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NFFE goes to Washington May 19-23, 2008: Two dozen Forest Service employees stepped up this year to help take the truth to power. Our top priority is restoring the standing of NWCG courses taught in-house. If this issue is important to you, you have the right to contact your Senators and House Reps as long as you do so on your own time using your own equipment and make it clear you are speaking as a citizen, not as a representative of the agency. We will be happy to arrange to meet with any staffer the week of May 19 who wants to get engaged on this issue - have them email nffe@fs.fed.us to schedule an appointment.

GS-0401 Fire Management Specialist Update: Deadline to meet GS-0401 education requirements extended to October 1, 2010. Agencies commit to retroactive purchase of credits for in-house NWCG courses for incubents. See chronology and briefing for more information, including how NFFE continues the fight for a sane solution to this mess.

Comments from the field: HTML, posted May 12, 2008. Some survey respondents have given permission to have their comments on the GS-0401 Fire Management Specialist qualification issue posted on the web in order to stimulate discussion. NFFE has suggested the agency perform content analysis of employee comments, since we feel it is critical that leadership listen to the field on the impacts this is having. If you wish to weigh in, send your comments to nffe@fs.fed.us.

Congressional Briefing Paper: OPM Policy Threatens Nation's Firefighting and Emergency Response Capabilities: Topic is effect OPM policy change on education requirements will have on capabilities. During May 19-23, 2008, two dozen union reps will be taking this message to the Hill: tell OPM to restore credit for NWCG courses! (May 5, 2008) Word

Chronology of IFPM implementation, with links to primary sources (May 5, 2008) Word

Personal liability insurance reimbursement for firefighters: Your union's work to extend coverage pays off. (Dec. 27, 2007) HTML

Forest Service Implementation documents (March 28, 2008): Transmittal memo, list of covered positions, and reimbursement process

Congressional Briefing Paper: Forest Service Responders at Risk: Topic is effect of competitive sourcing on militia. (May 1, 2007) Word PDF

Congressional Briefing Book: An Agency At Risk: Competitive Sourcing of the Forest Service (April 12, 2007) PDF Linked version posted Feb. 10, 2008: Includes a section on effects on militia. Word

NFFE-PEER-FWFSA Press Release: Forest Service Looks to Outsource its Fire Militia (August 3, 2006) Word PDF

NFFE Press Release: Forest Service Competitive Sourcing Contract Terminated: Shoddy Work Put Employees and Public in Unsafe Situations (May 3, 2006) HTML