Posted on January 19, 2012 by AdminUN

HONEY, THEY SHRUNK THE IRS . . .

And that made my raise totally disappear. Just a few days ago FEDSMILL.com posted an article about how Congress will not fund the IRS to collect over $300 billion our government is currently owed by tax cheats.  Then, yesterday David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize winning writer, published a column with even more details about how Congress prevents IRS from collecting from tax cheats.  That  money would not only pay for federal employee raises, but also quickly pay off the American debt.  It is a “Gotta read” piece.  Johnston’s article is entitled, “Honey, They Shrunk the IRS.”  But don’t think that Congress is just using this low-visibility technique on IRS to drain the Treasury and make the country look broke.

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Posted on January 16, 2012 by AdminUN

FLRA FUBAR: THE FORMAL DISCUSSION MESS

“Formal discussions” are the most common labor-management interactions in the federal sector.  With tens of thousands of managers, there are likely over 100,000 a year.  But, thanks to FLRA, the concept is probably the most difficult to administer and “fouled up beyond all reason.”  So, FEDSMILL.com is putting the “FLRA FUBAR” label on this area of case law. (This is the first in our FUBAR series.  See the menu bar.) Continue reading →

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Posted on January 16, 2012 by AdminUN

IMPASSE CRACKERS

What’s an impasse cracker?  It is one of those tactics seasoned negotiators pull out when bargaining seems hopelessly deadlocked to create an agreement.  FEDSMILL.com has listed ten of our favorites for you to consider and use. Continue reading →

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Posted on January 14, 2012 by AdminUN

WE DON’T BITE, HONEST

We set up FEDSMILL.com as a blog rather than pure web site because we wanted to encourage an exchange of our ideas.  That is why there is room after every article to post your reactions, thoughts and disagreements.  Assuming they do not amount to slander, libel or contain one of the Supreme Court’s seven dirty words, we are going to post your comment to our web site for others to see.  Ideally, you come up with better ideas, deeper insights or just something more valuable to say than we have.  If you do, we all win.  So, start posting.  Otherwise, we may start biting.

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Posted on January 13, 2012 by AdminUN

MARTIN: THE CONTRACT AVATAR

For decades labor-management contracts have been printed and distributed to all unit employees. Our grandparents walked around with copies in their shirt pockets, our parents had them on the shelves in their cubicles, but they are about to disappear into cyberspace. This evolution away from printed contracts got a wicked shove forward when Martin Malin, a Chicago arbitrator, teamed up last year with an agency’s management to deny employees a published copy of their contract. Continue reading →

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Posted on January 12, 2012 by AdminUN

QUESTION: WHO GOT YOUR PAY RAISE MONEY?

ANSWER:  This one is almost too easy to answer.  You probably already read who took it in other media material.  The latest IRS analysis of how much money tax cheats are stealing from the U.S. Treasury shows that they made off with a whopping $385 billion in 2006.   Their heist amounts to about $1,300 for every man, woman, and child in the country.  A family of four lost about $5,200 a year that could have been spent to help them or even to buy down their share of the debt.  It would have taken less than 5 of those 385 billion a year to fully fund federal employee pay raises. Continue reading →

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Posted on January 12, 2012 by AdminUN

SPOTTING DISCRIMINATION VIOLATIONS & GRIEVANCES

Every time a member comes to the union for help with some personnel action, the union rep should not only look for violations of the contract, regulations, and past practice, but also whether management’s action amounts to illegal discrimination.   That might sound like something only lawyers can do, but it is easy.  EEOC and the courts have identified the warning signs that discrimination may have taken place and FEDSMILL.com has put them in one place below for you to use. Continue reading →

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Posted on January 7, 2012 by AdminUN

MEDICAL LEAVE AND ADA/ADAAA

There are two very good articles circulating that union leaders should read. The first comes from the law firm of Constangy, Brooks & Smith, and it explains EEOC’s approach to leave requests for medical disabilities. It highlights five aspects of that approach that should help union reps trying to assist members–although it is written for employers. Continue reading →

Posted in ADA/ADAAA, EEO/Disabilities, Leave, Membership Building, Privacy | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Posted on January 5, 2012 by AdminUN

AN OPEN LETTER TO PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES

Below is a letter you should copy and send to all probationary employees to undermine those who tell them that they have no rights. Continue reading →

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Posted on January 5, 2012 by AdminUN

16 WAYS PROBATIONERS CAN APPEAL TERMINATIONS

The single biggest lie told newly hired federal employees may be the words “Probationary employees have no rights.”  The second biggest might be that there is nothing the union can do for them during their probationary period. The truth is that a fired probationary employee has more than a dozen options for challenging a termination and only the union has the resources to enforce them. FEDSMILL.com has listed below many that the typical GS federal employee has. Continue reading →

Posted in Discipline/Adverse Action, FLRA, FLSA/Overtime, FMLA, Grievance/Arbitration, MSPB, Performance, Probation Period, Safety/Health, Special Counsel, Union Rights | Tagged , , | Leave a comment