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All Technicians need to be made aware of the fact that there are currently ongoing efforts aimed at contracting-out selected maintenance technician positions. Technicians need to immediately get involved.

It's time to fight back. We need to change the political landscape in order to stop contracting out and establish new rules to protect the jobs of federal employees and hold contractors accountable.

Contracting out is destroying the jobs of federal employees and dumping important government programs into a dangerous swamp of waste, fraud and abuse. Study after study has documented the cost-overruns and poor performance of contractors who are allowed to run amok because of bad or non-existent contract administration. Nevertheless, the Administration continues to race ahead, with little or no opposition from Congress. The proposal defies common sense. The swamp just gets bigger and deeper, swallowing up billions and billions of additional taxpayer dollars with no serious scrutiny of whether the policy serves our government's goals of quality, accountability and efficiency. In its June 1999 meeting, the National Executive Council (NEC) approved the development of a union-wide grassroots campaign urging Congress to impose a suspension of any further contracting out until the true costs and consequences of privatization are known and understood. A strategic plan for implementing AFGE's grassroots lobbying campaign has been developed and approved by the NEC. The SWAMP Campaign--Stop Wasting America's Money on Privatization--starts now!

"CLEAN UP THE SWAMP" CAMPAIGN

The primary goal of the SWAMP Campaign is to change the political landscape in order to: (1) win a suspension of contracting out until AFGE's bench-mark conditions are met, and (2) establish new rules to protect the jobs of federal employees and hold contractors accountable. In order to change the political landscape, we must:

Inform and mobilize AFGE members.
Build public opposition to contracting out.
Increase our ability to elect sympathetic members of Congress.
Build Congressional support. AFGE's 1999 year end goal is to make 50,000 contacts (phone, letter, fax, e-mail) with members of Congress and 150 face-to-face meetings.

key provision of the National Defense Authorization Act 2000 is an early retirement provision. This provision provides a retirement annuity to an employee initially hired as a military technician after February 10, 1996 who is separated from the Selected Reserve or ceases to hold the military grade specified by the Secretary concerned for the position held by the technician as follows:

(a) After completing 25 years of service as a military technician or

(b) After becoming 50 years of age and completing 20 years of service as an MT

Those military technicians hired on or before 10 Feb 1996 who are separated under the same conditions described above are entitled to an annuity after becoming 50 years of age and completing 25 years of service.

I must point out that while this provision gives those hired after Feb 1996, the same age and service retirement eligibility that air traffic controllers have had for years, the amount of annual pension is significantly less. Air Traffic controllers receive 1.7% of average pay for their first 20 years of service and 1% for the years thereafter. Under this bill MT's would only receive 1% of their average pay times their years of service.

We have been told by those supporting S-1079, introduced by Congressman Abercrombie, that his bill would address this annuity disparity. Our reading of the bill is that it is not clearly spelled out and leaves this question unanswered. While in Washington we raised the question with Michael Velasques of Congressman Abercrombie's staff and he indicated he would get the true answer for us. As soon as we are furnished an answer locals will be advised.K