Victory! (and why unions are necessary) in Those Public Entries

So, as I mentioned a few entries ago, I was told to RTO. For a little background: I work for the IRS in Vermont. I started on June 7th, 2021, and was remote until July 2022 because of COVID restrictions. Then, in February 2023, the office closed again, due to flooding from a burst water pipe, and only “reopened” (stick a pin in that) two weeks ago.

Now, my job title is “Shared Administrative Associate,” which is a fancy way of saying “admin assistant who supports multiple offices in three states and gets paid less than $50k a year,” and my pay grade is GS-06, step 3, which you can look up here. I do not have any customer-facing responsibilities except “escorting taxpayers to the appropriate area” (stick a pin in that one, too), and because of this and “getting the mail” (you still have pins, right?), and my job series’ “requirement” of mandatory three days in office (one more pin, I promise this is the last one), my boss told me I nnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeded to RTO. Oh, and my main unit is a collections one, and our area’s singular revenue officer is out on medical leave after back surgery, so while he’s gone, can you process his checks and returns? For no additional compensation and no raise, of course.

Well, this insistence that I nnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeded to RTO struck me as odd and superfluous, since 99% of my job is both computer-based and not customer facing. Also, “escorting tax payers” is right out: Last month, our very public-access building was subjected to a glitter bomb. Not in the IRS offices (or Social Security or VA clinic, which are also in this building, or even Becca Bailint’s office, which is literally on the floor above mine), but a government contractor who works in the building. I think it was in response to the ongoing Palestinian genocide¹, but what the connection is between that and that particular contractor, I couldn’t say, because I honestly don’t know what that contractor even does. So now, the taxpayer assistance center (TAC) is closed more often than not, and why I even need to escort TAC customers, I don’t know, because I’m not part of TAC. Also, on the rare occasion that TAC is open, it’s open to the public and has a security guard. Why are you asking my lil’ five-foot and extremely female self to “escort” anyone anywhere? (Oh, hush, some of you.)

But, my boss was insistent. Even if I didn’t need to be an escort for anyone (shut up), I needed to be there for the mail run.

Me: “You mean, the mail run I’ve been doing twice a week for the last sixteen months? The mail run for mail that’s not even being dropped off at the office anymore? The mail run for an office that isn’t even officially open as of now? The mail run I’ve been doing for sixteen months by driving to the post office, taking it to our office, date-stamping and sorting it, and then leaving? That mail run?”

My boss: “Yes! TAC doesn’t take the mail” [yes, they do, because the majority of that mail is theirs, not ours] “and we’re running on a short time frame to get checks processed.”

So, with a very Bob Belcher attitude, I agreed to RTO. But, I got in contact with my union steward and asked for a meeting with our union rep. See, I’m a dues-paying member of the National Treasury Employee’s Union, and given the security concerns in the office (which we’ve been bringing up for at least the three years I’ve been there) and the idea that I have to return to a closed office three days a week, for eight hours on those days, seemed not just ridiculous, but a violation of my rights as an employee. I have a right to be safe in my workplace. I have a right to equitable treatment. I have a right to telework. Our union rep agreed to meet with me, which was just in time, because on Wednesday, due to TAC being as useful as a herring to cut down a tree, I called my mom and told her, and I quote, “Talk me out of quitting my job today.”

So yesterday, my area’s union rep, along with a couple representatives from FMSS (building maintenance), toured the office to see the security complaints employees had brought up. Then, he came to my cube and asked if we could speak in one of the conference rooms, one on one. I said yes, and this is basically how the meeting went:

Me: “In the first place, after the glitter bomb, I don’t feel safe escorting taxpayers. It’s like asking a Munchkin to escort Godzilla. And given that there aren’t any metal detectors in the building, it wouldn’t take much for someone to sneak in a gun.”

Union rep: “And why are you escorting taxpayers anywhere? TAC is open to the public, and [your revenue officer] is in the office if he has clients to meet, correct?”

Me: “Yes. And [our RO] doesn’t usually meet people in the office, anyway. He meets them in the field.”

UR: “I don’t see the need for you to be here. And I know [Boss] is going to insist that it’s for mail, but it doesn’t seem like you get much of it.”

Me: “No, we really don’t. There have been several days, before and after I was told to RTO, that we’ve had no mail at all for anyone but TAC.”

UR: “And isn’t everyone else in Collections and SB/SE on the ‘two days per pay period’ telework agreement?”

Me: “As far as I know. [Boss] said it’s because I’m a shared admin and GS-6, that series is required to be in office three days a week.”

UR: “That’s not true. Unless you’re in a customer-facing position, you’re entitled to the two days per pay period telework agreement.”

Me: “That’s good to hear. And as far as the office re-opening goes…”

UR: “This office isn’t even officially open. I really don’t know why [Boss] thinks it is.”

Me: “And then, there’s the more personal side of things. Rent in Burlington is insane, so I moved an hour and a half away. Gas prices are up, the price of everything is up, and I’m not being paid enough to cover my basic living expenses, especially with the added expense of a commute.”

UR: “Unfortunately, the IRS doesn’t really care about things like that. It’s not not important, but they say it’s an employee’s responsibility to understand the cost of living.”²

Me: “Okay, but I care. I also care that I feel like [Boss] isn’t giving me enough opportunities to advance. I know she doesn’t want to lose me, but it’s going to happen. Either I leave for another job entirely, or I advance within the IRS, but either way, I’m not staying here for the rest of my life. I literally can’t afford to. And unless I can see a clear way forward, I have no choice but to leave.”

So we started talking about what my career goals were. I said cybersecurity, which is still on the table, but then I mentioned in passing that I’d looked into a data analytics bootcamp. I swear, the union rep’s entire face lit up. He told me that the IRS always needs statistical analysts, and that there are a ton of careers that stem from it (pun not intended), such as workflow analysts. He agreed to put me in touch with a workflow analyst he knows, and at some point in the coming weeks, I’ll be talking with her about what I need to do to get into that job.

And finally, he said there’s no reason for me to be in the office three days a week. If the mail runs were working for sixteen months, there’s no reason they can’t keep working. Plus, as I told him, I’m okay with staying in the office to get my stuff done (in fairness, the checks do have to be mailed to our processing area in Utah the day after they’re entered, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that the process, end to end, takes less than ten minutes, and most of that is just waiting for the check registering program to load), but I want to leave after that.

And as for TAC? You know what, screw them. Not only have they not helped me out at all since I got here, they also tried to throw me under the bus for not being able to fucking tell by osmosis when TAC is closed, because apparently that’s also part of my job description. Hell, I emailed their GM on Wednesday and asked her if I could have a heads-up when TAC is closed, and her response was, “No, just look at the schedule posted by the door.” Fuck that. I am not part of TAC, and I’m not dealing with their angry clients. If they want a secretary, they can hire their own.

So. Here’s hoping that light at the end of the tunnel isn’t a train. Also, some of those workflow analyst jobs start out at GS-13, which in Vermont starts at $105,312 a year. Biggie Smalls might have said “mo’ money, mo’ problems,” but as my fellow Millennials on the internet say, “I got 99 problems and money would solve 97 of them.”

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¹Do NOT use me mentioning Palestine here as an excuse to go off on how much you hate Jews, Israel, or how you think (((Da Joos))) are gonna throw the election and all support Israel. Do. Fucking. Not. I have already made a post about this, and your antisemitism is not helping Palestinians. It’s just being hateful towards Jews, and as a Jewish-ish person myself, I will not fucking tolerate antisemitism in any way, shape, or form. Don’t like it? Go cry about it.

And if I may ask, why are you bitching at me about any of this? I have no power in that arena! I’m not even in that arena! I understand you’re upset that your tax dollars are going to fund a genocide -believe me, I’m upset about it, too- but I am not important or influential enough to stop it. I am a glorified secretary, okay? I do time sheets, I request tax returns, I made edits to tax returns when asked, and I order supplies for my offices. That is the extent of my power and influence within the IRS and the larger US government. If you really want to put pressure on Biden to stop this genocide (and again, I am 100% with you on that), talk to your representatives. Find out who your Congresspeople are. Call them. Email them. Bitch them out and make clear that they don’t have your vote if they don’t vote for a permanent ceasefire, or at least for the US to stop sending money and weapons to Israel. Yelling at a powerless peon like me isn’t going to do anything, especially on this site. Take some fucking responsibility for your activism. Here, I’ll even do the legwork for you:

The official House of Representatives directory.

How to contact your senators.

If you’re not sure where to begin looking, the official Congressional website has a look-up function.

Guides to writing effective letters/emails to your Reps, from the ACLU, the National Consumer Law Center, and Common Cause.

²This being true is just insane to me. Government work doesn’t have much going for it, except flexibility and opportunities for advancement. And you’d think, wouldn’t you, that if you live and work in a place where rent is averaging $2300 a month, you’d need to pay someone enough to at least afford that. Capitalism is an orobouros of stupidity, and I roll my eyes in the utterest contempt at its defenders, you poor, delulu souls.

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Last updated 2 days ago