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.

THE GOOD OLD DAYS BEFORE UNIONS If you are too young to remember them, don’t worry.  They are coming back fast. You soon will get to relive the thrill of low wages, little training, crushed limbs, 12 hour workdays and … Continue reading

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EMPLOYEE GETS $666.00 IN BACK PAY TO EXPRESS MILK Unless someone has been hiding under a rock in a faraway land without electricity the last few years, they have heard that employers have to provide break time and other accommodations … Continue reading

Posted in Compensation | Tagged | Leave a comment

PUSH-UPS, SMUSH-UPS. QUALIFICATION STANDARD UNENFORCEABLE Management can’t enforce physical fitness qualification standards for employees—unless they follow the law.  It is not hard to wander from the requirements, as the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) did not long ago. That case … Continue reading

Posted in Disability, Qualification Standards | Tagged | Leave a comment

NICE TOUCH, AFGE, AND THANKS, MARK ROTH Normally, in any political organization the system is designed to give all the credit for anything good that happens for the members to the top elected official. While there are some legitimate reasons … Continue reading

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SAY “THANKS, BUT NO THANKS” TO BACK PAY FROM FSIP OR INTEREST ARBITRATORS Few things make a union negotiator and members as happy as a Panel order that makes a pay increase retroactive. A fistful of cash relieves a lot … Continue reading

Posted in FSIP | Tagged | Leave a comment

TSA IS A VERY BRIGHT SPOT FOR ORGANIZED LABOR There is not a lot of good news about unions these days. Last week 75% of the employees in Boeing’s South Carolina plant voted against unionizing and membership continues to decline … Continue reading

Posted in Membership Building | Tagged | 2 Comments

CLONING THE STATUTORY RIGHT TO BARGAIN—A PLUS OR MINUS? While the statute gives unions the right to bargain over conditions of employment, FLRA has also recognized that the parties can create an additional contractual right to negotiate. Generally, they do … Continue reading

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THE “HEBREW SLAVE” COMMENT An employee and her supervisor were communicating via e-mail when the employee commented that federal employees generally work shorter hours than private sector ones. The supervisor responded, “Wow,… then I must be a damn fool…cause I’ve … Continue reading

Posted in EEO/Discrimination | Tagged | Leave a comment

CAN FLRA STAY IMPLEMENTATION OF A FINAL AND BINDING FSIP ORDER? Yup! It can and it has, even though it is extremely rare.  The Authority, or at least the Carol Pope Authority, covered the process in an IFPTE decisions issued … Continue reading

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LAW FIRM UPDATES FEMALE CBP OFFICERS ON THEIR PUSH-UP LAWSUIT Customs and Border Protection (CBP) established a push-up requirement for its law enforcement officers.  It is unclear whether they pulled the number of push-ups required out of thin air or … Continue reading

Posted in EEO/Discrimination, Gender/Sex | Tagged | Leave a comment