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 April 16, 2013 by AdminUN

DIRECTED REASSIGNMENT CASE LAW OVERHAULED Agencies have the right to terminate an employee who refuses an order to reassign, but only so long as the agency has a bona fide need for the employee to be located elsewhere.  Or at … Continue reading →

Posted in Discipline/Adverse Action | Tagged | Leave a comment

Posted on April 16, 2013 by AdminUN

COMPENSATION INCREASES UNIONS CAN BARGAIN (Pt. 2) There are around two dozen ways unions can negotiate to put extra cash in members’ pockets.  In Part 1 of this two-part posting we covered 12 of them.  Now for some others, some … Continue reading →

Posted in Bargaining, Bargaining Negotiability, Compensation | Tagged | 2 Comments

Posted on April 16, 2013 by AdminUN

IS PUNCTUALITY AN ESSENTIAL JOB ELEMENT? Most people think so, but now a federal circuit court has raised the possibility that it might not be in every case. For generations employers have fired employees for failing to report to work … Continue reading →

Posted in ADA/ADAAA, Discipline/Adverse Action | Leave a comment

Posted on April 16, 2013 by AdminUN

100,000 NEW UNION MEMBERS That is how much AFGE’s total membership increased between January 2001 and January 2013. It just reported to the Department of Labor that it has a total of 299,642 members. Congrats to them for all the … Continue reading →

Posted in Membership Building | Tagged | Leave a comment

Posted on March 14, 2013 by AdminUN

COMPENSATION INCREASES UNIONS CAN BARGAIN(Pt.1) There are over two dozen ways unions can negotiate to put extra cash in members’ pockets. That is great news for employees during these times of wage freezes and yet another reason they should support … Continue reading →

Posted in Bargaining, Bargaining Negotiability, Compensation | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Posted on March 14, 2013 by AdminUN

SEQUESTER BARGAINING STRATEGY Once management announces that a furlough is reasonably foreseeable (or any impact on unit employees is likely from sequester), the union has a right to bargain. We already shared our thoughts on some proposals to make in … Continue reading →

Posted in Bargaining | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Posted on March 14, 2013 by AdminUN

BARGAINING FOR BACK PAY Generally, there is only one way to get back pay. You have to file a grievance, charge or some other allegation against management and, absent settlement, get an authorized neutral, such as an arbitrator, to order … Continue reading →

Posted in Back Pay, Bargaining | Tagged | Leave a comment

Posted on March 14, 2013 by AdminUN

ON-LINE TRAINING IN TRAVEL REGS If your local has numerous disputes over travel, per diem, and other reimbursement matters, you might want to sign up for the on-line training course GSA offers in the Federal Travel Regs that you can … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel/Per Diem | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Posted on February 26, 2013 by AdminUN

BARGAINING OVER SEQUESTRATION’S IMPACT If your union has not demanded to bargain over the impact of the pending sequestration, do not wait much longer.  The odds of it happening are so high that the union should put in its demand … Continue reading →

Posted in Bargaining | Tagged | 2 Comments

Posted on February 20, 2013 by AdminUN

TEST YOURSELF- The Correct OT Remedy Let’s assume that you find management has incorrectly told some employees over the last nine months that they may only be compensated with comp time to work extra hours, not time-and-one-half overtime pay.  Then, … Continue reading →

Posted in Arbitration, FLSA/Overtime | Tagged , | Leave a comment