Local 3972 President, Gary Mongelli, will be using my services as 3972 Steward (Fargo, North Dakota office) to send e:news to 3972 Bargaining Unit Employees and/or current 3972 members. When you see the red banner, you will know it's a message from 3972 President Mongelli, via one of the 3972 stewards.

Pay Increase limited to 3.1% in 2003?...President Bush has decided that federal employees covered by the General Schedule (GS) pay system should receive a scheduled 3.1% pay increase next year. But the president, citing a national emergency that "has existed since September 11, 2001," said he would allow no additional pay for employees based on labor costs in the localities where they work. How much do you stand to lose in 2003? Union member or not, you can punch your info into the pay raise calculator on the national afge website homepage and quickly see what you may lose. Click this link http://afge.org/, then scroll down the page to the pay raise calculator. There's an easy way to let congress know your view on the pay increase, see Gary or call him at 730-220-1327 (cell phone).