Union Benefits After RIF | AFGE Local 2883

AFGE Local 2883 Union

AFGE Local 2883 is the Union chapter representing most CDC employees.

Even if you are currently on administrative leave, YOU ARE STILL A CDC EMPLOYEE AND BENEFIT FROM THE UNION. An employee’s union affiliation generally falls into one of the three categories below:

Bargaining Unit Employees (BUEs)

Non-supervisory employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) by virtue of their job series.

It is possible to be a BUE, but NOT a member of the Union. You MUST be a dues-paying member to be a member of the Union.

If you work remotely, you can be part of the Bargaining Unit (BU) if your CIO is physically in Atlanta or the Miami Port Station.

Job series currently covered by CBAs for L2883:

0000, 0018, 0019, 0080, 0089, 1017, 0110, 0301, 0303, 0306, 0308, 0318, 0326, 0341, 0342, 0343, 0344, 0346, 0391, 0399, 0501, 0510, 0560, 0685, 0801, 0856, 0950, 0967, 1001, 1008, 1015, 1035, 1040, 1060, 1071, 1082, 1083, 1084, 1087, 1101, 1102, 1109, 1176, 1320, 1410, 1411, 1412, 1550, 1560, 1601, 1654, 1701, 1702, 1712, 1725, 1910, 2005, 2010, 2102, 2130, 2210, 2604, 3414, 3806, & 4605

Note that although non-supervisory employees are NOT eligible to join the bargaining unit, they ARE eligible to join as dues-paying members.

Local 2883 Union Members

Employees who pay dues to the Local 2883 union.

Union members can include:

Bargaining Unit Employees that also formally joined the Union by paying-dues.
Employees who voluntarily joined and pay dues (i.e., ‘dues-paying members’).
Supervisory employees are now eligible (as of 4/10/2025) to join the Union as dues-paying members.

Non-member, non-BUE CDC Employees

Employees who are neither covered by a bargaining unit agreement, nor pay union dues. Although they are not members, these employees can still benefit from the Union.

They can always access information and guidance that gets disseminated via email and on the L2883 website.

They MAY be a beneficiary of legal actions or grievances, depending on the specifics of the litigation.

For example, if there is a hypothetical court case, and:

The judge rules that the RIF should be blocked in its entirety, all employees benefit, regardless of Union membership.
The judge limits the scope to AFGE members, only union members can benefit.

The scope of legal decisions became extremely pertinent during a recent grievance decision.

The court found that the mass firing of probationary employees violated the AFGE 2883-CDC collective bargaining agreement. Thus, only dues-paying Union members or Bargaining Unit Employees benefited.

As a dues-paying member, regardless of whether you are covered by the collective bargaining agreement, you will still benefit.

What you need to know about dues:

To join, you MUST opt to pay dues with a credit or debit card (not via paycheck deductions).
Membership dues at AFGE Local 2883 are only about $15 per pay period. You will not be charged retroactive dues.
- Note: Dues will increase slightly with the upcoming bylaws update, yet will remain among the lowest of all federal unions.
Your union membership will begin immediately, even if your SF-50 does not reflect the correct bargaining unit status
You may cancel membership at any time. If for any reason, including if you are separated, please email treasurer@afge2883ga.org to cancel your membership.
To volunteer to help AGFE 2883 fight, please email Katy@afge2883ga.org and Vi@afge2883ga.org, with the subject line: VOLUNTEER REQUEST.

Join the Union now!

Executive Order Prohibiting Union Rights

Status

On 3/27/2025, the Administration released an Executive Order (EO): Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs. However, a preliminary injunction blocked the EO on April 25, 2025. Litigation challenging EOs takes time to resolve and will likely be appealed substantially up the federal court system. Follow the court decisions for updates.

As it stands, this EO prohibits CDC’s Human Resources from processing BU codes, even to correct errors. Common groups with incorrect BUS codes include 685s and remote employees.

In the meantime, AFGE Local 2883 suggests still filing your individual RIF grievance as if your BUS code is 1872 (even if it has not yet been corrected on your SF-50).

If you submitted an HR help ticket to correct your BUS code, and that ticket was closed (rather than placed on hold):

Inform the Union immediately via email, this action warrants a collective grievance.
Email: info@afge2883ga.org
Subject: "685 BUS code change paused" [OR] "8888 to 7777 BUS code change paused”
Message body: List your job series, the date your ticket was closed, and HR’s message.

Include your job series in the AFGE Local 2883 bargaining unit (BU)

Continue the petition efforts to add your job series to the BU, which are outlined in the interest form.

The submission of petitions to the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) may be paused. However, moving forward in the petition process is still authorized.

The first requirement of the petition process is obtaining a show of interest from 70% of eligible employees in a job series. Reaching this threshold can be time-consuming, and many job series are still working to achieve this.

Support your job series by completing the interest form and sharing widely.

The recent RIFs show how crucial it is to obtain collective bargaining agreement protections for your job series.

Adding your job series to the BU is immediately advantageous to all parties, including:

You, personally: If the RIF is overturned, you are reinstated, or you eventually return to federal service, you will enjoy member benefits.
Friends and colleagues: Whether they are currently affected by the RIF or not, they will be better protected from illegal actions from the current Administration.
The Union’s ability to fight illegal actions. More collective bargaining units and more members results in a more powerful Union by generating a critical mass, and securing the funding required to challenge the numerous illegal actions carried out by the current Administration.