PROUD TO MAKE AMERICA WORK
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES (AFGE) -AFL-CIO
LOCAL 3599
Sharon Baker, President, (502) 582-5810 - (502) 582-5435/fax
2241 Amboy Drive, Louisville, KY 40216
[Insert Date]
Dear [Insert the name of Representative and Senators- you can find these at
www.congress.org by pluggin in your zipcode]We, the undersigned, are employees of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in the __[insert name of EEOC field office]____ EEOC office. This jurisdiction of our office covers _____[insert jurisdiction]___. We submit this letter to inform you that we, your constituents, support the issues that our Union representatives are presenting to you.
WHERE WE STAND:
Historically, EEOC has never been particularly well funded. Fiscal year 2008 represented the agency’s fifth year of level funding. Like all EEOC offices, our office is suffering from the impact of a multi-year hiring freeze starting in 2001. Staffing ranks at all levels have become depleted, which has resulted in sky-rocketing backlogs for the EEOC and longer case processing times for the public. Our Agency is now focusing on systemic (class) case development and race case development without the adequate staff to conduct quality and extensive investigations, while the backlog increases. We are also now enforcing the Genetics Information Nondiscrimination Act and the ADA Amendments Act, without adequate training on the complexities of these new laws or new staff to process the additional charges anticipated. Also, in 2008, EEOC opened the floodgates by allowing the public to complete "EAS" intake questionnaires online. While increasing access through technology is generally a positive change, in this case not having adequate staff to absorb the new function has meant delays and frustration for the public. We would therefore urge you to support a significant budget increase for the EEOC in FY10 that would allow us to do our part in ensuring nondiscriminatory access to jobs during these difficult economic times.
LOCAL CONCERNS:
The public is not well-served by these changes on the national level and we, the employees of EEOC, find it harder to serve the public in the face of these changes. In addition, our office has its own set of issues which include:
[insert office issues….such as specific staffing crises….how the flood of EAS questionnaires is impacting your office….how the in-house call center could do more to help with intake so employees can focus on processing charges…..lack of certain office resources….office relocation concerns…..problems with telecommuting, etc.]
In conclusion, we wish to again make you aware of these issues and inform you that we fully agree and support our Union in these matters.
Sincerely,