OSA Newsline - December 28, 2009

Training for the upcoming analyst exams started last week, but there is still space for any member who has not yet registered. If you want the classroom training, call the office this week to register.

The Personnel Branch of DCAS has not yet totaled the number of applications for these exams. The information, however, should be available for next week’s newsline.

OSA Newsline - December 21, 2009

The holiday party last week went quite well, with 520 persons attending. New this year was a table for Education Analysts from the UFT. These analysts are working with OSA and the UFT to get hundreds of additional Education Analysts organized at the Department of Education. We will be posting photos from the party in small batches shortly, so check back from time to time.

This week begins the course preparation training for the upcoming Analyst exams. Sessions will be held at 335 Adams Street on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, then halt for Christmas Eve and Christmas and resume on Saturday and Sunday.

Members attending are asked to bring the appropriate training materials. Go to the Analyst Exam Training section, and scroll down to the list of materials. Download the curriculum, flip chart and questions for the session on budgets and contracts.

OSA Newsline - December 14, 2009

The good news is that more members have signed up for training for the upcoming analyst exams. The bad news is that many members have not signed up, and more than a few have told us they do not intend to take the exams.

On the plus side, over fifty members will be coming to the union office this evening to be coached on completion of their Education and Experience test papers. This is an area where many candidates can fail by surprise, but not once they have been briefed properly. On the minus side, there should be many more members coming in for this free service.

We have retired OSA members calling the active membership, seeking to alert them to the need to take these exams, but we will not reach everybody in the short time we have left. Among those we have reached, it seems most persons who have not filed for the appropriate exams, also have never called our newsline, visited our website, or read the union’s mailings.

All that’s left is for you, who do read this newsline, to reach out to your co-workers and ask them if they have filed for the appropriate exams and, if they have not, to urge that they do so.

For those who have signed up for the holiday party, we’ll see you there on Thursday.

OSA Newsline - December 7, 2009

Our union training and counseling courses are ready, willing and able to provide help for those of our members taking any of the six upcoming analyst exams. Unfortunately, many members seem to be waiting until the last minute before seeking that help.

Starting on December 2nd, our union has been open seven days a week to assist members in correctly filling out their applications. Since a few thousand members would benefit from the counseling, we felt we needed every day from December 2nd to December 22nd when the filing closes.

It begins to be clear that many members do not feel they need any review of their application forms but, based on past history, that would be a huge mistake.

In 1978, the year of the last open competitive Associate Staff Analyst exam, over 6,000 candidates filed to take the test. Of those, over 3,000 candidates were failed on the education and experience test paper filed with their application. Probably, all of those who failed were astonished that the E&E paper was used to disqualify them.

OSA and OSART and UFT members and Admin Staff Analysts II and III, all can have their papers reviewed for free at the union office, but if members don’t act quickly, we will be overwhelmed in the last few days of the filing period.

Call Katy, Carol or Chris at the union office quickly if you want your application to be reviewed before submission. Any member who has not previously, successfully completed an E&E paper really, really should have the paper checked before submission. Katy, Carol or Chris will schedule you after work or on the weekend for the review.

Also noted, many members have signed up for classroom training for these exams, but if you want a preferred evening to attend class, send in the forms soon or call George at the union office right away.

Finally, the holiday party is on a two for one basis at $20 per person or two for $39. The party is December 17th, so please purchase the tickets soon, so we know how many charlotte russes to order.