Posted on January 1, 2013 by AdminUN

CBP/DHS, LIKE A FISH, IS ROTTING FROM THE HEAD FIRST

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Service employees are among the country’s most vital feds. It is their job to stop terrorists and crooks from getting in while keeping out illegal drugs and banned imports, which competitively cripple American industries. They not only can seize property, but make arrests and shoot-to-kill, if necessary. They are the epitome of professional law enforcement. Unfortunately, something is very wrong in their agency. Continue reading →

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Posted on December 30, 2012 by AdminUN

DOL’s FINANCIAL CONTROLS TRAINING MANUAL FOR UNIONS

There is an interesting documents sitting deep inside the Dept. of Labor’s web site. It is a training PowerPoint manual it prepared, apparently for AFGE, to explain what the law requires union elected leaders to do when managing the local’s finances. It seems to be applicable for all unions, making it a very worthwhile document to read for the local president and treasurer. We advise you at least quickly click through it on their web site to see if anything jumps out at you.

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Posted on December 30, 2012 by AdminUN

SEQUESTRATION: WHAT UNION LEADERS NEED TO KNOW

If we fall off the cliff, “sequestration” will be a word union leaders use often over the next few months. There are two documents you might want to be aware of at the very outset of the process. The first is a web update that Government Executive is posting with information about what each department of government or independent agency has decided to do so far. We hope you get far more details from your LR folks, but if not, start here. The other is a report issued by the White House providing some details about how sequestration will operate in each agency. Union leaders will need far more details to bargain over the impact and implementation of the process, but this will give them a solid initial background in the topic.

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Posted on December 30, 2012 by AdminUN

MSPB CLARIFIES INDEFINITE SUSPENSION RULES

The law gives management the right to put someone on an immediate, indefinite suspension if it believes the person is guilty of a criminal offense for which he/she may be imprisoned. Unfortunately, agencies are a bit reckless when they use this right and all too often leave a person lingering on suspension well after the threat of imprisonment is over. MSPB just ordered an agency to cut a sizeable back pay check for the employee who it left home without cause. Continue reading →

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Posted on December 18, 2012 by AdminUN

EMPLOYEES CAN WITHDRAW RESIGNATIONS & DOWNGRADE REQUESTS

At times, agency managers will pressure and even harass an employee to the point that he gives up and resigns or asks for a downgrade to an easier job.  Once the managers have the signed request, they never want to let the employee take it back.  But MSPB has said that it is not up to them; it is for the employee to decide. Continue reading →

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Posted on December 18, 2012 by AdminUN

AFGE PULVERIZES PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

No one on the union side of the table should ever argue that it is easy to evaluate employee performance.  It is not.  But at the same time, AFGE just showed that OPM, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OMB, makes it far harder than it need be. Continue reading →

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Posted on December 18, 2012 by AdminUN

CRITICAL CONTRACT CLAUSES (#2A) – Mandatory Gainsharing Awards

Given the complexity of a good Incentive Awards article, we have decided to supplement the original Awards posting #2 about Suggestion Awards.  Today’s is about negotiating to give employees a guaranteed share of savings they help management achieve.  That is commonly known as “gainsharing” and can generate millions for employees through a strong contract article. Continue reading →

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Posted on December 13, 2012 by AdminUN

TEST YOURSELF: Is There a Violation Here?

Read over the facts below and identify what, if anything, the union can do to help. The answer is provided below the facts.

FACTS: Assume that an employee’s administrative workweek starts in the wee hours of Sunday morning and goes through to midnight the following Saturday. Let’s call her Keisha Krull. During the last year, she has always had a tour of duty running from Tuesday through Saturday starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 4: 30 p.m. Those were her regularly scheduled 40 hours. However, due to extremely tight budgets, the agency’s regional manager has decided to adjust the schedules of the people in Keisha’s work unit so as to avoid the need to pay any overtime. He moved staff from the slow periods of the week to the busier periods. Keisha’s new tour was Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  Her hours on Monday were from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. but the rest of the week she was to work from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Continue reading →

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Posted on December 13, 2012 by AdminUN

WHEN THE GERMANS BOMBED PEARL HARBOR

One of the great lines from film is the Animal House passage where one of the frat boys declares that nothing is over until the frat declares it over—just like it wasn’t over for America when the “Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.”  Despite a minor historical flaw, it is a good piece of wisdom to keep in mind when negotiating over the arbitration procedure in a new contract. Continue reading →

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Posted on December 9, 2012 by AdminUN

OUR COMPLIMENTS TO GAO ANALYSTS FOR THEIR UNION WEB SITE

If you have followed FEDSMILL.com for a while you know that we try to shine a light on particularly good union web sites. We have spotlighted ones at NFFE, NTEU, & AFGE, and we want another to the list. The GAO Analysts, who are affiliated with IFPTE, have done a great job. Some of the things that impressed us were how easy it is to read–uncluttered, good colors, wonderful layout.  Beyond those features, Continue reading →

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