On September 22, 2011, the NBPC completed a demand to bargain/request for information and submitted it to CBP LER. The NBPC recommends all affected employees read the demand to bargain to understand what the current situation and what was proposed.
On September 29, 2011, the NBPC received a response from LER. According to the response, CBP will suspend the October 23, 2011 date for the reclassification pending completion of negotiations. All employees should receive notice of this change shortly.
Finally, since this notification occurred, there have been a few rumors regarding this matter, two of which are addressed below:
RUMOR: The NBPC has done nothing to stop this reclassification.
FACT: The NBPC filed a motion for reconsideration with OPM when the initial OPM decision was announced; however, OPM denied the motion. This was the only appeal option the NBPC had with regards to an OPM classification decision.
RUMOR: The NBPC is trying to cancel the CPPP
FACT: By law, CBP is required to have a priority placement program in place so the NBPC cannot cancel the CPPP. The CPPP is a Legacy Customs Program and was never negotiated with the NBPC. As such, the NBPC intends to negotiate a program for use by employees of the U.S. Border Patrol.
