Monthly Archives: November 2011

NO AGENCY NOTICE GIVES UNION BIG BARGAINING BONUS (PT. 1) NEGOTIATOR ALERT!     Managers often fail to give the union advance specific notice of a pending change in conditions of employment.  That is a fact of life every union leader learns … Continue reading

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FLRA POWERPOINT TRAINING MATERIALS STEWARD ALERT!     We ran across some pretty helpful PowerPoint training materials for union stewards and representatives—whether you read the slides just for your own benefit or use them for a local training session.  IFPTE must have … Continue reading

Posted in Bargaining Negotiability, FLRA, Training, ULPs | Leave a comment

HOW TO GRIEVE PROMOTION INTERVIEW SCORES STEWARD ALERT!     As explained in FEDSMILL’s recent four-part series on how to grieve promotion decisions, one way is to challenge the promotion scores. A large part of those scores often comes from an interview. … Continue reading

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BLACKBERRY & SMARTPHONE OVERTIME; MANAGER JAILED MEMBER ALERT!     Employers get zillions of hours of work each year from employees who access their e-mail account on their own time to either answer e-mails, clear backlogs or just link up related messages … Continue reading

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REMOVAL MITIGATED FOR DE MINIMIS INCIDENTS STEWARD ALERT!     A recent MSPB decision gives unions a valuable precedent to use when defending employee against discipline or removal.  In this case (Raco v. SSA, (9/29/11)), the agency removed the employee for 22 alleged … Continue reading

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EEOC TO MANAGERS: “ZIP IT!—CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?” MEMBER ALERT!     In October, FEDSMILL.com published an article entitled, “EEOC To Managers: Zip It!”  It was about various laws that prohibit managers from discussing publicly what they know about an employee’s … Continue reading

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DEWEY PUBLICATIONS BOOK SALE DEWEY PUBLICATIONS specializes in federal sector labor relations material.  You likely will find copies of one of more of their publications in management LR offices.  DEWEY just announced that it is putting several titles on sale.  … Continue reading

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HOW UNIONS GET UNIT MEMBERS PROMOTED MEMBER ALERT! Almost every time someone is promoted other applicants get passed over. Often, the passed over applicants feel they were just as qualified or even better qualified than the selectee. Sometimes they even … Continue reading

Posted in EEO/Discrimination, Grievance/Arbitration, Promotion/Hiring | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment