When congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act, it was designed to allow workers access to 80 hours of paid sick leave for COVID-19 and related illnesses. Shortly after the act was implemented, the federal government classified a number of jobs as “emergency responders” and “healthcare workers” exempting them from being able to access […]
NelNet gets $35/hour to process Unemployment Claims Click here to send Governor Ricketts a message. Governor Ricketts and the Nebraska Department of Labor signed an agreement with NelNet to pay $35/hour for temporary workers to help process unemployment claims. The agreement will last a minimum of three months and generate $1.7 million in revenue for […]
Click Here to Send a Letter to Your Member of Congress Right now, front-line public service workers – health care workers, corrections officers, custodians and other public service workers – are putting their lives at risk to fight this pandemic. But if Congress doesn’t pass state and local aid, these public service workers could be […]
If you were unable to join us for our town hall webinar on April 20, a recording is available below. For the password, please see your e-mail or you can e-mail admin@napeafscme.org. In response to questions asked during the town hall webinar regarding the cleanliness of certain facilities, DAS State Building Division responded as follows: […]
Please call Governor Ricketts’ office at 402-471-2244 and tell him that you support NAPE and state workers. On April 15, NAPE leaders delivered nearly 1,700 petitions to Governor Ricketts’ office that members and concerned citizens submitted in the last five days demanding that State Employees be kept safe during the Coronavirus pandemic. The petitions ask […]
Click here to sign a petition to Governor Ricketts! On April 9, NAPE Chairperson Deb Strudl (DHHS, Lincoln) delivered a letter to Governor Pete Ricketts calling on him to protect our members while allowing vital services to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can read the letter here. The NAPE/AFSCME Executive Committee met via conference […]
A new federal law enacted in response to the coronavirus crisis creates a temporary right to paid leave. Employees of the State of Nebraska, State College System, and County Employees can access this leave if they are eligible. Click here to read our NAPE/AFSCME fact sheet about these leave benefits and how to access them. (Updated […]
NAPE Steward Nancy Gamboa has worked for DHHS for nearly 32 years, and currently works at the Scottsbluff Customer Service Center. Nancy knows how difficult it can be to get vacation leave approved, so she requested vacation leave for the week of Christmas 2020 a year in advance. Her request was approved, except for Christmas […]
Workers at the Gold’s Building in Lincoln have been working in unsafe and uncomfortable working conditions for years. A leaky roof, rodents, mold, and uncontrollable temperatures were just a few of the problems facing state employees each day. While the building was recently sold to a new owner and renovations have begun, the unsafe temperature […]
NAPE member Jennifier Myers is a six year veteran DHHS Social Services Worker assigned to the Broken Bow local office. Jennifier reached out to the NAPE office in November because DHHS would not allow her to use vacation leave in order to be paid while on FMLA leave, because it considered her leave “unplanned.” The […]
This is an unprecedented time for all of us. Nebraska state employees are on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19. NAPE hosted a webinar on March 23 to talk to you about the latest COVID-19 updates, your rights, and to answer questions. If you missed the webinar, you can watch by clicking here. […]
NAPE staff have been working tirelessly to make sure your voice is heard and that you are well represented during these uncertain times. We met with DAS Administrator Jason Jackson this morning to hear more about the state’s response to COVID-19 and to advocate on your behalf. The governor is asking everyone not to meet […]
As we all adapt to the realities of life as the world responds to the spread of COVID-19, we wanted to provide information about how you may be affected as a state employee, and to provide some resources to help keep yourself and your family safe. As veteran NAPE members know, it is unlikely that […]
NAPE member Stacy Fratt was on her way to work at the DHHS Fremont Customer Service Center on July 5 when she had car trouble. She contacted her supervisor right away to let her know that she would be late, and might not possibly be able to get to work at all. Stacy ended up […]
NAPE filed 78 grievances on behalf of members in 2019. NAPE prevailed in 75% of the cases, and over $100,000 in back wages and benefits were awarded to NAPE members who were wrongfully terminated and were reinstated to their jobs by arbitrators and hearing officers. Three more victories took place in January. Not many people […]
In January, NAPE scored a major victory when DHHS rescinded its short sighted “business casual” dress code policy. Since the dress code was rescinded, certain leaders at DHHS have decided to ignore our agreement with the DAS Employee Relations Division under the guise of “the 2017 policy allows us to require whatever clothing we want.” […]
Tami Krontz is an 18 year veteran state employee. Most of her career was spent as a pharmacy technician at the Lincoln Regional Center. In 2018, while fighting cancer, Tami was demoted from her pharmacy tech position, into the position of food service cook. Tami had no experience as a cook, and her battle with […]
The Department of Health and Human Services announced a new dress code that was to take effect on February 1. The dress code would have required all employees to wear business casual clothing Monday-Thursday regardless of their job duties or if they interfaced with the public. NAPE filed a grievance and a demand to bargain […]
It is with a heavy heart that we share news that NAPE member Sue Strnad passed away on December 19, 2019 at the age of 61. Sue was terminated by DHHS, despite having 3,000+ sick leave hours, as she bravely fought cancer. While Sue lost her battle with cancer, she won reinstatement to her job […]
When management makes a decision that violates our negotiated contract, our recourse is to enforce the contract through the grievance process. A huge benefit of union membership is having our stewards, staff and legal team fight for you free of charge. Your dues support individual grievances that have an impact on all members. NAPE filed […]