This is a hypothetical; any connection to facts you may know of is purely coincidental. We have a great deal of respect for most union leaders and generally wish them the best. But every once in a while an unethical one slips through and behaves in a way that hurts employees and damages the image of all unions. Management can ignore them or they can act. We are rooting for them to act and want to outline how they might do it. Continue reading
Not long ago we spotlighted AFGE not only for its monstrous increase in net membership last year, but for over 15 consecutive years of net growth. If you believe that membership growth is the surest sign that employees believe the union’s leaders are taking it in the right direction, AFGE could not have a more flattering piece of feedback. In that same piece we complimented NATCA for its continued net membership increases as well. Now that all unions have filed their Dept. of Labor report for FY 16 we checked in to see if any other unions continued to grow during a time when staffing numbers are decreasing. The news was good with NFFE, NWSEO and POPA all having had net increases. Although we can’t prove it, based on experience we strongly suspect that membership increases today are the result of wise, forward-looking, risk-taking decisions made five or more years ago to install a strategic approach to membership building. It is so much more than passing out a few flyers, small incentive checks, and a flashy PR material. So, Bravo and Encore to all of them who proved that membership growth is clearly possible at a time when staffing is decreasing.
Collective bargaining law, particularly 5 U.S.C. 7114(a)(1), should be changed to deny those unions that have chronically low membership the right to delay the implementation of agency proposed mid-term changes in the conditions of employment covered by 5 U.S.C. 7106(a) and (b)(1).
Although collective bargaining can generate many benefits for employees, agency managers and the public as recognized in 5 U.S.C. 7101, there is one part of it that all too often undermines efficient and effective government. It is not the need to negotiate a master collective bargaining agreement establishing policy on over 250 HR issues. The agency needs a policy on those issues anyway. Nor is it that employees can serve as union reps helping co-workers enforce their rights. If employees’ co-workers were not there to represent them, many employees would hire lawyers, greatly complicating matters for the agency. It is not even that agencies have to devote limited budgeted funds to pay the salary and benefit costs of employees working as union representatives during the workday. If the agency did not fund this, it would have to meet with union reps after hours or on weekends, substantially delaying many meetings and decisions. Continue reading
There are a few things that separate an average union representational effort from a super one, and one of them is whether its reps are creative, e.g., they do things, even risky things, the agency did not anticipate. A new decision out of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals highlights a very gutsy move AFGE’s Social Security Council took to defend a fired employee. Other unions can learn from it and ER/LR reps can see another reason not to jump to conclusions based on surface evidence. Continue reading
The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) recently smacked down the Dept. of Treasury FinCEN operations for screwing around with the merit system. The agency wanted to hire an attorney into a supervisory spot, but Treasury would not let them classify it as an attorney job. As a result, it was decided to advertise it at the GS-1801 job it always was, but to do things behind the scenes so that only an attorney with federal sector experience could get the job. Here’s how they did it and how we suspect a few other appointing officers manipulate the merit system. Continue reading
Imagine that an employee asks for a week of annual leave in late August after using 3 weeks of FMLA in February to care for an ailing parent and the supervisor denies the leave. The supervisor told her that she has already been gone far too long this year given her workload. Has the supervisor retaliated against the employee for using FMLA? One of the issues a union or ER/LR rep must consider in answering that question is what the legal standard of proof is for retaliation cases. Does the employee have to show that “but for” her use of FMLA the leave would have been approved or need she only show that her use of FMLA was viewed as a negative factor by the supervisor when s/he made the leave denial decision. The good folks at OgletreeDeakins just posted an article providing an update on which of those two legal standards applies. It is entitled, “Second Circuit Lowers Bar for Causation in FMLA Retaliation Claims.” While the courts are not unanimous on the answer to that question, their arguments are well-made and should consider when arguing for one or the other of these standards.
If the Washington Post story is accurate, and we highly suspect it is, the Dept. Of Homeland Security just agreed to pay about 100 employees an average of $240,000.00 each in back pay to make up for promotions unjustly denied them as long ago as 1990. Our compliments to these employees for hanging in there so long and to the law firm that made it all happen. [Reposted from January 2017]
The one thing we look for from any consulting firm offering to train negotiators on either side of the labor management table is whether the instructors actually were chief negotiators. While we think the world of career neutrals who never worked for labor or management, they rarely can offer the insights and tips a seasoned negotiator can after decades of actually being the chief bargaining advocate. That is why we are excited to see the “Learning Everywhere” collective bargaining program. It is delivered by folks who sat in the chief’s chair on the union as well as the agency side of the table for decades. We do not know any other firm offering that. Continue reading
This is another one of those short articles to read over and log into your long-term memory. As our population ages, it is going to experience more bad back problems. This post from a fellow blogger just might help you avoid a quick, but wrong answer to a question down the road. Union reps might want to send a link to it to members who might be dealing with the issue right now.