MIDWEST AREA REPORT

NASCOE PRE-NEGOTIATION MEETING

ORLANDO FL

January 19-22, 2008

 The NASCOE Officers, National Committee Chairs, Area Execs and Negotiation Consultants met in Orlando for the Pre-negotiation session.  Once we got over the 90 degree change in temperature and the heavy rain storm that set off the hotel alarm on Saturday night we were able to get to business on Sunday.

The group got together reviewed the agenda, approved the minutes, and listened to the officers reports.  We then reviewed the NASCOE Responsibility handbook. The responsibilities of everyone from the area judges to the President were reviewed and discussed.  The one thing that was evident was that each position plays an important role and each person is dependent on several other positions in order to perform their duties. NASCOE truly is a team effort.

The next order of business was reviewing and assigning the negotiation items that were submitted.  There were over 75 items submitted by the membership that were reviewed. Items were assigned to two people to write a letter to the submitter explaining what action will be taken on that item.  These two people will also write up the item and NASCOE position for submission to management.  Several submissions were concerned with the same topic so they will be combined when submitted for negotiation. This process is probably one of the most important benefits NASCOE members receive for their dues. The ability to submit items and have them discussed on a face to face basis with management is something we should really appreciate. The plan is to discuss these items with management the last week of April.

Some other items that were discussed after the negotiation items were reviewed:

• The deadline to submit bids for the 2010 National NASCOE convention is April 1^st.  Bid packets can be obtained from the NASCOE Secretary.
• The Membership Committee has completed an updated version of the membership brochure.  The “A Special Invitation To You” brochure is available for states to use.  These brochures need to be ordered through your Area membership Chairperson.

• The Legislative Committee reported on Cap Wiz activity and how important it was to get more participation. Especially with the Farm Bill deliberation going on and the selection of the Conference Committee. We also need to encourage those using Cap Wiz to use the “tell-a-friend” portion as well.

• Each Executive mentioned communications in their report and how difficult it was for several states to pass information on to the membership.  This intensified the need for a National Database so members could be contacted using their home emails or home address if needed.

• Encouraging members to signup for the NASCOE Website Update alert was another way to help improve communication with membership.  Individuals can go to the NASCOE website and simply click on the icon so they receive an email alert whenever the NASCOE website is updated.

• Membership is encouraged to use www.nascoetravel.com for booking any travel. NASCOE will receive royalties from bookings made through this website.  This is very similar to Orbitz or Expedia and is simple to use. There is a link on the NASCOE web site and anyone can use this service.

• CED and PT reclassification are being looked at. HRD has told NASCOE they will review the job descriptions that were submitted by NASCOE after they have completed the CED classification.

• The current shared management agreement in 27-PM is to be reviewed to determine if it needs to be renegotiated with management.  Execs are to solicit their areas for input.

• People interested in finding out about the NASCOE PAC contributions are encouraged to go to the Federal Exchange Commission website, www.fec.gov.

The group had two very full days of meetings and they went very well. Each Committee Chair and Exec gave reports on what was happening and everyone did a very good job. Bill Putnum reported that several of the program issues raised had been answered while he had not received a response to several. Some of these items will be included as negotiation items as well. The Programs committee has proven to be very valuable and I encourage membership to continue to use it. 

Cindy Pistek of IA and Kevin Beekman of MN will represent the MWA on the USDA Reorganization Task force for NASCOE.  The purpose of the task force is to determine what things NASCOE membership would like to get out of or see happen if USDA reorganizes its agencies.  If people have ideas please contact Kevin, Cindy or me.

The following dates have been set for the MWA Conventions: If you wish to invite people from Washington or NASCOE Representatives be sure to invite them well in advance of your convention because schedules fill up quickly.

IL – March 14-15, IA –March 28-29, IN & MWA Rally – April 18-19,  WI – May 2-3,

MN – July 17-18, NASCOE National Convention – Omaha NE – August 6-9,

MO – August 22-23 

Respectfully Submitted,

Jon Williams

MWA Exec

Zen Wisdom

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