Posted on February 9, 2015 by AdminUN

WOW!  NWSEO GOES ALL IN ON 1187 BONUSES

Just a couple of weeks ago we were extolling AFGE’s commitment to boosting membership by giving out $100 for every newly signed 1187. CITE But the National Weather Service Employees Organization has gone far beyond that with this announcement, “NWSEO will provide airfare, 3-nights lodging, and group meals for the 2015 convention” to “any NWSEO member who recruits two or more new members to join NWSEO using the 1187 for payroll deduction.”  The program is in effect for an entire year before the convention.  Now that is organizational commitment, but it is needed. The union claims to represent about 4,000 unit employees, but has reported to DOL that only 1,475 are paying dues.  NWSEO has a good record of improving working conditions for its members, e.g., it just got employees a $300 rebate for any fitness club fees they pay, got local Administrative Support Assistants upgraded to GS-8, it stopped a 4-day sequestration furlough plan, etc.  Consequently, once again we see that low membership figures are not about the quality of representation, but about leading the union to address all the other critical variables and driving up a commitment to recruit co-workers is the next best option for driving improvement. 

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Posted on February 9, 2015 by AdminUN

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WERE THIS UNION’S PRESIDENT?

Most leadership programs put participants in hypothetical situations, give them the facts, and then ask them to lead their group to a solution.  What follows is a tale of two similar locals inside NTEU, but they could be in any union. They all face similar problems.  Look over the facts below, assume that you are the national president of the union, and develop a solution. Continue reading →

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Posted on February 9, 2015 by AdminUN

FSIP DESIGNS NOVEL LEAVE SELECTION SYSTEM

Most every union wrestles with how annual leave requests should be approved.  One of the more common struggles is between giving those with seniority preference versus giving the younger employees with families a chance at some of the traditional family holiday.  AFGE’s Food Safety Inspectors just got a decision from the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP) setting out how to prioritize leave requests between full-time employees and temporary employees, who apparently are not in the unit due to their temp status, when they both request the same day off. (AFGE, 2014 FSIP 109 (2015))  It is an approach we have not seen before. Although Panel decisions are not precedent for other cases, it always pays to know how the Panel solves problems.  Here is the portion of the decision explaining what language the parties are ordered to put in their agreement. Continue reading →

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Posted on February 4, 2015 by AdminUN

TIME CLOCK BARGAINING AND THE BIBLICAL MARK OF THE BEAST

This is a case about religious discrimination you will find hard to forget.  Like most everything else about workplaces these days automation is driving lots of change. One particular area involves time clocks ad similar methods of verifying when employees arrived and left for work.  It is hardly news that they are steadily being replaced by hand, eye, and other body part scanners. But who knew that these scanners would trigger a discussion of Satan at the mid-term bargaining table? Continue reading →

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Posted on February 4, 2015 by AdminUN

AFGE MAKES ANOTHER FUTURISTIC MOVE

In order to establish a first class representational program a union needs a lot more than skilled reps to present cases and advise locals.  It is just as vital that it have an excellent training program aimed at not just local officers and stewards, but also members. Why?  Because the more they know about their rights under law, regulation and contract, the more likely they are to spot problems and realize that the union can help them.  The American school system spends more time covering the War of the Roses than it does the rights students will have as workers over the next 50 or so years of their lives. Consequently, unions have little choice but to fill that gap if they want to build employee support and boost organizational clout. But how can they do that given the enormous costs of such a venture and access obstacles? Here is what AFGE has done. Continue reading →

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Posted on February 4, 2015 by AdminUN

WHY CAN’T MY UNION DO THIS? (PART 2)

Back on December 7, 2014 we posted a story with the same title as this one, minus the Part 2 reference.  The message was the unions need to create user-friendly on-line information banks for their national and local reps that not only generally address almost every topic or issue they could run into, but which also provide links to critical cases, regulations, statutes, and other documents that could be helpful in their day-to-day representational work.  In fact, we said it is overdue given how easy it is to arrange technologically.  We noted that agencies have started to do this for managers to underscore how important it is that unions catch up to something like the OPM “A Thru Z” alphabetical list of issues.  Here is another agency example, from the Department of Army, currently available to the general public that could be a good foundation for any union to start with. Just a thought.

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Posted on February 2, 2015 by AdminUN

AFGE: HOW A UNION STRATEGICALLY COMMITS TO GROWTH

We have complimented AFGE often for its success at adding new members since 1999.  John Gage, its prior national president, and J. David Cox, its current one, have had more success this century than any other federal employee union leaders at growing their union and its top-to-bottom strength.  And they did it by involving local union leaders deeply through a bottom-up, union-wide strategic planning process that all the rest of us should take the time to understand.  We recently found a short report on how AFGE weaves planning and growth to protect specific groups of employees. Don’t get stuck on the fact AFGE provides $100 for every new member recruited and another $50 for the person who recruited the new member.  Look deeper to get the most out of it. Continue reading →

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Posted on February 2, 2015 by AdminUN

DHS CHCO PREFERS PASS-FAIL EVALUATIONS

Not long ago Jeff Neal was the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Dept. of Homeland Security. Today, he is consulting and out here in the blogosphere letting folks know what he really thinks. We find him honest, helpful and concerned.  He recently went on record supporting the value of pass-fail evaluations.  This is one of those issues where there are good arguments on both sides of the debate.  Frankly, we lean toward a pass plus, pas and fail three-level system, but take a look at what Neal recommends. Continue reading →

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Posted on February 2, 2015 by AdminUN

PPP POWERPOINT

Recognizing a prohibited personnel practice violation is one of the more powerful things a union rep can do because the law permits the offending manager to be suspended, fined and even barred from government service. Not long ago we ran across a pretty good review of the PPPs in a PowerPoint prepared by the IG of the Small Business Administration.  We particularly like the practical exercises and recommend you consider borrowing it to train stewards.

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Posted on January 29, 2015 by AdminUN

TENS, IF NOT HUNDREDS, OF MILLIONS IN BACK PAY COMING TO CBP OFFICERS

In the chaotic aftermath of 9/11, the U.S. Customs Service made a lot of questionable decisions trying to boost America’s protection. That should have been a surprise to no one, was understandable and we are glad it put citizen safety first.  But as the months wore on after the attack, the employee’s union, NTEU, pointed out that the agency had violated employee rights by scheduling tours of duty without giving employees two consecutive days off each week and/or assigning them to a constant shift starting time in a single week.  The agency rejected the union’s advice, forced it to file a grievance which NTEU won, and now FLRA has blessed the arbitrator’s decision, making everything final absent some bizarre agency maneuver.  The decision grants thousands of harmed employees around 15 years of back pay for every week (around 780 of them) their statutory entitlements were illegally denied them.  As best we can tell from afar, this should be well over the $100,000,000.00 mark, putting it in the same territory as NTEU’s $500,000,000 back pay victory in the 70’s and its almost $300,000,000 “special rates” award. Super Congrats to NTEU for weaving its way through the obstacle-strewn path Homeland Security forced it to travel to protect employees. Continue reading →

Posted in Back Pay, Overtime | Tagged | 2 Comments