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.

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

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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

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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

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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

“VAGUE” REASONS TO DENY LEAVE ILLEGAL Employees are denied leave requests all the time and generally no one on either side of the labor relations arena thinks twice about it because FLRA has held that management has a right to … Continue reading

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OVERCOMING LR INCOMPETENCE Here is our hypothetical.  Assume that the union files a grievance alleging a violation of regulation or contract, wins a big back pay award at arbitration, and it is upheld by FLRA when LR files exceptions. Since … Continue reading

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FLRA’S CONFLICTING BACK PAY CRITERIA Assume that the head of a large federal employee office somewhere in the Midwest suddenly decided to change employee shift hours.  Instead of everyone’s shift being 8 to 5:30 every day, she announced that on Monday and … Continue reading

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ABA LABOR LAW UPDATE & THE CBP MUSHROOM CLOUD For those of you out in our blogosphere who like to stay up with the latest twists and turns in federal sector labor law we recommend reading through the American Bar … Continue reading

Posted in Arbitration, ULPs | Tagged | 1 Comment

NTEU TRIPS ITSELF UP ON CBP DISPUTE When Customs and Border Protection management decided to install new work stations for officers inspecting travelers, NTEU asked to bargain, and one of its demands was that officers be allowed to sit while … Continue reading

Posted in Attorney Fees, ULPs | Tagged | 2 Comments

WHO REALLY DESERVES THE BLAME? AFGE KNOWS It looks like the media is going to spend more than a little time this summer on the story about the horribly long security lines in airports. Congress, as it always does, has … Continue reading

Posted in Lobbying, Whistleblowing | Tagged | 1 Comment