Posted on October 16, 2023 by AdminUN

ARE YOU A UNION SUBMISSIVE?

The dictionary defines a submissive as someone ready to conform to the authority or will of others; one who is “meekly obedient or passive, almost sheeplike.” The answer to the opening question largely depends on the level (or lack) of democracy your union’s constitution and bylaws require you to accept. If we were not going for a headline designed to catch one’s interest, we would have titled this post, “How to Measure the Level of Democracy in Your Union.”  What follows are eight governing provisions found in union constitutions and bylaws. Count how many are in your union’s documents to see where it falls on the scale running between True Democracy and Solid Autocracy. Continue reading →

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Posted on October 16, 2023 by AdminUN

AGENT EXPOSES IRS PROMOTION DISCRIMINATION MECHANISM

This GS-11 employee claimed that he was not selected for a GS-12 promotion in Oregon because he was African-American.  He backed up that claim by pointing out that the promotion certificate showed he had a higher score (95.88) than any of the three selectees  They were all White and had scores of 91.84, 91.39, and 91.05. Now here is the specific mechanism in the IRS promotion system that gives selecting officials the authority to discriminate—and it exists in every agency’s system.  The system leads selecting officials to believe they on par with the gods or at a minimum divinely inspired, that their decisions cannot be  challenged by mere mortals, and that they can anoint a selectee for the most whimsical reason or no reason at all.  And this poor sap of an IRS Oregon selecting official did just that. When it came her turn to give evidence, she said,… Continue reading →

Posted in EEO/Discrimination, Promotion/Hiring | Tagged | Leave a comment

Posted on October 4, 2023 by AdminUN

NEGOTIATORS! READ WHAT DEWEY HAS TO SAY PRONTO

Dewey Publishing puts out an e-mail alert about FLRA and MSPB developments.  They are a trusted source of advice—so much so that I published my book COLLECTIVE BARGAINING LAW FOR THE FEDERAL SECTOR through them.  Here is a link to their newest email and I strongly recommend any union officials involved in bargaining read the last story in it now.

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Posted on October 2, 2023 by AdminUN

EEOC COMING AFTER OVERLY BROAD SEVERANCE AGREEMENTS

The folks over at Constangy, Brooks, et al. law firm put out a very helpful blog that we follow religiously.  If you like to use civil rights laws to challenge undesirable management practices, we recommend you spend a few minutes reading through their post entitled, “EEOC’s ‘Not-So-Sweet Six’ Priorities, For 2024 And Beyond.” It will give you a good idea of the kind of cases EEOC is actually looking for to make new legal precedent. Fort example, the law firm summarized the EEOC’s targeting of severance agreements as follows:  Continue reading →

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Posted on October 2, 2023 by AdminUN

NEW LEADER TRAINING MANUAL

That is what AFGE calls their 2023 booklet designed to help new (and not so new) local union leaders figure out how to handle all their responsibilities.  It is well-done and AFGE deserves compliments for making their material available to the world, rather than treating their experience and wisdom as some secret shared only with the most favored members.

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Posted on September 27, 2023 by AdminUN

THE LACTATION LOWDOWN AT LAREDO

Well, if the Customs & Border Protection supervisors did not know about their lactation obligations they will soon.  EEOC just ordered the agency to “ provide at least eight (8) hours of interactive in-person EEO training to all managers at Laredo Port of Entry Field Office and World Trade Bridge on responsibilities under Title VII with respect to the treatment of female employees and their ability to utilize the agency’s Lactation Support Program in a non-discriminatory manner as well as the prohibition against other forms of disparate treatment.” Why? Continue reading →

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Posted on September 27, 2023 by AdminUN

FMLA OFTEN REQUIRES PERFORMANCE STANDARD ADJUSTMENTS

Often an employer must adjust an employee’s performance standards once it approves the employee’s FMLA leave request.  Not long ago a Federal Circuit Court spelled it out for LR practitioners on both sides of the table. Continue reading →

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Posted on September 19, 2023 by AdminUN

RETURNING TO A WORKABLE 7116(d) FORUM SELECTION ANALYSIS

What if you want to file a grievance and a ULP with FLRA over the same incident? For example, suppose you want to challenge a member’s suspension as a violation of the contract and an act of union animus. For decades there were clear, objective rules for when you could do that. During the last President’s anti-union administration, they were replaced with a totally subjective, eye-of-the-biased-beholder process. It is time to restore the more predictable rules for practitioners, but the question is how given that the legal question only arises in the normally unappealable arbitration exception process. Here is our suggestion. Continue reading →

Posted in FLRA, Grievance/Arbitration | Tagged | Leave a comment

Posted on September 19, 2023 by AdminUN

WHAT IS SURFACE BARGAINING?

It is an illegal form of bargaining.  It is used to delay bargaining progress.  It can be very costly to a union. It makes the union look powerless in front of its members. What follows is a list of statements from FLRA and judicial decisions that identify examples of surface bargaining, along with a Fedsmill comment or recommendation after each.  Continue reading →

Posted in Bargaining Law, Bargaining Tactics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Posted on September 12, 2023 by AdminUN

WHY EEO ALLEGATIONS ARE A GOOD GAMBLE TO TAKE

Private law firms are taking in bundles of attorney fees representing federal employees in EEO complaints. This  is money unions could be collecting along with the positive publicity of tangibly helping an employee if only they would allege EEO violations more often in grievances.  In a case issued last week, we saw how the employee won a retroactive promotion based on facts she was unaware of (and one that did not exist) when she filed the charge. Continue reading →

Posted in EEO/Discrimination | Tagged | 2 Comments