Almost every job has those few assignments that carry a lot of hidden benefits, e.g., they almost always earn those assigned a cash award, generate extra promotion points, or even almost automatically boost one’s appraisal. What right does management have to exclude an active union rep from one? Continue reading
One of the more notorious games of an unfair supervisor is manipulating the work selected to review for a performance appraisal. Those supervisors can set an employee up for great success or heartbreaking failure merely by how they choose the sample of the employee’s work. Consequently, unions need to focus on how work is chosen for review. Continue reading
AFGE membership has grown by 40% since 2003, which puts its growth curve way, way ahead of all the other federal sector unions. NTEU increased by only 11% during the same time, NATCA and NSWEO by 10%, and NFFE had zero growth. Continue reading
QUESTION: When can an employee demand that he or she not be required to perform certain tasks? ANSWER: When performance of the work conflicts with the employee’s religious convictions and it is reasonable for the employer to accommodate the employee. Continue reading
STEWARD ALERT! Managers constantly tell probationary employees they have no appeal rights if terminated, but that is just not true. FEDSMILL.com is working on a longer article about probationary employee appeal rights, but here is a glimpse of what’s possible. Continue reading
STEWARD ALERT! When the employer is ordered to give an employee a back pay lump sum amount, it can also be required to compensate the employee for any extra income taxes if the employer’s improper action was based on illegal civil rights discrimination. This underscores why it is important to allege discrimination if there is any chance of it. Continue reading
STEWARD ALERT! We all know that union activists cannot be fired, denied a benefit, or even poorly evaluated if the decision is based on or even related to our choice to be union activist. But over the years FLRA has certified that union leaders have a few others rights that you might have forgotten about. So, FEDSMILL.com thought you a reminder of them would help along with excerpts from the precedential FLRA case. Continue reading
LEADER ALERT! Too many unions think that they should not use the grievance process to pursue employee complaints about civil rights discrimination. As a result, they refer employees with discrimination suspicions to the agency EEO officer. Those unions are making a big mistake. Continue reading