Benefits to joining AFGE at the VA

[MidWestLass]

Hello! I’m wondering if it is recommended to join the VA union, AFGE. I believe it’s about $20 per pay period. I have a social worker friend who says it’s been extremely helpful to them, but I don’t know any psychologists who have joined. Would love to hear from people with some insight. Thanks!

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[erg923]

Hello! I’m wondering if it is recommended to join the VA union, AFGE. I believe it’s about $20 per pay period. I have a social worker friend who says it’s been extremely helpful to them, but I don’t know any psychologists who have joined. Would love to hear from people with some insight. Thanks!

With all due respect, this is not General Motors. Do you predict ****ing up? As in hitting a patient, supervisor, or an associated homeless hobo with a brick/hammer to the head? No? Ok then...

I once had them there during an "admonishment" from a VA chief for a thing/issue that is beyond ridiculous. I wasn't part of that stuff, but I was offered their representation anyway, somehow. I much preferred telling my chief why what they were doing was beyond silly and that I would quit if this continued. I left 3 months later.

 

[psych.meout]

Hello! I’m wondering if it is recommended to join the VA union, AFGE. I believe it’s about $20 per pay period. I have a social worker friend who says it’s been extremely helpful to them, but I don’t know any psychologists who have joined. Would love to hear from people with some insight. Thanks!

Don't be a free rider, just join the union.

 

[MidWestLass]

With all due respect, this is not General Motors. Do you predict ****ing up? As in hitting a patient, supervisor, or an associated homeless hobo with a brick/hammer to the head? No? Ok then...

I once had them there during an "admonishment" from a VA chief for a thing/issue that is beyond ridiculous. I wasn't part of that stuff, but I was offered their representation anyway, somehow. I much preferred telling my chief why what they were doing was beyond silly and that I would quit if this continued. I left 3 months later.

Of course not, but my social worker friend said it was very helpful to have Union backing in certain situations like when his supervisors pushed him to stop attending the 2hr DBT consultation team meetings so that he can squeeze more patients in.

 

[PsychPhDone]

I thought psychologists were NFFE?

 

[erg923]

Of course not, but my social worker friend said it was very helpful to have Union backing in certain situations like when his supervisors pushed him to stop attending the 2hr DBT consultation team meetings so that he can squeeze more patients in.

Fair enough. But again, unless you plan on beating a homeless hobo with a large stick, I do not feel this is warranted.

 

[WisNeuro]

It's in your best interest to see the AFGE well funded and with as many members as possible if you'd like to keep your pension relatively intact through your career.

 

[cara susanna]

IMO it's not very useful locally--at least my chapter--but they do a lot of lobbying and fight legislation that would hurt federal employees at the national level. When I first started my first real VA job, they said that they were standing between us and people like Paul Ryan. I was like "SOLD."

 

[WisNeuro]

This is one of those situations where I hope people do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. While I would agree that you probably won't notice much benefit in your day-to-day, it is the largest civilian union in the US if I remember correctly. And, a certain political party has been trying to chip away at federal workers benefits for decades now. And, with a likely GOP takeover of the House and Senate in 2022, you want that union to be as strong as it possibly can be.

 

[MidWestLass]

This is one of those situations where I hope people do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. While I would agree that you probably won't notice much benefit in your day-to-day, it is the largest civilian union in the US if I remember correctly. And, a certain political party has been trying to chip away at federal workers benefits for decades now. And, with a likely GOP takeover of the House and Senate in 2022, you want that union to be as strong as it possibly can be.

Sold! Thanks to you and cara susanna for this perspective. I’ll be joining.

 

[WisNeuro]

Sold! Thanks to you and cara susanna for this perspective. I’ll be joining.

Thanks for listening. I'm a fan of being a member of those organizations that are advocating for you, even if they are not 100% aligned with your goals. One of the reasons I push APA and state association memberships as well. It can definitely add up, but some portions are tax deductible, and they're the ones putting in the heavy lifting with state and federal legislators.

 

[ClinicalABA]

With all due respect, this is not General Motors...

Interestingly enough, our graduate student union was the UAW! It was interesting to the get the UAW Solidarity newsletter. As you can imagine, the stories and the pictures had little to do with issues like having to TA too many course.

 

[JustNoticing]

I've been horrendously disappointed in the lack of organizing by my local (I've seen other chapters that are more active)l, but there's no denying the outcomes AFGE gets for us on the national level, nor the security and confidence that comes with having a union job. Though I did hear that it was AFGE that lobbied to keep us from getting title 38...

 

[WisNeuro]

I've been horrendously disappointed in the lack of organizing by my local (I've seen other chapters that are more active)l, but there's no denying the outcomes AFGE gets for us on the national level, nor the security and confidence that comes with having a union job. Though I did hear that it was AFGE that lobbied to keep us from getting title 38...

The devil is always in the details.

https://www.veterans.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/5.22.19%20-%20AFGE.pdf

 

[cara susanna]

I'm actually happy with the title 38 decision because I don't want my job performance tied to completing reminders.

 

[JustNoticing]

yeah that's fair. I could do without performance pay, but want the 26 days off a year the RNs and docs get.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I don't know that it would be the same for psychologists, but physicians' performance pay is not insubstantial. I want to say I've heard numbers in the $15-20k range, although I would think it's somehow tied to base pay.