Posts tagged worker organizing and empowerment
VA and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Reach Tentative Agreement to Better Serve Veterans and Support VA Employees
April 12, 2023 // This tentative agreement follows three key agreements VA made with the National Federation of Federal Employees in February. Over the past two years, VA has taken several critical steps to support bargaining unit employees, including 1) reestablishing the National Partnership Council, a forum for open communication between labor leaders and VA leadership; 2) restoring official time for Doctors, Nurses, Physician Assistants, and other Title 38 employees, meaning that these employees can use work hours to advocate on behalf of their bargaining unit coworkers; 3) reestablishing yearly and Semi-Annual Labor Management meetings with VA union partners; and 4) including the unions pre-decisionally in critical employee-centric decisions, such as the creation of the VHA REBOOT Task Force to address employee burnout.
OPM Tells Agencies to Review Exclusions from Bargaining Units
February 1, 2023 // It added: “OPM acknowledges agencies undertaking a comprehensive review of bargaining unit coverage may conclude existing bargaining unit employees who encumber positions should be excluded from bargaining unit coverage under the Statute. Such matters will be resolved by the FLRA.” The memo is the latest in a series of steps from the Biden administration favorable to unions in the federal workplace. Among those are guidance encouraging agencies to create labor-management forums and involve unions in more decisions outside the bargaining context; to provide job candidates and newly hired employees information about union rights, including allowing unions to be involved in new employee orientation; and to promptly process employee requests to have dues withheld.