Author Archives: AdminUN

About AdminUN

FEDSMILL staff has over 40 years of federal sector labor relations experience on the union as well as management side of the table and even some time as a neutral.

CONGRATS TO AFGE LEADERS AT SSA ON TELEWORK MANEUVER They just signed a deal with SSA management to keep telework in place for six more years.  While that is not fool-proof protection against Shadow President Musk’s ranting about forcing all … Continue reading

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OVERHEARD AT LUNCH; BRACE YOURSELVES UNIONS Last week I met a friend for lunch at a little place in Washington, D.C. and overheard some very troubling chatter from an adjacent table.  Given the city is overrun with Congressional members, staffers, … Continue reading

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WHAT IS AN AGGRAVATING FACTOR? Looks like we Feds are going to be dealing with a lot more adverse actions soon if Trump’s Department of Efficiency has its way. Given that MSPB just issued a new precedent setting adverse action … Continue reading

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HAD A GREAT TIME … last week meeting with 35 union reps from around the country to review and discuss about two dozen legal precedents and tactics they can draw on to deal with the upcoming Trump Administration’s certain assault … Continue reading

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THE CHERNOBYL INCIDENT AT NRC There is a mushroom cloud climbing into the sky over the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that was triggered by management’s incompetence. NRC fired an employee for unacceptable performance back in 2018 and now must pay her … Continue reading

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UNION NEGOTIATOR’S QUIZ Imagine you are in this situation.  You are in term negotiations and the agency refused to bargain over three provisions that have been in the agreement for more than a decade.  It claims they are suddenly non-negotiable.  … Continue reading

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BOY, DO YOU NEED THIS CLASS NOW WITH TRUMP RETURNING In his previous term, Trump turned over federal sector labor relations to deeply anti-union political operatives.  The FSIP members regularly ignored the law to screw over federal employees because most … Continue reading

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356 POWERPOINT SLIDES ON HOW TO BOOST UNION BARGAINING EXPERTISE These slides will cover the basic legal precedents and tactical maneuvers unions need know to bargain effectively.  But they will also include legal technicalities many negotiators have forgotten and the … Continue reading

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WHY EMPLOYEES NEED WRITTEN OBJECTIVE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals just issued a decision stating once again that agencies need not provide employees with written performance standards, much less objective ones. We have probably all seen standards … Continue reading

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FLRA ADDRESSES HOW SPECIFIC A GRIEVANCE MUST BE TO SURVIVE Not long ago FEDSMILL posted a piece entitled, “Grievance Strategy Issues- Part 4” which examined how specific a grievance must be to avoid several traps that can destroy an otherwise … Continue reading

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