Monthly Archives: April 2014

WHEN CAN EMPLOYEE “LEADS” EVALUATE CO-WORKERS? Answer:  They can’t or never are the only acceptable answers. But while the answer is easy, trying to convince managers not to ask Leads to draft performance appraisals is a lot harder. Delegating the … Continue reading

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BILL GATES PREDICTS THE END OF THE ACCOUNTING/AUDITING OCCUPATION Given that the feds employ about a quarter of a zillion accountants and auditors, many of whom are union members, here is something to think about. Bill Gates spoke recently about … Continue reading

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WHEN EMPLOYEES MAKE MANAGERS SAD Perhaps she has watched too much of TV’s “Dr. Phil,” but when a Treasury Department manager met with a dissatisfied employee no one had to ask her “How does that make you feel?” As she … Continue reading

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GENERALIZED ANXIETY AS A DISABILITY Anxiety attacks are not only real, but they are a recognize disability protected by the EEOC under the disability statutes. When an employee was denied the right to bring a service dog to work that … Continue reading

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WHAT TO DO ABOUT ZOMBIE LOCALS What is a zombie local?  It is a single local of a successful national union, that has chronically low membership, e.g. fewer than 30% of the unit employees belong. It enjoys all the protections … Continue reading

Posted in Membership Building, Union Administration | Tagged | 1 Comment

ETHICS TEST: DID THIS UNION SELL OUT ITS MEMBERS? When is it okay for union leaders to drop pending arbitration cases that could potentially yield millions in back pay for members and non-members in return for agency agreement to allow … Continue reading

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DO YOU KNOW WHAT 29 U.S.C. 501(C) IS?  HINT: IT CAN SEND UNION LEADERS TO JAIL If union officials or staff take or receive any compensation or other benefit not properly “authorized” under the law, union constitution or bylaws, they … Continue reading

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FURLOUGH MYSTERY SOLVED! “IT IS ALL ABOUT MSPB’s NEEDS” Why did the MSPB give employees virtually no right to challenge adverse actions  furloughs, leaving them vulnerable to thinly veiled disciplinary suspensions without the due process, political jockeying, and slush fund … Continue reading

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BEWARE OF THIS SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ERROR A manager at the National Institute of Health filed an EEO complainant alleging that she had been subject to gender and national origin harassment.  The agency offered to settle the dispute by giving her … Continue reading

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MSPB RECOGNIZE OGE DEFENSE TO DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) terminated a manager for “defalcation of obligations.”  The Board ordered the employee reinstated with back pay because FDIC ignored what we are going to call the “OGE … Continue reading

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