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.

SELL-OUT UNIONISM Assume for a minute that something like this message popped up in our mail last weekend: “My union won a huge arbitration case for a group of us whose career ladder promotions have been habitually delayed. I was … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

HOW SPECIFIC MUST GROUP GRIEVANCES BE? Is the following a legitimate grievance: “Local X007 alleges on behalf of impacted employees that the agency violated the compensation rights of employees at various offices over the last six years and asks that … Continue reading

Posted in Grievance/Arbitration | Tagged | Leave a comment

HOW TO CHANGE UNION AFFILIATION On March 28, 1988, NAGE Local R14-146 was certified as the exclusive representative of a unit of health care employees at the U.S. Public Health Service, Indian Health Service Hospital, Shiprock, New Mexico, including employees … Continue reading

Posted in Union Administration | Tagged | Leave a comment

WOW! AFGE’S GUIDE TO FIGHTING DISCRIMINATION  AFGE has published online a 170-page roadmap to the EEO complaint process for employees and union reps that underscores two things about the union. First is its obviously deep commitment to civil rights issues.  … Continue reading

Posted in EEO/Discrimination | Tagged | 1 Comment

OFFICIAL TIME, TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT AND UNION INVESTMENTS Even a quick review of the latest LM-2 and IRS 990 reports filed by unions reveals that some federal sector unions have a lot of money in the bank at not just the … Continue reading

Posted in Union Administration | Tagged , | 1 Comment

I DON’T GET NO ADVANCE SICK LEAVE RESPECT An employee asked for 88 hours of advance sick leave due to incapacitation and doctor appointments.  When the agency denied the request, she was given no reason for the decision.  When her … Continue reading

Posted in EEO/Discrimination | Tagged | Leave a comment

MEDICAL PRIVACY QUIZ An employee informs her manager that she will need some sick leave because of pending knee replacement surgery.  Her supervisor passes on that information on to her supervisors so that they are aware of a potential need … Continue reading

Posted in Disability, Medical Issues | Tagged | Leave a comment

HOW TO WASTE, ABUSE AND MAYBE EVEN DEFRAUD UNION FUNDS We are not talking about what everyone would consider outright theft, e.g., reimbursing a dummy company for fictional services and shipping the money to the Caymans. We are not even … Continue reading

Posted in Union Administration | Tagged | 1 Comment

CAN AGENCIES BAN RECORDING DEVICES IN THE WORKPLACE? For generations employers had the unquestioned right to prohibit employees from using or even bringing recording devices into the job site—although employers could use them if they wished on or against employees. … Continue reading

Posted in Employee Rights, Union Rights | Tagged | Leave a comment

IS THIS EMPLOYEE OWED $314,621.00, $95,186.00, OR $209,836.00? We just ran across a wonderful example of how easy it is to determine the proper amount of attorney fees under current law and regulation. We are sending it along for all … Continue reading

Posted in Attorney Fees | Tagged | Leave a comment