarship program has awarded more than $1.65 million to students of working families who want to begin or continue their secondary education. Over 1,000 families have benefited from our commitment to higher education. The Union Plus Scholarship

Program is offered through the Union Plus

Education Foundation. The deadline to return completed applications is January 31, 2003.

Visit the AFGE website to find out more and download an application: http://www.unionprivilege.org/benefits/education/scholarships/up.cfm