Afge

John Gage, who has served as president of the American Federation of Government Employees for nearly a decade, said Tuesday he intends to retire later this summer to spend more time with his family. "I have a growing family that I've kind of neglected," Gage, who is 66 and lives in Baltimore, said in a brief interview with The Sun . "I never have been able to really put in perspective the people who love me and the union activities. " As head of the nation's largest federal employee union, Gage has battled with lawmakers and the White House at a particularly difficult time for federal employees.

A Defense Department funding bill has made bedfellows of two groups more likely to be found in opposite corners: federal labor and federal contractors. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the Professional Services Council (PSC) object to Section 341 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2013. The Senate approved it last week. They are not alone in opposing the measure, which would require the Pentagon to cut more than $5 billion in planned spending for its civilian and contractor workforces through fiscal 2017.

WASHINGTON -- The National Treasury Employees Union has charged that Social Security Administration management and a rival union are collaborating to combat its efforts to represent SSA employees at agency headquarters in Woodlawn."

John Gage, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, has announced he will retire in August after leading the politically powerful union for the past nine years. The Baltimore resident, who is 66, has battled with Congress and the White House over recent cuts to the federal workforce. A Pittsburgh native, Gage was a minor-league catcher in the Orioles organization in the late 1960s. He worked for the Social Security Administration in the 1970s as a disability claims examiner.

Activists from two competing unions handed out leaflets, shouted slogans, called each other names and occasionally shoved each other in front of the Social Security Administration headquarters yesterday, as the nation's biggest union-vs.-union battle moved into high gear.Declaring their differing allegiances with white T-shirts or red caps, dozens of members of the two federal-employee unions clustered around one of the buildings in the Woodlawn complex at yesterday's 3 p.m. shift change.

A Defense Department funding bill has made bedfellows of two groups more likely to be found in opposite corners: federal labor and federal contractors. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the Professional Services Council (PSC) object to Section 341 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2013. The Senate approved it last week. They are not alone in opposing the measure, which would require the Pentagon to cut more than $5 billion in planned spending for its civilian and contractor workforces through fiscal 2017.

Random drug tests of drivers ruled outWASHINGTON -- Government employees have won another drug-testing victory with a federal judge declaring that random testing for Department of Health and Human Services drivers is "unreasonable and hence unconstitutional."Advocates of federal workers say this is just the latest round in the battle against a 1986 executive order that instituted a program of mandatory random drug testing of government employees.Since then, the American Federation of Government Employees, the National Treasury Employees Union and the American Civil Liberties Union have engaged in a number of court challenges to narrow the scope of the testing.

WASHINGTON - Launching a new battle with organized labor, the Bush administration said yesterday that it will deny 56,000 federal airport security screeners the right to negotiate for better working conditions and higher pay. "Mandatory collective bargaining is not compatible with the flexibility required to wage the war against terrorism," James Loy, head of the Transportation Security Administration, said in an order issued by the administration....

WASHINGTON -- Union officials in Maryland, while relieved that a federal judge threw out a law that bars federal employees from accepting honoraria for speeches and articles, say the legal battle isn't over yet.The law was "half-baked to begin with -- trying to keep federal workers from getting money for speaking and writing they do outside the job," said John Gage, president of Local 1923 of the American Federation of Government Employees, speaking yesterday...

WASHINGTON -- Between 2,000 and 2,500 Marylanders employed by the Social Security Administration will collect millions of dollars in back wages after a federal agency ruled they were denied overtime pay for years because they were wrongly classified as administrators.The ruling made last week by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) follows two years of legal wrangling and affects about 13,800 Social Security workers nationwide, said Diane Witiak of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents the workers.

John Gage, who has served as president of the American Federation of Government Employees for nearly a decade, said Tuesday he intends to retire later this summer to spend more time with his family. "I have a growing family that I've kind of neglected," Gage, who is 66 and lives in Baltimore, said in a brief interview with The Sun . "I never have been able to really put in perspective the people who love me and the union activities. " As head of the nation's largest federal employee union, Gage has battled with lawmakers and the White House at a particularly difficult time for federal employees.

WASHINGTON - Launching a new battle with organized labor, the Bush administration said yesterday that it will deny 56,000 federal airport security screeners the right to negotiate for better working conditions and higher pay. "Mandatory collective bargaining is not compatible with the flexibility required to wage the war against terrorism," James Loy, head of the Transportation Security Administration, said in an order issued by the administration....

WASHINGTON -- Thousands of federal workers will gather in Chicago next week for a convention held by the nation's largest government employee union.At the weeklong event, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) will elect officers, vote on dues, draft legislative goals and talk political strategy for the future. Nearly 1,500 delegates are expected to participate in the event, which is held every three years."The discussion topics will run the gamut," said AFGE spokeswoman Diane Witiak.

Activists from two competing unions handed out leaflets, shouted slogans, called each other names and occasionally shoved each other in front of the Social Security Administration headquarters yesterday, as the nation's biggest union-vs.-union battle moved into high gear.Declaring their differing allegiances with white T-shirts or red caps, dozens of members of the two federal-employee unions clustered around one of the buildings in the Woodlawn complex at yesterday's 3 p.m. shift change.

WASHINGTON -- The National Treasury Employees Union has charged that Social Security Administration management and a rival union are collaborating to combat its efforts to represent SSA employees at agency headquarters in Woodlawn."

WASHINGTON -- Between 2,000 and 2,500 Marylanders employed by the Social Security Administration will collect millions of dollars in back wages after a federal agency ruled they were denied overtime pay for years because they were wrongly classified as administrators.The ruling made last week by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) follows two years of legal wrangling and affects about 13,800 Social Security workers nationwide, said Diane Witiak of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents the workers.

WASHINGTON -- Between 2,000 and 2,500 Marylanders employed by the Social Security Administration will collect millions of dollars in back wages after a federal agency ruled they were denied overtime pay for years because they were wrongly classified as administrators.The ruling made last week by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) follows two years of legal wrangling and affects about 13,800 Social Security workers nationwide, said Diane Witiak of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents the workers.

WASHINGTON -- Thousands of federal workers will gather in Chicago next week for a convention held by the nation's largest government employee union.At the weeklong event, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) will elect officers, vote on dues, draft legislative goals and talk political strategy for the future. Nearly 1,500 delegates are expected to participate in the event, which is held every three years."The discussion topics will run the gamut," said AFGE spokeswoman Diane Witiak.

WASHINGTON -- Between 2,000 and 2,500 Marylanders employed by the Social Security Administration will collect millions of dollars in back wages after a federal agency ruled they were denied overtime pay for years because they were wrongly classified as administrators.The ruling made last week by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) follows two years of legal wrangling and affects about 13,800 Social Security workers nationwide, said Diane Witiak of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents the workers.

Random drug tests of drivers ruled outWASHINGTON -- Government employees have won another drug-testing victory with a federal judge declaring that random testing for Department of Health and Human Services drivers is "unreasonable and hence unconstitutional."Advocates of federal workers say this is just the latest round in the battle against a 1986 executive order that instituted a program of mandatory random drug testing of government employees.Since then, the American Federation of Government Employees, the National Treasury Employees Union and the American Civil Liberties Union have engaged in a number of court challenges to narrow the scope of the testing.