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.

HOW TO RIG A NATIONAL OR REGIONAL UNION ELECTION I can think of more than half-dozen tricks that incumbents or those favored by the “powers-to-be” can use to get a large advantage in multi-local elections.  But I want to focus … Continue reading

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FEDERAL COURT HIGHLIGHTS ANOTHER WAY UNIONS CAN OVERTURN EMPLOYEE TERMINATIONS An arbitrator blundered, a federal court spotted his blunder, and unions should make sure arbitrators give their members the full benefits of the law. In this case, an agency terminated … Continue reading

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

THERE IS SOMETHING ROTTEN AT DODEA I once worked at the DoD Education Activity (DODEA) as a management official and to this day have enormous respect for its top leader’s integrity and values. But between the EEOC decision covered in … Continue reading

Posted in Promotion/Hiring | Tagged | Leave a comment

YOU’RE PROTECTED WHEN YOU JUST SPEAK UP FOR A DISCRIMINATION VICTIM Iris, is an employee at DoD’s Education Activity (DoDEA) which manages its elementary and high schools around the world. In fact, she was a school principal.  When she raised … Continue reading

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THE ACTRESS JOAN CRAWFORD ON PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE The next time some top manager proposes termination rather than uses progressive discipline on an employee think about showing the oral reply official the wire hanger scene from Joan Crawford’s Mommy Dearest film. … Continue reading

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IS THIS DISCRIMINATION? WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Assume that a CEO of some organization decides that he no longer wants a minority woman, who held a supervisory position, on his staff.  She has somehow upset him.  Consequently, he has her … Continue reading

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THE AGONY OF TERMINATION, NEPO BABIES AND PAYING IT FORWARD During my career as a union rep, I defended more than a handful of feds who were terminated by their agency. While I could talk about them, I want to … Continue reading

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IMPORTANT FLRA “SCOPE OF PROPOSALS” DECISION Last month, FLRA decided a POPA case that all negotiators should read closely. (66 FLRA 247)  Management made a mid-term proposal to change one part of a performance awards program and the union responded with … Continue reading

Posted in Bargaining Law | Tagged | 1 Comment

HOW UNIONS CAN TAKE TWO BITES OF THE APPLE There has been a lot of litigation over situations where a union has filed a ULP charge with FLRA over an issue and soon thereafter filed a grievance over the same … Continue reading

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ALL PRACTITIONERS OWE CHAIRMAN DUBESTER A HUGE THANKS Ernest Dubester’s term as FLRA Chair ended earlier this year without much fan fair – and we are stunned. There is little doubt that he was one of the three most important … Continue reading

Posted in FLRA | Tagged | 1 Comment