Posts tagged federal employees
National Labor Relations Board Back to Quorum Strength as Member Wilcox Is Reinstated
March 11, 2025 // The statutory limitations swayed the judge, as did the Supreme Court’s 1935 decision in Humphrey’s Executor, where the Court upheld similar limits on the president’s ability to fire a Federal Trade Commission Official. In sum, Judge Howell ordered Wilcox’s reinstatement, giving the Board the quorum it lacked. This decision has implications for the President’s recent Executive Order seeking to vest all lawmaking power of Independent Administrative Agencies like the NLRB in the President’s office. Given the stakes here, the court’s decision is certainly not the final word, as President Trump’s team is expected to appeal, perhaps all the way to the Supreme Court, where they will argue that Humphrey’s Executor is distinguishable and that Board members do exercise executive authority and should therefore be in line with Presidential policies.
Op-ed: Priorities for Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer
March 11, 2025 // These reforms align with President Trump’s bold vision, exemplified by the reinstatement of Schedule F, to enhance accountability and performance in the federal workforce. They are not just about efficiency-they are about empowering federal employees to thrive while delivering exceptional service to Americans. Secretary Chavez-DeRemer has a chance to lead with principle, prioritizing worker autonomy over union influence. The time to act is now. On behalf of Americans for Fair Treatment, I stand ready to support her in unleashing the full potential of our federal workforce.
Freedom Foundation Applauds OPM Directive to Report on Government Union Work
March 5, 2025 // In Nov. 2023, the Freedom Foundation reported that OPM had not only stopped reporting on the amount of official time used by federal employees — as it had done under presidents of both parties since the late 1990s — but had taken down the page on its website housing years of reports on the use and cost of official time to taxpayers, all while promoting expanded use of taxpayer-funded union time. The following month, citing the Freedom Foundation’s investigation, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and nine other Republican U.S. Senators sent an oversight letter to OPM demanding to know why the webpage was removed and whether OPM would publish any further updates on taxpayer-funded union time. After Biden’s OPM director responded that her agency had no intention of restoring the official time webpage, much less conducting another study on the costs of taxpayer-funded union time, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Rep. Scott Franklin (R-FL) introduced the Taxpayer-Funded Union Time Transparency Act, which would require each federal agency to track and annually report the amount of time its employees spend on union business and the cost of such official time to taxpayers.
Philly congressman, union leaders, workers protest Trump’s federal layoffs
February 27, 2025 // “As to how we’re doing, the only answer is poorly,” Alex Berman, the executive vice president of the National Treasury Union Chapter 71, which represents Philly-area IRS workers, told NBC10 on Monday. “I have been on my phone constantly talking to the more than 400 people at my chapter alone who were let go under false pretenses. Now we’re looking at, if you don’t do X, you’ll be fired.” Berman referred to an email that was sent to federal workers last week asking them to detail their work. Monday’s rally took place at Independence National Historical Park where two employees were recently laid off, according to a union official.
EXCLUSIVE: Republicans Take Aim At Taxpayer-Funded Union Activity
February 12, 2025 // Federal employees spent 2.6 million hours, the equivalent of almost three centuries, on union activities, costing taxpayers at least $135 million, according to Ernst, who cited data from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Unions also used at least $24 million in office space and supplies paid for by taxpayers.
New documents show TSA screeners illegally unionized, pro-worker group says
February 11, 2025 // “During the Obama administration, the TSA administrator did an abrupt about-face, and TSA moved ahead with allowing screeners to unionize in violation of the law,” Dave Dorey, an attorney specializing in labor and employment law who represented AFFT, told the Washington Examiner. “Multiple administrators of TSA have stated publicly that TSA screeners are not covered by Title V, which includes significant rights for unionized workers — including the ability to file claims of unfair labor practices with an independent board and ultimately vindicate their rights in federal court. TSA screeners have none of these protections.”
AFGE sees surge in new members as its lawsuits stall Trump’s federal workforce policies
February 11, 2025 // AFGE currently stands at 321,000 dues-paying members, its highest level ever, and is on track to reach 325,000 dues-paying members by the end of the week. Everett Kelley, the union’s national president, told reporters on Monday that AFGE originally planned to reach that membership goal by December 2025.
US judge keeps block on Trump federal buyout plan in place for now
February 11, 2025 // Unions have urged their members not to accept the buyout offer - saying Trump's administration cannot be trusted to honor it - but about 65,000 federal employees had signed up for the buyouts as of Friday, according to a White House official.
For federal employees, remote work ought to be exception, not rule
February 9, 2025 // But the public sector is a different ballgame. Whereas most private sector employees can be fired at any time and for any reason, the process for firing federal workers is intentionally onerous. Federal employees' right to "due process" means that employers must give them a 30-day advance notice and explanation of alleged misconduct before a termination can go into effect. Federal employees then have the right to appeal the firing to an independent agency, retain independent counsel, file a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel, and then be reinstated with back pay and benefits should the appeal succeed.
Labor Department workers fear they’re next on DOGE’s to-do list
February 6, 2025 // he suit came just before representatives of DOGE met with Labor Department officials, prompting an outcry from lawmakers and labor groups who staged a demonstration outside the Frances Perkins Building in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday afternoon. “They want us to think that DOL is some bureaucracy that doesn’t matter, that could not be further from the truth,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said at the rally, speaking to several hundred union members and supporters. “This is about our health, our safety, our fair pay, our jobs, and these are the people who fight for us.”