BE ON THE LOOKOUT (BOLO ALERT)

The senseless, wasteful, vindictive RIFs are coming.  Most unions have negotiated RIF procedures into their agreements, which is going to seriously damage their ability to demand negotiations before the RIF can take place. That’s thanks to the covered-by doctrine. (More on that soon.) But there is a possibility that unions can slow the RIF train down if they can find that the agency has made a change in anything that plays a significant role in the RIF determination process. For example, has the agency changed competitive areas, competitive levels, performance appraisal details, etc.?  If so, the union should demand to bargain as soon as it gets official notice of a pending RIF. The agency will probably ignore you under direct orders from Tesla Headquarters, the real seat of our government. But the union can then file a ULP grievance asking to overturn the RIF, reinstate everyone with back pay and benefits, adjust annuities for those who have retired in the interim, and finish bargaining.  So, scour your agency regs for changes, dig up the former competitive area/level documents, file information requests, etc. The potential payoff is huge to so many families.