Posted on July 12, 2019 by AdminUN

ARE UNION SURPLUS FUNDS TEMPTING AGENCY TARGETS?

You bet they are! We are not talking about a couple of million set aside for rainy days, but when unions sock away surplus wealth measured with eight digits to the left of the decimal point, then people take notice. In fact, a tiny LR think tank operation in a rather large federal agency has taken a passionate interest in these rarely talked about union surpluses. More specifically, it is kicking out ideas for how to use the money if union leaders do not take steps soon to channel the cash to internally improve their unions.  Here is a little of what unions can expect to see soon, especially if Trump’s anti-employee executive orders are upheld by the courts. Continue reading →

Posted in Union Administration | Tagged | 1 Comment

Posted on July 12, 2019 by AdminUN

AFGE’S STROKE OF LITIGATION GENIUS

FLRA Member Jim Abbott wanders around town declaring that he is a “strict constructionist” or someone to applies the law as it is written without much, if any, consideration of tradition, common sense, legislative history, etc. Well, AFGE might be about to shove that phony-baloney legal philosophy down his throat.  The union just filed a lawsuit claiming that the recent FSIP decision largely destroying the union’s ability to operate in the Social Security Administration is illegal because it does not apply the law as it is clearly written. Continue reading →

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Posted on July 7, 2019 by AdminUN

U.S. COURT CONFIRMS THAT ABBOTT & KIKO MANIPULATE EVIDENCE

Dubester tried to warn the two tooting Trumpettes, Kiko & Abbott, when they first made their decision that they were using fake facts to overturn a union ULP win. But, of course, they did not listen because playing fast and loose with the truth is how Kiko, Abbott and their kind operate our current government. The case was simple.  The union won an arbitration case in 2010 that called for the agency to modify its payroll system.  The Agency said it would and made some efforts to comply, but in 2015 announced to the union that it could not comply.  At that point, the union filed a ULP seeking to enforce the original decision.  Abbott and Kiko overturned the ALJ’s decision finding a ULP by proclaiming that the deadline for filing the ULP began running when the original arbitration award was issued in 2010.  In other words, the union should have been able to see five years into the future to determine that the agency would not comply. That made the 2015 ULP untimely and the entire case was flushed down the toilet on which Kiko and Abbott have been enthroned by our President. Continue reading →

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Posted on July 7, 2019 by AdminUN

WHO HAS THE PHYSICALLY TOUGHER JOB?  BORDER PATROL OR ICE?

As If DHS did not have enough problems on its hands, it is spending time creating stupid ones. Back in 2017 ICE rejected an application from a Border Patrol Agent on the grounds that the ICE job was a more physically demanding one than the Border Patrol Agent could not do safely. ICE ruled that the Border Patrol Agent’s disability (Aortic Valve Replacement), made him medically unfit to chase the same immigrants ICE does. Continue reading →

Posted in EEO/Disabilities | Tagged | 1 Comment

Posted on June 30, 2019 by AdminUN

ANOTHER SINKHOLE OPENS UNDER LAFFEY’S USEFULNESS

The D.C Circuit just overturned a District Court decision that held that the Laffey Matrix was not appropriate for reimbursing attorneys in a D.C. discrimination class action case.  The lower court ordered the parties use the U.S. Attorney Office (USAO) matrix, which reimburses at a substantially lower rate. While this may sound like a big victory for those looking to ride the Laffey matrix, it is not because the Circuit Court characterized the Laffey Matrix as appropriate for complex litigation rather than simple litigation. It is our guess that most arbitrations, as well as MSPB and EEOC disputes, are not complex litigation. See DL, ET AL.v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, ET AL., No. 18-7004 (D.C Cir. 2019) Continue reading →

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Posted on June 26, 2019 by AdminUN

QUIZ: WHEN IS CHARGING LWOP ILLEGAL?

In this case an employee had an auto accident damaging someone else’s private property. After a short investigation, the employee’s supervisor informed her that she could choose between either taking Leave Without Pay (LWOP) or using annual leave until she completed a driving training course. The employee, however, decided to take LWOP until she completed the driving training course, and was placed in a LWOP status from October 28, 2011, through November 3, 2011. What is illegal about that? Continue reading →

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Posted on June 26, 2019 by AdminUN

HAS FSIP VIOLATED THE LAW ON OFFICIAL TIME?

FSIP has the statutory power to “take whatever action is necessary” to settle a bargaining impasse. (See 5 USC 7119(c)(5)(B)(iii))  But it does not have unlimited power. The rest of that statutory section requires that whatever the Panel does must not be, “…inconsistent with this chapter to resolve the impasse.” The Panel recently cut a union’s official time allotment from about 181,000 hours per year in a 45,000-person unit to 50,000. There is not a thing the union can do to challenge that—unless it can show that decision violated a statutory provision.  But there just might be. Continue reading →

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Posted on June 17, 2019 by AdminUN

WELCOME BACK, CARTER: FSIP, ICE, & AFGE 

Someone needs to check where Mark Carter, the Chair of the FSIP, went to law school. Given his string of seemingly illegal decisions recently, our best guess is it was at Trump University. His latest blunder popped up in the recent Panel order imposing bargaining ground rules on ICE and AFGE. He and his posse of anti-union puppets ordered that when it comes time to approve or disapprove the ICE-AFGE term agreement that these ground rules should lead to the agency head will be able to disapprove the provisions/he does not like, but then implement all the other provisions.  In other words, the agency head only has to implement the provisions s/he likes. But don’t take our word for it this violates law.  The Authority has repeatedly held that Agency Heads cannot implement only portions of an agreement.  For example, Continue reading →

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Posted on June 17, 2019 by AdminUN

RESPECT THE ABAYA OR PAY

What is an “abaya?” It is a loose-fitting ankle-length overgarment worn by Muslim women that conceals the outline of the wearer’s body. It is required by their faith, and if an agency refuses to reasonably accommodate an employee or applicant who wishes to wear one, the EEOC has just made it clear it will go after them. It is suing … Continue reading →

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Posted on June 13, 2019 by AdminUN

QUIZ: WHAT IS WRONG WITH UNION REPS?

Please excuse our frustration, but it very painful to read about cases that unions lost but easily could have won if they drafted the grievance correctly. Union reps need to protect themselves from the twin Trumpian troglodytes at FLRA who will overturn any union arbitration victory they can.  Even though we have written about this before several times, apparently the message is not getting through to everyone.  So, we are going to try it as a quiz.  The facts of the case are as follows and the correct answer is at the end of this post. Continue reading →

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