| General Information |
Flu
Clinic Locator
Occupational Health Issues Associated with Swine Flu
(NIOSH)
Information
from the CDC
Respirator Mask Information from CDC
and NIOSH
OPM
Memo on Immunizing Federal Workers
OPM
Flexibilities for Emergency Situations
FDA
Swine Flu Page
HHS
Pandemic Flu Web site
|
| NTEU Testimony |
Beyond
Readiness: An Examination Of The Current Status And
Future Outlook Of The National Response To Pandemic,
Before the House Homeland Security Committee, July 29,
2009
Protecting
Our Employees: Pandemic Influenza Preparedness And The
Federal Workforce, Before the Senate Subcommittee
on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce,
and the District of Columbia, June 16, 2009
|
| NTEU Letters |
June
2 Letter to DHS Under Secretary Elaine Duke
May
21 Letter to House ules Committee Chair Rep. Louise
Slaughter
May 8 Letter to CBP Commissioner
Jayson Ahern
May 8 Letter to
TSA Acting Administrator Gail Rossides
April
28 Letter to TSA Acting Administrator Gail Rossides
|
| NTEU Member Messages |
|
May 1, 2009
April
30, 2009
April 29,
2009
|
|
TSA
June 5, 2009
June 3,
2009
May
14, 2009
May
8, 2009 May
7, 2009
May 1, 2009
April
30, 2009
April 29,
2009 |
|
|
After months of seeking a definitive policy that would help protect
our country’s frontline homeland security employees during
a health crisis such as the swine flu outbreak, the NTEU has won
agreement from U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) that agency workers can don respirator
masks at their discretion.
“While long overdue, this is a major victory for frontline
employees and their families,” said NTEU President Colleen
M. Kelley, who, during the widespread and dangerous swine flu outbreak
earlier this year, continued pressing CBP and its parent agency,
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to permit employee discretion
in the use of such masks.
She added: “I am very pleased that the Department of Homeland
Security and CBP leadership worked with NTEU to produce an agreement
that will serve employees and the agency well.”
The NTEU-CBP agreement comes as President Kelley testified
before the House Homeland Security Committee on the status and outlook
for the nation’s response to a pandemic. This is a timely
and important hearing, since medical experts widely predict a return
of the swine flu virus later this year. Already, more than two million
cases are known to have occurred in the U.S.
The NTEU-CBP Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on this vital issue
provides for employee discretion in the use of masks without the
need to obtain supervisory approval, when they believe it is needed
to safely carry out their duties during a public health concern.
While NTEU was pressing for that right during the spring outbreak,
the Centers for Disease Control recommended that employees stay
six feet away from individuals suspected of being ill with swine
flu.
As President Kelley repeatedly pointed out over the past three
months, however, that advice is impractical for many federal workers—especially
for those in security positions who cannot maintain such a distance
in performing their required duties. And CBP employees faced confusion
when some local managers prevented employees from wearing protective
masks or forced those employees wearing such protection to remove
it.
“Even though swine flu has fallen out of the headlines, it
has remained a great concern for CBP employees. This agreement gives
them tools to protect themselves in the coming flu season,”
said Kelley.
The MOU is the second positive step on this matter. Earlier, at
NTEU’s urging, the House approved legislation containing a
provision permitting employees of the Transportation Security Administration
(TSA) to wear protective masks while on duty; that measure, however,
affected only TSA employees.
In late May, TSA, which is a unit of DHS, adopted a policy permitting
employees the discretionary use of respirator masks, but it failed
to disseminate that information widely, and did so only after the
H1N1 flu-related death of a TSA employee in Puerto Rico earlier
this month.
In her testimony, President Kelley notes that further broad steps
must be taken regarding public health emergencies in the interest
of employees, their agencies and the nation, and should address
such important matters as leave policies, telework and the continuity
of government operations.
More News
NTEU
Takes Swine Flu Issue to FACOSH; Working Group Created (6/25/09)
NTEU
Describes Urgent Need for Clear, Rational DHS Policy on Swine Flu
Pandemic (6/15/09)
House
OKs Language Permitting TSOs to Wear Protective Masks (6/4/09)