Posts tagged grievance
VTA workers injured in traffic incident on 1st day of strike that shut down bus, light rail service
March 11, 2025 // VTA is offering the union a 9.3% increase over the next three years, while the ATU workers are demanding a 19.1% increase over three years. ATU is asking for more, including special protections for arbitration guarantees.
White House requires federal agencies to disclose time spent working for unions instead of taxpayers
March 4, 2025 // A Feb. 27 memo from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to all federal departments and agencies declared they can only authorize official time in amounts that are “reasonable” and that they must “monitor its use to see that it is used efficiently.” They must also submit annual reports to OPM on the amount authorized. Union members traditionally elect a fellow worker to act as their representative for issues like bargaining contracts or dealing with grievances. This person, usually called a “shop steward,” is expected to perform union activities in addition to their regular job. In some cases, these union officials are paid through membership dues and work exclusively on their members’ behalf. The federal government, however, allows the workers to do union stuff full-time while still technically drawing a salary from their official job. The practice is dubbed “official time.”
CATS union workers edge closer to a strike after an alleged wage freeze
February 13, 2025 // “We can’t allow a company to impose and implement its own labor contract on its workforce,” Garland says. “If we do that, they won’t agree with anything the union’s saying when we go to the table. They’ll just implement what they want to. Now we have no choice but to strike.” The new contract also includes changes to disciplinary, grievance and overtime policies that were made without union input, Garland says. Union organizers are now gathering in Baton Rouge to deliberate their next steps.
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.
‘I am terrified’: Workers describe the dark mood inside federal agencies
January 27, 2025 // At the State Department, the shutdown of those programs was something many saw coming. But some were startled by the directive that they report individual cases of people’s job descriptions being changed to “disguise” the DEI element to a special Office of Personnel Management email address. Some saw it as an order to snitch on colleagues. Others, who prepared for Trump’s return to office, had begun working months ago with outside nonprofits to archive websites they feared would be taken down by the Trump administration — including information on ending gender-based violence around the world.
Executive Order: Union tells federal workers to comply with orders but file grievances
January 23, 2025 // AFGE calls executive order eliminating remote and reclassifying many workers as a "blatant attempt to corrupt the federal government."
House Oversight Republicans open Congress with rants against telework, unions
January 17, 2025 // Rachel Greszler, a visiting fellow at the conservative Economic Policy Innovation Center and a former Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 contributor, described actions like the Social Security-AFGE telework contract update as an effort to “Trump-proof” agency workforces and suggested Congress should pass legislation allowing presidents to reopen collective bargaining agreements upon assuming office. And they should ban official time, the practice by which agencies agree to pay union officials their normal salary for time spent on representational duties, like in collective bargaining negotiations or representing employees during grievances or disciplinary hearings.
UAW’s Fain says strike will cripple Stellantis
November 3, 2024 // Kevin Gotinsky, who heads the UAW’s Stellantis Department, described the Local 1166 vote as a low-turnout election, with about 61% voting in favor. He said the union is confident it can get “everybody moving together” going forward, with a more aligned approach over the next three months. More than a dozen locals have withdrawn grievances filed as part of the process, according to the company, but the union can refile them. UAW Stellantis Department Director Kevin Gotinsky speaks during a rally outside of the UAW Local 51 office in Detroit on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, highlighting Stellantis' refusal to follow through on the $19 billion in product and investment commitments made during the 2023 Stand Up Strike. Strike authorization does not guarantee a strike will happen, but provides leverage for the union as it negotiates with the company, which says a strike under these circumstances would not be legal.
Chair Foxx Demands Answers on Biden, Harris Use of Taxpayer Dollars to Boost Government Unions’ Priorities
October 9, 2024 // The total compensation paid to DOL, NLRB, and EEOC employees to negotiate collective bargaining agreements or to work with federal labor unions; Travel and lodging expenses paid or reimbursed to DOL, NLRB, and EEOC employees and union staff in order to negotiate collective bargaining agreements; Expenses paid for retaining experts, factfinders, mediators, and arbitrators relating to collective bargaining agreements or disputes; Cost of administrative support and purchasing supplies—including acquiring technology—to administer collectively bargained agreements; The fair market value of space controlled by the federal agencies provided to labor unions; Expenses paid for “official time;” The number of hours DOL, NLRB, and EEOC employees spend on official time, as well as the number of employees who use official time—particularly those who spend more than 50 percent of their hours on official time; and Penalties levied related to collective bargaining with labor unions, including but not limited to arbitration awards or monetary settlements provided to workers or unions because of unfair labor practices related to collective bargaining.
EXCLUSIVE: House GOP Presses Biden-Harris Admin To Disclose How Tax Dollars Are Funding Union Activism
October 9, 2024 // “The Biden-Harris administration has also covered up the practice of ‘official time,’ which permits federal employees to engage in union activities during work hours instead of focusing on the public service they were hired to do,” the committee’s letter to the Department of Labor reads. “Federal agencies and unions negotiate over issues most taxpayers would consider a waste of time and attention. Examples include the addition of 14 inches in the height of cubicle desk panels, designated smoking areas on an otherwise tobacco-free campus; and federal employees’ right to wear shorts, sweatpants and spandex at work.”