This is an agreement between the American Federation of Government Employees Local 704 (the Union) and Region 5 of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the Region), negotiated under Articles 35 and 45 of the Master Collective Bargaining Agreement. This agreement is effective upon signature of the parties through December 31, 1999. Either party may reopen this agreement after October 15, 1999 or by mutual agreement.

Section 1 - Objectives

The parties agree that the Awards and Recognition Program should:

1. Motivate employees to support the goals of the Agency with thoughtful work products.

3. Provide employee input into the awards decision process.

4. Provide information to employees regarding the Awards and Recognition Program and related criteria.

Section 2 - Honor Awards

In order to help ensure equal opportunity for consideration of honor awards for all Region 5 employees, employees are encouraged to make known their accomplishments to nominating officials and submit peer nominations per the established honor awards format. All honor award nominations will be signed by the nominator and the supervisor. These nominations will be considered by Division/Office honor awards panels. The nominations will be submitted to the Division/Office honor awards panels without the names of the nominees included. Once the panel members receive the written nominations, they will discuss procedures, awards criteria, the written nominations and will develop recommendations and priorities for honor awards. The awards panels must maintain confidentiality regarding their deliberations. Panel members who either have submitted or are included as a nominee will not vote nor be involved in the consideration of that particular nomination. Panels will forward their recommendations for honor awards to the Division/Office Director.

These awards panels will consist of individuals of diverse backgrounds. Each panel will have one union representative and the total membership will consist of 50% bargaining unit employees. The union representative will be chosen by the Union. Management will solicit and select the other panel members. The Union will be given 10 days to select the union representative.

The Division/Office Director makes the decision to accept or reject any of the recommendations. The Division/Office Director’s decisions will be discussed by the Senior Leadership Team, resulting in the submittal of final nominations to Headquarters for the National Honor Awards. Disputes regarding nominations and selections can be raised up the management chain for resolution. If names are added or removed after an honor awards panel recommendations are forwarded to a Division/Office Director, then the Division/Office Director should consult with appropriate parties. The final decision on inclusion or exclusion of a person will be determined by the Division/Office Director, preferably with input from the nominator and all affected parties.

The criteria for National Honor Awards are currently found in Chapter 2 of the Recognition Policy and Procedures Manual at http://intranet.epa.gov/agcyintr/ohros/manual.pdf. (Note: Only Employees Can Access Through Intranet). Criteria for regional honor awards will be publicized at the time nominations are solicited.

Section 3 - Multimedia or Multi-Program Monetary Awards

The process and criteria for making monetary awards can be found in Chapter 4 of the Recognition Policy and Procedures Manual (see aforementioned website). Each year the Region will reserve a certain percentage of monetary awards funds for the purpose of recognizing multimedia or multi-programs team accomplishments. Employees are encouraged to make known their accomplishments to nominating officials. Peer nominations are encouraged. Nominations will be submitted to the nominated group’s chairperson or team manager. The chairperson or team manager will send the nomination to the sponsoring Resources Management Committee member for completeness review. The sponsoring RMC member transmits the completed nominations to the multimedia awards panel for consideration and recommendation to the Senior Leadership Team for final approval. The nominations transmitted to the multimedia awards panel will not include the names of the nominated individuals. The multimedia awards panel will consist of individuals of diverse backgrounds. The panel will have one union representative and the total membership will consist of 50% bargaining unit employees. The union representative will be chosen by the Union. Management will solicit and select the other panel members. The Union will be given 10 days to select the union representative. The multimedia awards panel will conduct its business in a similar manner to the Division/Office honor awards panels. The recommendation on award amounts will be based on the guidelines for monetary awards, including tangible and intangible benefits per the Recognition Policy and Procedures Manual. If award amounts are not sufficiently motivating for group members, another type of award (e.g., on-the-spot or time-off award) may be considered.

Section 4 - Publicity and Openness

Monetary and time off award recipients should be recognized. This can take various forms including small ceremonies held informally with their peers, Division/Office ceremonies and other approaches that are meaningful to the recipients.

The parties agree to the article as written above.