The Foreign Service Journal, March 2007

72 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / MA R CH 2 0 0 7 A F S A N E W S AFSA Annual Report 2006 NOVEMBER AFSA’s Labor-Management teammeets with members of Commissioning and Tenure Boards to get feedback on the criteria and procedures of recent boards, and on recent candidates. AFSAmeets with the director of the retire- ment office to hear about plans to increase the staffing of HR/RET. Labor-Management writes again concerning an amendment to the FAM to allow visitation travel for children under the legal guardian- ship of an FS employee overseas. AFSA protests the proposal to move the Transportation Division out of Corridor 2 (the Service Corridor) in the Harry S Truman Building to an offsite location. AFSA/USAID sends out a survey to gauge the sense of the membership regarding a number of issues facing the U.S. Agency for International Development. The response is quick and voluminous. Results are released in January 2007. At the suggestion of the AFSA Education Committee, the Governing Board decides that AFSA Financial Aid Scholarships can now be bestowed on undergraduates attending overseas schools. AFSA publishes guidance on the class-action suit settle- ment involving unused annual leave, and gives former USIA employees instructions on how to initiate and become involved in a companion class-action suit that is now pend- ing. AFSA/USAID sounds the alarm on a faulty travel system being tested in one of the agen- cy’s bureaus. With AFSA’s input, the system appears to have been vastly improved. The year’s last Retiree Newsletter provides information about open season for health benefits (FEHB and Dental and Vision Programs), as well as 2007 changes in Medicare B and Social Security. AFSA President Tony Holmes travels to Arizona to address students at Arizona University, Arizona State University and the Thunderbird School. He also hosts Tucson- area FS retirees, updating them on changes in the Foreign Service. DECEMBER AFSA protests the appointment of a non- Foreign Service employee as public affairs offi- cer in Baghdad. The individual subsequently resigns from the position. AFSA’s Labor-Management teammeets with the head of the medical office and staff to dis- cuss the medical clearance process, and agrees to further meetings as needed. AFSAmeets with the department’s Iraq coor- dinator on the mission and staffing of Provincial Reconstruction Teams. AFSAmeets with HR/REE to discuss the pro- posed changes to the Foreign Service entry process, and expresses AFSA’s opposition to any possible mid-level entry program. AFSA signs the settlement agreement that curtails the incumbent Civil Service employee from the PD hub director’s position in Brussels. AFSA favorably negotiates a settlement for a State Department employee who had been identified for selection-out. This employee is restored to the rolls with very favorable settle- ment terms. The AFSA Fund for American Diplomacy Annual Appeal yields $15,595. Spring 2007 semester need-based Financial Aid Scholarships totaling $61,750 are dis- bursed to 52 Foreign Service undergraduates. AFSA/FAS continues to work with manage- ment to reach agreement on performance management changes that would include changes to the Selection Board precepts, com- petencies, etc., and is currently preparing for the opening of full-term contract negotiations in 2007. In 2006, AFSA public affairs efforts and retiree contributions place 70 articles promoting U.S. diplomacy in leading media outlets nation- wide, including the New York Times , Washington Post , Associated Press and major TV networks. AFSA programs a record 520 speaker events during the year to explain the importance of U.S. diplomacy to some 34,500 attendees in 43 states andWashington, D.C. Most of the speakers are Foreign Service retirees. Eleven Department of State employees are selected as winners of the MatildaW. Sinclaire Language Award for outstanding accomplish- ments in the study of a hard language. In 2006, AFSA/Elderhostel supervises 23 pro- grams in five states, hosting 1,200 participants. Plans for 2007 include 19 programs and a new program location, San Francisco. Despite our aggressive effort to mobilize and maximize AFSA’s unique strength and stand- ing, the 109th Congress ends without passing legislation to address overseas comparability pay. A provision regarding dependent travel and educational benefits is passed. The presi- dent signs this bill into law on Jan. 11, 2007. The FSJ sets a new record for total annual advertising revenue, topping $520,000. Retiree Coordinator Bonnie Brown assists more than 400 retiree members during the year, primarily with problems involving annuities, getting the department to respond to retiree requests, death, federal health insur- ance benefits, Medicare B and Social Security. AFSA welcomes 31 new life members in 2006. Emphasis on encouraging retirees to use the annuity deduction for AFSAmembership increases total number of deductees to 863. Retiree membership climbs to 3,972. During 2006, AFSA hosts 15 recruitment lun- cheons for incoming Foreign Service employ- ees. Over 85 percent of these employees join AFSA as full members. Membership totals 13,700 at year’s end. AFSA assists hundreds of individual FS mem- bers by year end. Y E A R I N R E V I E W