Posts tagged grievance
‘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 More than a dozen locals have withdrawn grievances filed as part of the process, according to the company, but the union can refile them.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.”
NLRB Pushes Schools to Release Student Information to Unions: Navigating Privacy Considerations in Light of Recent Guidance
August 14, 2024 // Private colleges and universities employing student workers face the unique challenge of balancing privacy obligations and a growing push from federal labor authorities to release student information to unions. Recent guidance from the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) General Counsel has brought these issues to the forefront, particularly as the federal agency offers schools its view about how to satisfy your duties under both the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Unions must represent all covered workers, even nonmembers, Michigan Supreme Court rules
May 13, 2024 // Workers who disagree with their union’s political speech cannot be forced to subsidize that speech through dues or fees. Despite this, unions aggressively attempt to organize public sector workers, knowing that by doing so, they are choosing to represent members and nonmembers equally. By upholding a union’s duty of fair representation, the Michigan Supreme Court has ensured that these protections continue, and cut short union efforts to strongarm employees into membership.
Snow day puts Lamont, CT employee unions at odds over telework
February 16, 2024 // Hybrid employees who were scheduled to work remotely during Tuesday’s storm were required to do so, the coalition says. But SEBAC also said hybrid employees who were scheduled to work on-site Tuesday should not have been compelled to work remotely or otherwise expend accrued time off. Those employees, the coalition says, must be treated like all staff who normally work on-site all the time. Those on-site workers effectively received Tuesday as a paid day off.
Brunswick Staples workers vote against unionizing
January 9, 2024 // Had a majority voted to unionize, the store would have been the first Staples to unionize in the U.S. The company, founded in 1986, has 997 retail stores in the U.S., including 10 in Maine, and more than 34,000 workers, according to its website.