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.

Posted on July 21, 2013 by AdminUN

CAN THIS EMPLOYEE’S JOB BE SAVED? Here are the facts.  Marisa, a unit employee, came to you a few minutes ago with a copy of an adverse action letter proposing to fire her for a chronic leave problem.  According to the letter, … Continue reading →

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Posted on July 21, 2013 by AdminUN

BARGAINING WITH JERKS #3- (Tactics) Table Jerks are all about game-playing at the edge of unethical/illegal bargaining behavior.   They spend most of their time refusing to provide information, proclaiming there is no demonstrated need for the union proposal, and … Continue reading →

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Posted on July 17, 2013 by AdminUN

WHAT DID THIS UNION DO WRONG? Here are the facts.  See if you can figure out two things the union did wrong.  The agency had a practice of placing a guard at each of its strategically important locations around its property every … Continue reading →

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Posted on July 17, 2013 by AdminUN

FMLA, DOMA AND SAME SEX SPOUSES Now that the Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act there seems to be a lot of chatter about what that means for same sex spouses seeking FMLA benefits. As of today, if … Continue reading →

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Posted on July 17, 2013 by AdminUN

OBESITY AS A DISABILITY Back on March 24, 2012 we posted an article entitled, “When Severe Obesity Is a Disability.”  It explained how EEOC now recognizes obesity as a disability qualifying employees for reasonable accommodations.  Well, now the American Medical … Continue reading →

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Posted on July 11, 2013 by AdminUN

LABOR’S VERY BIG BLUNDER (The AFL-ABA-CIO) Organized labor has been shrinking in numbers and influence for over 60 years. There are a lot of reasons: well-funded enemies, relentless lawlessness by many employers, a toothless labor law, foreign competition for jobs, … Continue reading →

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Posted on July 11, 2013 by AdminUN

BARGAINING WITH JERKS- #2 (Negotiability) What do you do with the Jerk on the other side of the table who needlessly declares union proposals non-negotiable just to screw-up bargaining and prevent problem-solving?  Well, we can think of eight things, and … Continue reading →

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Posted on July 11, 2013 by AdminUN

OUR APOLOGIES TO THE DVA RNS A few weeks ago we posted a piece entitled, “Why VA Nurses Should Study Wall Street.”   It reviewed the advantages for employees working for the same nationwide employer to be represented by one union … Continue reading →

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Posted on July 10, 2013 by AdminUN

FOR THE FMLA SPECIALISTS The American Bar Association just issued its newest report on recent developments in FMLA case law. It is entitled, “2013 ABA FMLA Report.” If you are the union rep that handles all the FMLA matters for … Continue reading →

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Posted on July 10, 2013 by AdminUN

TRADING INFORMATION FOR MEMBERSHIP We have noticed a couple of local union newsletters that are worth bringing to your attention. Why?  Because the single most valuable thing a union can offer all its unit employees is information about what is … Continue reading →

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