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.

WHAT CHELIOTES JUST SHOWED ALL UNION LEADERS Arthur Cheliotes is the President of Local 1180 of the Communications Workers of America (CWA).  It is an unusual union local because 1180 represents over 1,000 managers working for New York City.  The … Continue reading

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NEGOTIABLITY: NOW, THE BAD NEWS FLRA just had a chance to apply a big chunk of common sense to federal sector labor relations, but took a pass. See NTEU, 68 FLRA 334 (2015). Here is the situation.  Agencies have the … Continue reading

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OPM’S COMPETITIVE SELECTION AVATARS Last week the Washington Post reported that OPM has begun using avatars to measure the aptitude of people applying for federal jobs.  The Post wrote that the system, “…uses animated avatars and videos to simulate challenges that … Continue reading

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HOW TO DO QUICK NEGOTIABILITY RESEARCH OPM has an on-line document that we have found helpful for two reasons.  First, it is a good source for ideas about mid-term proposals the union could make.  The ideas are sorted by subject, … Continue reading

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UNION POWER: YESTERDAY, TODAY & TOMORROW Every American school kid learns that one reason the Brits lost the American Revolution was that its tactics that once worked so well for them, did not work on the American battle field.  Brightly … Continue reading

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HOW MANAGEMENT KEEPS UNION MEMBERSHIP LOW If you have been following us for a while you know we have often publicly expressed our anguish over union locals where the percentage of unit employees who are union members is less than … Continue reading

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GOOD NEWS FOR UNION  TRUE BELIEVERS Thanks to the Washington Post for an article Sunday about how the thousands of temporary employees Microsoft hires through contractors, to avoid giving them the Microsoft benefits, have unionized and just won the right … Continue reading

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CAN THIS EMPLOYEE BE REFUSED UNION MEMBERSHIP? Suppose a non-unit employee in your agency was so angry with your union that he put the following message on his Facebook page addressing the members of your local: “rise up and create … Continue reading

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COULD THIS HAPPEN TO YOUR LOCAL? The following statement appears on a local union’s web site:  “Per IRS law, we are required to inform the membership of …. Local …  that as of May15, 2012 this local lost its tax-exempt … Continue reading

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REASSIGNMENT VIA THE EEO ROUTE What’s a guy to do when his wife, who works for the same agency as he does, is transferred from San Diego to Washington, DC, he applies for a reassignment to DC himself under the … Continue reading

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