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 REACH TERM AGREEMENT QUICKLY The single most pernicious, if not malignant, aspect of the American collective bargaining process is the ability of one party to drag out bargaining to drive up the other party’s costs and pain. Why? … Continue reading

Posted in Bargaining, Bargaining Tactics | Tagged | Leave a comment

AFGE FIGHTS AND WINS ANOTHER CIVIL RIGHTS BATTLE Some unions had periods in their history when they were downright hostile to civil rights struggles, some unions even today handle civil rights cases but not as part of a core strategy … Continue reading

Posted in EEO/Discrimination | Tagged | Leave a comment

WHO IS KIM MOSELEY? The very short answer is she is the new H. Joseph Schimansky who has left government to devote his last bits of knee cartilage to the Montgomery County tennis circuit before soaking up some well-deserved California … Continue reading

Posted in FSIP | Tagged , | Leave a comment

AFGE SLAPS DOWN CARELESS ARBITRATOR AFGE just got a MSPB decision loaded with lessons for parties on both sides of the table, but especially for the person sitting at the head of the table, namely, the arbitrator.  When an arbitrator … Continue reading

Posted in Arbitration | Tagged | Leave a comment

OUR COMPLIMENTS TO AFGE COUNCIL 222 We are always on the lookout for well-done union web sites, by which we mean (1) easy to navigate, (2) loaded with useful information, and (3) timely. AFGE’s council representing HUD employees across the country deserves recognition … Continue reading

Posted in Union Administration | Tagged | 1 Comment

DISABLED EMPLOYEE BEATS IRS What is a disabled federal employee to do when her agency does not quickly react to her request for reasonable accommodations to help her deal with a disability which her psychiatrist documented as follows: “Complainant had … Continue reading

Posted in Disability | Tagged | Leave a comment

AFGE GETS MEMBERS MORE TIME OFF Long ago the Social Security Administration scheduled employees’ lunch periods for them and some people did not get 30 minute unpaid lunch until seven hours into their shift. Their union, AFGE, came up with … Continue reading

Posted in Bargaining | Tagged | Leave a comment

TEN REASONS TO BE A UNION REPRESENTATIVE There are lots of good reasons to be a union rep, whether you get involved in grievances, negotiations, arbitrations, employee meetings, or information gathering & analysis.  Here are ten that we hope lead … Continue reading

Posted in Union Administration | Tagged | Leave a comment

DO YOUR MEMBERS A “LEAVE” FAVOR Decades ago the federal employee leave rules were simple. If you want a vacation take annual. If you are ill, take sick leave. If you are out of annual or sick, ask for LWOP. … Continue reading

Posted in Leave | Tagged | Leave a comment

A QUIZ: WHEN UNIONS’ RIGHTS COLLIDE Who is right and who is wrong in this situation where the bargaining rights of two unions collided in the parking lot?  IFPTE/NAIL reached a deal with the Navy Shipyard in Newport News over … Continue reading

Posted in Bargaining Law | Tagged | 1 Comment