One of the most vexing problems faced by any union representative is the knowledge that all his/her hard work not only benefit the dues paying member, but the freeloading hangers-on that seem to wind their way into everyday issues. We've all been there right? You get a cold-call from an agent at a different station regarding a contract issue and in the blink of an eye, you read through the pertinent section(s) of the contract, maybe place a few preemptory calls to an involved supervisor, write a rough draft for a Step 1....and, uh oh....you find out the agent that called you doesn't even pay dues.
Doesn't that just make you feel like one of your freeloading brothers just stopped by your house with his unemployed wife and two kids, telling you he's there for a cup of coffee, but waking up in the morning and finding that he's moved in? Yeah, its alot like that....only, you could kick him out and never talk to him again which is unlike the pickle you're in as a rep, in that you have to keep working with those agents that are too cheap to foot the bill like everyone else. And sure enough, those same disgruntled agents that claim to never have had their needs met, or are pissed over some silly trips to Vegas, or are convinced that even though they have no labor management relations experience, they just know better and continually proclaim "can't we all get along"?, or are simply convinced that they'll never get into any trouble or run afoul of any vindictive and/or equally inexperienced manager, will call on you again. Oh sure, you'll get the standard non sequitur "Look, I don't want to make any waves, but..." Right. They want you to make the waves and then of course take the heat because they're too gutless to do it themselves. The latter situation doesn't just lend itself to non-members by the way and you agents all know who you are.
Given all the stark successes due in large part to the efforts of all local officials, officials of the NBPC, AFGE and NTEU, the membership rolls should run at 100%. Here are but a few of the cold hard realities that I'm talking about:
1) PORAC coverage is damn sure unheard of in the Federal Law Enforcement circles, yet, its alive and well within the ranks of the Border Patrol; critical incident response times for PORAC attornies in San Diego, El Centro, Yuma and Tucson Sectors are usually within an hour.
2) Pay for Performance has been foisted upon thousands and thousands of federal employees across the Federal Government...but none of them wear a Border Patrol uniform.
3) Full due process rights remain in effect even after President Bush tried to squelch them and dare I say it, eradicate them.
4) OIG cannot simply order you into an interview room as the subject of an investigation without the presence of your attorney. This is a direct result of the Legal Services Plan (as envisioned by Local 1613) and their related cousins in other sectors.
5) AUO, Night Dif, Sunday Pay, etc, are all alive and well and relatively untouched. In fact, a few landmark lawsuits in favor of BPAs have been decided that will further prevent the agency from abusing such legislatively guaranteed forms of pay.
I could go on, but the non-members, the freeloaders, the hangers-on, will only find another silly and nonsensical reason to shortchange the rest of the dues paying members. Who knew that such a welfare mentality existed within the Patrol? Well, the union reps have always known. Shame on those that won't pay their way and bless those that do.
Doesn't that just make you feel like one of your freeloading brothers just stopped by your house with his unemployed wife and two kids, telling you he's there for a cup of coffee, but waking up in the morning and finding that he's moved in? Yeah, its alot like that....only, you could kick him out and never talk to him again which is unlike the pickle you're in as a rep, in that you have to keep working with those agents that are too cheap to foot the bill like everyone else. And sure enough, those same disgruntled agents that claim to never have had their needs met, or are pissed over some silly trips to Vegas, or are convinced that even though they have no labor management relations experience, they just know better and continually proclaim "can't we all get along"?, or are simply convinced that they'll never get into any trouble or run afoul of any vindictive and/or equally inexperienced manager, will call on you again. Oh sure, you'll get the standard non sequitur "Look, I don't want to make any waves, but..." Right. They want you to make the waves and then of course take the heat because they're too gutless to do it themselves. The latter situation doesn't just lend itself to non-members by the way and you agents all know who you are.
Given all the stark successes due in large part to the efforts of all local officials, officials of the NBPC, AFGE and NTEU, the membership rolls should run at 100%. Here are but a few of the cold hard realities that I'm talking about:
1) PORAC coverage is damn sure unheard of in the Federal Law Enforcement circles, yet, its alive and well within the ranks of the Border Patrol; critical incident response times for PORAC attornies in San Diego, El Centro, Yuma and Tucson Sectors are usually within an hour.
2) Pay for Performance has been foisted upon thousands and thousands of federal employees across the Federal Government...but none of them wear a Border Patrol uniform.
3) Full due process rights remain in effect even after President Bush tried to squelch them and dare I say it, eradicate them.
4) OIG cannot simply order you into an interview room as the subject of an investigation without the presence of your attorney. This is a direct result of the Legal Services Plan (as envisioned by Local 1613) and their related cousins in other sectors.
5) AUO, Night Dif, Sunday Pay, etc, are all alive and well and relatively untouched. In fact, a few landmark lawsuits in favor of BPAs have been decided that will further prevent the agency from abusing such legislatively guaranteed forms of pay.
I could go on, but the non-members, the freeloaders, the hangers-on, will only find another silly and nonsensical reason to shortchange the rest of the dues paying members. Who knew that such a welfare mentality existed within the Patrol? Well, the union reps have always known. Shame on those that won't pay their way and bless those that do.
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