Workforce

Federal Employee Union Membership is Up 20%

Since implementation of a number of pro-labor policies a year ago, federal employee unions gained 80,000 new dues-paying members.

Workforce

VA Claims Progress in Union Talks. The Union Begs to Differ.

AFGE officials say department management continues to push illegal proposals in contract negotiations, and that claims the parties have reached “tentative agreements” are fabricated.

Workforce

VA Broke Settlement Agreement, Continued Bad Faith Bargaining, Arbitrator Finds

The American Federation of Government Employees and the Veterans Affairs Department have negotiated fruitlessly over a new union contract for more than a year.

Workforce

NTEU's Longtime President Will Retire in August

Tony Reardon has been a member of the federal employee union for more than 30 years and has served two four-year terms at its helm.

Workforce

Federal Pay and Benefits Won’t Be Used as a Bargaining Chip in Debt Ceiling Talks, If NTEU Has Any Say

National Treasury Employees Union National President Tony Reardon said his union is prepared to push for better pay and benefits, as well as to protect federal workers from attacks to their rights and workplace flexibilities.

Workforce

Postal Police Won a Grievance, but They're Unlikely to Patrol

An arbitrator overturned a 2020 memo that confined the postal police force to acting solely as building security guards.

Workforce

Agencies Would Have to Think Harder Before Relocating, Under a New Bill

The legislation comes after a watchdog agency concluded hastily conducted relocations during the Trump administration caused staff exoduses and harmed agencies’ service delivery.

Workforce

The Nation’s Largest Federal Employee Union Celebrates Recent Wins, and Braces for Fights Ahead

American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley says the union is prepared to defend against Republican attacks on official time and other labor policies.

Workforce

Labor Authority Denies Union Request to Block Outside Groups from Seeking Policy Statements

The National Treasury Employees Union had sought to bar organizations that do not represent federal workers from asking the Federal Labor Relations Authority to change their policies.

Workforce

OPM Deputy Touts Agency’s Newly Proactive Stance on Labor Issues

Rob Shriver says recent efforts by officials to mediate labor-management disputes is part of the Office of Personnel Management’s transformation into being the government’s leader on human capital issues.

Workforce

Federal Firefighter Groups Find Flaws in a Watchdog's Conclusions on Recruitment, Retention Challenges

GAO didn’t speak to enough frontline firefighters to form a holistic set of recommendations to address the staffing shortage affecting agencies that fight wildfires, groups say.

Workforce

OPM to Agencies: Make Sure You Haven’t Incorrectly Told Employees They Can’t Join a Union

The directive is aimed at correcting instances where employees were improperly labeled as management officials.

Workforce

How Public Sector Unions Are Adjusting to a Post-Trump World

Erich Wagner joins the podcast to discuss the state of organized labor in federal workplaces.

Management

The White House Will Require Agency Labor Advisors to Oversee Federal Contractors

Following through on a recommendation from a White House task force on empowering workers, administration officials said the 24 largest agencies must designate labor advisors, and strongly encouraged smaller agencies to do the same.

Workforce

State of the Unions: A New Normal

After nearly four years of drag-out fights with the Trump administration, President Biden pitched himself as a willing partner to federal employee unions. How have the government and unions navigated the transition to this new approach?

Workforce

Supreme Court Justices Seem Skeptical of State Challenge of FLRA’s Jurisdiction Over National Guard Civilians

“Is Ohio just crazy” for repudiating collective bargaining obligations with civilian technicians of the Ohio National Guard, asked one conservative jurist.

Workforce

The Federal Labor Relations Authority Is Now Ideologically Deadlocked After Its Chairman’s Term Expired

President Biden designated Susan Tsui Grundmann to be chairwoman of the agency after Ernest DuBester reached the end of his term, although the president could reappoint the longtime FLRA member.

Workforce

FLRA Moves to Undo a Controversial Trump-era Union Dues Policy

The Federal Labor Relations Authority, now under Democratic control, said prior leadership ignored the Civil Service Reform Act’s legislative history.

Workforce

The House Passes a Bill to Give VA Medical Employees Greater Union Rights

The VA Employee Fairness Act would grant medical professionals the right to bargain over scheduling and official time, and to file grievances over pay disputes.

Workforce

FLRA Restores Pre-Trump Doctrine on When It Can Intervene in Ongoing Arbitration

A decision by the then-Republican controlled FLRA in 2018 led to a tripling of some cases on the agency’s docket.