Posted on July 6, 2016 by AdminUN

AFGE SLAPS DOWN CARELESS ARBITRATOR

AFGE just got a MSPB decision loaded with lessons for parties on both sides of the table, but especially for the person sitting at the head of the table, namely, the arbitrator.  When an arbitrator upheld an employee’s removal for unacceptable performance, AFGE legal counsel  wisely realized this was one of those rare cases where MSPB was likely to overturn the arbitrator due to technical flaws in the decision. Under law, an employee can appeal an adverse or unacceptable performance action arbitration decision to MSPB if s/he meets the following criteria: Continue reading →

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Posted on July 6, 2016 by AdminUN

OUR COMPLIMENTS TO AFGE COUNCIL 222

We are always on the lookout for well-done union web sites, by which we mean (1) easy to navigate, (2) loaded with useful information, and (3) timely. AFGE’s council representing HUD employees across the country deserves recognition for its web page updating everyone on the status of all its midterm bargaining activity.  It makes it easy to find an issue, it provides the user with access to all the key documents related to that bargaining, and at times it even contains a short comment on the core disputed issue.  This is worlds better than even most national union web sites, e.g., it provides users direct access to all counterproposals,  it relieves the user from having to search through all the national union’s communications to find the last word on the midterm bargaining issue, and the page is not so stuffed with words as to be a turn off.  Bravo 222!

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Posted on June 20, 2016 by AdminUN

DISABLED EMPLOYEE BEATS IRS

What is a disabled federal employee to do when her agency does not quickly react to her request for reasonable accommodations to help her deal with a disability which her psychiatrist documented as follows: “Complainant had ADD and depression; that she ‘struggles with attention and concentration, poor memory, disorganization, anxiety, depressed mood, [and] impulsivity’?” One IRS employee took her case to the EEOC and came away with several substantial accommodations as well as  in all likelihood money to compensate her for the stress IRS put her through.   Continue reading →

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Posted on June 16, 2016 by AdminUN

AFGE GETS MEMBERS MORE TIME OFF

Long ago the Social Security Administration scheduled employees’ lunch periods for them and some people did not get 30 minute unpaid lunch until seven hours into their shift. Their union, AFGE, came up with an ingenious way to soften the blow for those folks. It negotiated a deal with management to let people go home 90 minutes before the end of their shift while charging them only for 60 minutes of leave. (The hour of leave was added to the 30 minute lunch to let them go 90 minutes early.) That worked fine for years until recently when SSA management said it wanted to terminate the arrangement because employees were now free to take their lunch period whenever they wished. The union fought back hard against the change, but the bargaining dispute went to the FSIP for a decision. Continue reading →

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Posted on June 14, 2016 by AdminUN

TEN REASONS TO BE A UNION REPRESENTATIVE

There are lots of good reasons to be a union rep, whether you get involved in grievances, negotiations, arbitrations, employee meetings, or information gathering & analysis.  Here are ten that we hope lead you to think about getting involved. Continue reading →

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Posted on June 9, 2016 by AdminUN

DO YOUR MEMBERS A “LEAVE” FAVOR

Decades ago the federal employee leave rules were simple. If you want a vacation take annual. If you are ill, take sick leave. If you are out of annual or sick, ask for LWOP. And if you do not want to come in on time, the agency will gift you with some AWOL. But thanks to a more sensitive culture and a few flexibilities, there are now leave rules for adopting a child, caring for an injured veteran, caring for a newborn, mourning a family member, and tending to your mom’s broken hip–not to mention leave transfers, banks, and set-aside accounts. Most federal employees move through their careers with only a superficial understanding of all the rules, but wouldn’t it be great if there was some thing or place that would help them easily understand all the leave options they have. Well, there is. Continue reading →

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Posted on June 9, 2016 by AdminUN

A QUIZ: WHEN UNIONS’ RIGHTS COLLIDE

Who is right and who is wrong in this situation where the bargaining rights of two unions collided in the parking lot?  IFPTE/NAIL reached a deal with the Navy Shipyard in Newport News over revised agency instructions reassigning parking priorities. The agreement was signed, approved by the agency head, and became effective.  However, as soon as the agency began reassigning parking spaces it realized that the agreement would result in fewer parking spaces for another union.  That union, AFGE, represented employees in a different Navy component that shared a parking lot with the employees working in the component represented by the two unions unaffiliated with AFGE.  So, what happens next? Does the agreement reached by the two unions trump AFGE’s rights to bargain over any change before implementation?  Did AFGE lose any right to bargain over the change because it was made pursuant to an agreement negotiated with another union?  Did AFGE’s rights void the other union’s agreement?

Continue reading →

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Posted on June 4, 2016 by AdminUN

“VAGUE” REASONS TO DENY LEAVE ILLEGAL

Employees are denied leave requests all the time and generally no one on either side of the labor relations arena thinks twice about it because FLRA has held that management has a right to deny leave, approve and then change its mind by denying leave, or even let an employee go on leave and call him/her back no matter how much money the employees loses in hotel reservations, flight costs, etc. But do not forget that this management right has to be exercised consistent with laws and among them are the civil rights acts. Despite FLRA’s decision to hold firm to an interpretation of the “right to assign” that likely can be traced back through the annuls of Plantation Management 101 all the way to the Divine Right of Kings, EEOC has crafted a way for employees denied leave to challenge management’s decision and get compensated. Here is how Rebecca Padilla did it. Continue reading →

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Posted on June 2, 2016 by AdminUN

OVERCOMING LR INCOMPETENCE

Here is our hypothetical.  Assume that the union files a grievance alleging a violation of regulation or contract, wins a big back pay award at arbitration, and it is upheld by FLRA when LR files exceptions. Since the courts have no jurisdiction to review an FLRA decision on contract, regulatory or most statutory violations, the case is closed.  No more appeal options? Or is it over? Continue reading →

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Posted on June 2, 2016 by AdminUN

FLRA’S CONFLICTING BACK PAY CRITERIA

Assume that the head of a large federal employee office somewhere in the Midwest suddenly decided to change employee shift hours.  Instead of everyone’s shift being 8 to 5:30 every day, she announced that on Monday and Friday of each week their shift would be 7 to 4:30. When the union gets ahold of that information the wheels will start turning identifying how it can challenge that decision and the remedy it wants. If the change was made unilaterally, it is a ULP.  But if the change also violates a federal regulation or contract provisions it is a grievance unrelated to a ULP.  What too many practitioners do not realize is that the decision to file a ULP or grievance has a very big impact on whether the employees will get back pay—thanks to a rarely talked about clash of FLRA precedents. Continue reading →

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