Posted on March 1, 2019 by AdminUN

EEOC RULES METHODIST NEED NOT WORK SUNDAYS

An interesting ruling came out recently in a case known as Stanton v. Brennan, USPS, EEOC No. 0120172696 (2019). The employee, a Methodist, claimed that his religion prohibited him from working on a Sunday. While his employer found someone to work his Sunday assignments, it required him to attend three training sessions on a Sunday.  When he refused to attend, it fired him.  EEOC reversed the firing finding the employee made a legitimate religious accommodation claim. Here is how it analyzed the facts and applied the law in its own words–with some highlighting of critical passages by us. Continue reading →

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Posted on March 1, 2019 by AdminUN

WHAT UNIONS CAN DO WHEN AGENCIES END NON-DISCRETIONARY BONUS PROGRAMS

Given the anti-employee bias, if not contempt, built into the DNA of the current FSIP many employers are taking the opportunity to terminate negotiated performance award programs, e.g., annual awards based on performance scores or gainsharing programs. There is not much unions can do to stop that, but there is something they can do to make employers regret it. Continue reading →

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Posted on March 1, 2019 by AdminUN

NFFE COULD FILE FALSIFICATION CHARGES AGAINST ABERDEEN MANAGEMENT

We would. An arbitrator found that an agency failed to follow the contract obligation about the background of those on a promotion “rating panel” and gave two grievants priority consideration.  It did not take a genius to make that call because the agency admitted in its written grievance response that did not follow the contract requirement. Moreover, the “rating panel” members did all those things rating panels do.  They interviewed candidates, they evaluated their response to pre-determined questions, and they gave the candidates scores. Those scores where used to determine who was highly qualified versus best qualified. It was going to be an “easy-peasy” decision against the agency if the agency reps did not do something. So, as best we can tell, the agency reps decided to tell a big fat lie. Apparently, the horrors of having to give two employees priority consideration and the threat to government, if not the free world, priority consideration creates, justified in their mind making up stuff. Continue reading →

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Posted on February 13, 2019 by AdminUN

FLRA’S ABBOTT TRASHES PRESIDENT 

Jim Abbott came out hot in a new FLRA decision condemning the foul, racist-tinged language used day in and day out by our President. Shedding his unofficial title as the Administration’s most notorious moral hypocrite, The Jimbo let fly with both fists stating unequivocally that “There is no place for boorish, insulting, and demeaning language…” in the federal government. Specifically targeting several of Trump’s favorite words such as “fat,” “retard” and “loser,” Abbott let it be known that he would suspend the President for 14 days for such behavior. Jim would do that without even considering “you know whose” predisposition to engage in “assault and battery” of women, nor is he willing to accept the defense that this kind of language is “within the scope” of a president’s duties to the people he represents. He then dumped yet another big bucket of shade on the president saying leaders “should be able to comport themselves appropriately” when operating as government officials. Oops, wait a minute; we misspoke.  We must have been dreaming.  Jim wrote all his outrage only applies to a union president, not the President of the United States.  Jim did not blame Trump’s constant verbal abuse of others for the fact that this kind of robust exchange might occur today between federal employees; rather he blamed the two dozen or so people who served on the FLRA before him for allowing this to happen. He also blamed… Continue reading →

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Posted on February 13, 2019 by AdminUN

CONGRATS TO AFGE FOR ITS CIVIL RIGHTS PASSION

The media carried a story today about how an AFGE rep from the TSA went to see a Georgia Congressman about issues important to his members and the Congressman’s constituents.  As the AFGE rep was waiting to be seen he noticed an open book displayed in the Congressman’s waiting room that was opened to a page referring to African-Americans in the most vile and racist way. Continue reading →

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Posted on February 8, 2019 by AdminUN

DO FMCS MEDIATORS LIE?

That’s a tough question to answer when you know so many totally honest and honorable mediators, but the hard lesson we learned was that there are some who will. So, negotiators, especially union negotiators, need to keep that in mind when dealing with them and protect themselves. Here is an only slightly hypothetical set facts that showed us how easy lying can come to a mediator. Continue reading →

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Posted on February 8, 2019 by AdminUN

COURT REVERSES FLRA ON CBP OVERTIME CAP

About 20 years ago FLRA ruled that the statutory cap on how much overtime compensation a Customs and Border Protection Officer may receive did not bar paying the employee more than that cap amount pursuant to an arbitration or grievance settlement. But the U.S. Court of Federal Claims just ruled to the contrary in a case two Customs and Border Protection (Border Patrol) Canine Officers hired private lawyers to pursue outside the collective bargaining process. This is terrible news for CBP officers.  See Michael C. Bailey, et al. v. U.S., for the January 2019 decision. Continue reading →

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Posted on January 31, 2019 by AdminUN

LET‘S OVERTURN FLRA’S NUTTY & ILLEGAL PERMISSIVE BARGAINING PRECEDENT

Back in 1999, the Clinton Administration’s FLRA held that when an agreement expires containing a 7106(b)(1) permissively bargained provision, “A party’s right to terminate unilaterally a permissive bargaining subject is not contingent on first satisfying a bargaining obligation as to the substance, impact or implementation of the change.” (DOJ, FCI and AFGE, 55 FLRA 201 (1999))  For example, suppose a term agreement contains the requirement that, “For safety purposes, no employee will be required to remain in the office working overtime alone after hours.” This FLRA decision holds that the day the agreement expires the agency can notify the union that despite on-going negotiations over a new term agreement, and even the union’s proposal to continue the provision, the agency is immediately terminating the policy and will henceforth require employees to remain in the office alone after hours. AND THERE IS NOT A THING THE UNION CAN DO ABOUT IT! Why?  Because those three Clinton FLRA appointees concluded that “attaching bargaining obligations to termination of permissive bargaining provisions may discourage parties from engaging in bargaining on permissive subjects.” POPPYCOCK, we say, and here is why this decision should be overturned. Continue reading →

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Posted on January 31, 2019 by AdminUN

CONGRATS FOR AFGE’S AGGRESSIVENESS; BUT BEWARE THIS FILING DEADLINE RULE

We love it when a union decides to take on an unusual issue as AFGE did in its recent win in Dept. of Army, NC and AFGE, Local 1770. The federal sector’s 800 pound gorilla of a union stood up for a member who thought she was being cheated out of a retention incentive payment for the last six years and convinced an arbitrator to award her six years of retroactive incentive pay.  That should amount to more than a year’s pay.  WOW!  But as wonderful as this victory is, readers should not miss the reason why Abbott & Kiko were unable to screw over the employee by overturning the award as is their practice.  Continue reading →

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Posted on January 31, 2019 by AdminUN

ABBOTT DISPLAYS GROSS BIAS, BUT WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Jimbo Abbott’s anti-union bias is hardly headline news at this point.  He is desperate to get a better job from his political sponsors even if it means leaving a trail of biased decisional chaos behind him. A lot of baseball umpires can figure out what kind of ball a pitcher is going to throw before they throw it thanks to a tell or pattern they pick up. But now imagine that the ump informs the opposing batter before each pitch what it will be. The ump would deserve to be tossed out of the profession for such bias—if not “touched” by a stray fast ball. Well, that is what Abbott did recently. The official case that came before the Authority called for it to simply decide whether an arbitrator’s award of attorney fees was legal.  That is the only issue the agency filed exceptions over, and the three members agreed it was not legal. But that was not good enough for the unprincipled Abbott. Stopping there apparently offended his sense of anti-union contempt.  So, he decided to write a “Concurring Comment” to tell the agency that even though it did not object to another part of the award, he would rule it illegal if the agency had.  Put another way, he advised the agency to inform the union that even though it did not file timely exceptions over the issue, it was now going to refuse to comply with that portion of the arbitrator’s award as well because Jim Abbott, the so-called neutral, had sent it a very strong signal that they will hit a home run if they do. If you are thinking that Jimbo took action to destabilize a local labor relationship where there was no dispute, you would be correct. That is apparently what his political sponsors want him to do. See Dept. of Navy, CA and FPO, 70 FLRA 978 (2018)

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