NWSEO NEWS UPDATE
Health and Wellness Forms, Hiring Freeze Update, Southern Region Director X. William Proenza Retires
NWSEO Negotiated Health Club and Wellness Services Fees Reimbursement Program - Stay Healthy and Receive a $300 Rebate
(January 6, 2015) The New Year often inspires us to make healthy resolutions and plans to stay in shape. The NWSEO negotiated National Weather Service Health Club and Wellness Services Fees Reimbursement Program helps you keep your health club costs low. Through the program, which is open to all NWS employees, you may receive up to $300 per year as a health club membership dues rebate. The rebate also covers certain weight loss and smoking cessation programs. In order to be eligible for the programs, it is important that the correct forms are submitted before the due dates.
Form A must be submitted between January 1, 2015 and February 28, 2015 to receive benefits for 2015.
Form B must be submitted between January 1, 2015 and February 28, 2015 for reimbursement for the year 2014.
Complete information on the National Weather Service Health Club and Wellness Services Fees Reimbursement Program is available here.
Remember, this health club and wellness benefit is available to you solely because of the work of NWSEO. It is just one more way to demonstrate the strength and benefits your membership provides.
Arbitrator Sharnoff issues Hiring Freeze Decision - Seven Months Late
Employees at almost all federal agencies were impacted by the 2013 sequestration in three ways: hiring was frozen; discretionary performance awards were terminated; and employees at most agencies, including the Department of Defense, were furloughed.
As a result of NWSEO’s efforts, NOAA employees were spared most of these negative impacts. Although OMB directed agencies to stop paying performance awards, employees represented by NWSEO continued to receive $ 4 million in awards in FY 2013 as a result of NWSEO’s collective bargaining. NOAA announced a 4-day NOAA-wide furlough. However, Congress disapproved this furlough as a result of NWSEO’s lobbying efforts, which saved NOAA employees $17 million in pay.
When NOAA instituted a hiring and promotion freeze in May 2013, NWSEO filed a grievance challenging the application of that freeze to NWS bargaining unit positions. When the grievance was denied, the union took the matter to arbitration in January 2014. Fortunately, the hiring freeze was lifted just days after the hearing. Nearly a year after the hearing was held, federal labor arbitrator Joseph Sharnoff has just issued an opinion in which he wrote that the NWS was justified in imposing this hiring freeze due to the emergency financial conditions created by the sequestration. While NWSEO is disappointed in this decision, we note that NWS and other NOAA employees fared far better than employees represented by other federal sector unions, most of whom lost performance awards and were furloughed.
National Weather Service Southern Region Director X. William Proenza Retires
NWSEO congratulates Southern Region Director Bill Proenza on his retirement from the National Weather Service after 51 years of service. A graduate of Florida State University, Mr. Proenza began his career at the National Hurricane Center in Miami as a flight meteorologist. His career path includes a diverse array of field and leadership positions throughout the United States. Proenza served as NWS Director of the Southern Region from 1998 - 2014, filling in as Director of the National Hurricane Center in 2006. He received numerous accolades from many professional organizations of which he was an active member, including the American Meteorological Society, the International Association of Emergency Managers, and NWSEO.
Bill Proenza reflected on his service to the NWS saying, "I have been greatly honored to have served as a Regional Director since 1998 in one of the most dedicated agencies in the U.S. Government, an agency clearly focused on delivering that highest calling of any profession, the protection of life. I am so proud of the men and women in our agency delivering such a vital mission around the clock to the nation with such distinction. Also, I have long admired their reliability and repeated sacrifices to be on duty, 24 x 7, through all kinds of severe weather. Not only do they vitally protect life but they also support the economic well-being of our nation.”
Stay informed with NWSEO’s Four Winds Newsletters emailed directly to you
NWSEO’s newsletter The Four Winds are emailed directly to members who are on our email list. It’s a great way to stay informed of current priorities, issues, trends and achievements. To receive The Four Winds email edition, please send your private email address to mediarelations@nwseo.org.
NWSEO Facebook Community
Have you dealt with an issue and wondered how other offices are handling similar situations? The NWSEO Facebook community is a closed group, available only to NWSEO members. It is a place where members can discuss upcoming events and issues that NWSEO is working on or find answers to questions they may have.
If you are not already a member of the NWSEO Facebook community, please join. Use your Facebook account to search the National Weather Service Employees Organization and request to join the group. Once your NWSEO membership is verified, you will be added to this private group. If you have difficulty accessing the Facebook Community this way, please email a request to Communications Director Lisa Luciani at mediarelations@nwseo.org.
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