The General Counsel contends that the ground rules agreement does not excuse the Respondents actions. The Agencys counterproposals, presented to the Union late on April 24, addressed some of these non-size-related issues, and the Unions response two hours later laid out compromises on five of them and promised to submit others within a week. In the afternoon, our team worked as quickly as possible to prepare a good-faith counterproposal in which we tried to address the Unions concerns. Finally, a petitioners contention that the challenged regulation should be amended or rescinded because it conflicts from the statute from which its authority derives is reviewable outside the statutory limitations period. At the FLRA, decisions have been made on representation cases despite the union-petitioner withdrawing and mooting the cases; and, Employers in the private sector routinely hire union busters and use legal strategies to stall representation elections, and even after unions win an election, employers delay the bargaining process to frustrate workers efforts to secure a first contract; and. Tr. The Agency would have offices on the third through sixth floors. It just wouldnt work. Tr. This is especially true for proposals calling for future bargaining over specific issues, such as furniture (Proposal 36), boxes for moving personal items (Proposal37), and commuting grace periods (Proposal 37). GC Ex. This dispute can be traced back to September 2010, when the Agency started considering what it would do in June 2013, when its lease at Franklin Court was set to expire. 116. The NLRB continues to be in the news. The ground rules agreement also provided, among other things, that on April 22 there would be a tour of Half Street, a full visual inspection of employee work areas at Franklin Court, and then a briefing from GSA and the architects; the Union would submit its bargaining proposals by noon on April 21, and the Agency would submit counterproposals within three days thereafter; and caucus time could be taken, but no party would caucus for more than one hour, absent mutual agreement. However, Lennie indicated that the Agency would look into seeing whether they could find additional space for more stalls. Frequently, the two are used interchangeably and, in most day-to-day usage, the interchange of the two words is accepted and appropriate. By mutual agreement, the parties may agree to additional dates for face-to-face bargaining. Jones and Graham advised the Union team that they could only make minor changes or tweaks to the floor plans, which had first been shown to the Union only nine days earlier. . This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government. The Unions two other counterproposals were very similar to Agency proposals, indicating that further discussions could have led to an agreement. immediately as to whether there was a fixed deadline for the end of bargaining suggests strongly to me that there was never a meeting of the minds on that provision. Griffin also referred to competing concerns from the different divisions within the Agency. Tr. The FLRA is an independent administrative federal agency that administers the labor-management relations program for 2.1 million non-postal federal employees worldwide. The Agency found significant problems with the architects early floor plans, which left the Agency with inadequate space to accommodate all of our requirements and forced the Agency to go back to GSA and obtain authorization to rent an additional 8,000 square feet of space at Half Street. Yet on May 10, Agency officials submitted final comments on the floor plans to GSA and the architects, which paved the way for construction of the new offices to begin; and in subsequent months the Agency made other decisions on structural and design aspects of Half Street without negotiating with the Union. marked the opening to broader compromises, but the Agency chose instead to close the book on bargaining. Case digests provide a brief synopsis of the most pertinent principles in merits decisions issued by the Authority. 2023 American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFLCIO, 43rd International Convention - Boston, MA (2018). The Union caucused briefly to consider what to do next. A conference call discussing furniture issues was conducted on that date, although the Union told Jones it did not consider the discussion to satisfy the Agencys statutory duty to bargain. The NLRB covers most of the private sector. 166. . On May 16, Jones provided an additional response to the May 6 information request, forwarding to the Union a variety of drawings for Half Street, including some dated March 26 (GC Ex. 135, 429; GC Ex. The President can designate the Chairman with no separate Senate confirmation required. 30-31, 215-16); Lisabeth Luther, a compliance officer based in the Indianapolis Regional Office (Tr. The Union asserted that its tentative agreement to the counterproposals does not limit or waive the Unions right to submit proposals and/or counterproposals, and to engage in bargaining regarding headquarters relocation. Preventing and remedying unfair labor practices orchestrated by employers, unions, or both. GC Exs. Find a listing of FLRA contacts that you can call for more information. Tr. The Agencys bargaining team consisted of managers based at headquarters, and the Agencys executive leadership inserted itself into the dispute more than once. Without unions, pension and health care benefits deteriorate and workers' interests in safe and healthy workplaces and in stable employment go unheard and unheeded by employers and by the government alike. Because the negotiating table is so steeply slanted toward the Agency (due to its unilateral implementation of so many details of the relocation), a presumption of retroactivity is needed to restore the conditions that existed when negotiations began. On Wednesday, April 23, the Unions bargaining team met with Agency representatives Jones and Graham. Regional Offices., National Labor Relations Board. Tr. On May 19, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board Union (the Union or NLRBU) filed a ULP charge against the National Labor Relations Board (the Agency, NLRB or Respondent). Watch free online FLRA trainings on our Youtube channel and dont forget to subscribe to receive updates on new videos. The agency is separate from the National Labor Relations Board, which governs private-sector labor relations. Let us know what you think about our new and improved website by emailing us at EngagetheFLRA@flra.gov. 4 at 9. [3], In 1981, it decertified that is, stripped it from its status as a representative union - the air traffic controllers' PATCO union, after the 1981 air traffic controllers strike.[4]. On May 9, Lennie gave the Union a list of the location and size of each employees workspace at Franklin Court. The Union team then met up with the remainder of the Agencys bargaining team. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our. On its 80th anniversary, celebrated in 2015, the NLRB reported that more than 90% of the cases it receives are dealt with by its regional offices without requiring the board to intervene with formal litigation. All events occurring after April 25 are tainted by the Agencys termination of bargaining on that date, and all events after May 16 are similarly tainted by the Agencys refusal to join in mediation. 428, 477. full proposals. Therefore, the Agency violated its duty to bargain and deprived the Union of a proper opportunity to negotiate the impact and implementation of the move to a new headquarters. . The reason that knowing the distinction between employment laws and labor laws is important, especially when hiring an attorney, is because lawyers who claim to be both labor and employment lawyers have a tendency to specialize in one and dabble in the other. . Conduct Elections 43-44, 323, 404; GC Ex. What Is the Difference Between the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)? GC Exs. My Account Portal About Us National Labor Relations Act NLRB Process Board Rules & Regulations Board Rulemaking Careers . The General Counsel claims that the Agency was required to bargain until either an agreement or impasse was reached, citing. 126-28. 32 at 1. The General Counsel argues that the Agency violated 7116(a)(1) and (5) when it refused to negotiate with the Union over the headquarters relocation on and after April 25. If employees have any questions concerning this Notice or compliance with its provisions, they may communicate directly with the Regional Director, Chicago Region, Federal Labor Relations Authority, whose address is: 224 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 445, Chicago, IL 60604, and whose telephone number is: (312) 886-3465. Tr. I guess we will have to agree to disagree about any further bargaining. The FLRA is the federal public sector counterpart to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which governs labor relations between private sector employees and employers. there has to be an end point. On May 19, the Union filed the ULP charge. In other words, the paragraph simply specified the dates on which bargaining would be conducted. Daniel Liberto is a journalist with over 10 years of experience working with publications such as the Financial Times, The Independent, and Investors Chronicle. 34. 3290 (D.C. Cir. Durkin emailed the Agency team, thanking them for their time and stating, We could not reach a complete agreement by this evening, having not received the Agencys counter-proposals until 4:00 p.m. We will thoroughly review those proposals in the coming days in order to submit an appropriate response on April 30. GCEx. The Agencys chief negotiator asserted frequently during the bargaining sessions, and again at the hearing, that because the ground rules agreement specified that bargaining would occur on April 23 and 24, the Agency was entitled to stop bargaining after April 24, without regard to whether the parties had bargained to agreement or impasse, and without regard to whether further changes in conditions of employment occurred after April 25. It is their duty, when called upon, to hear labor disputes and resolve them through quasi-judicial proceedings. 29 at 3-4. Well meet today and tomorrow [April 23-24], and thats it. Tr. Therefore, it could hardly be said on April 24 that further negotiations would be fruitless; on the contrary, further negotiations were inevitable. Three of the Unions counterproposals were identical to the Agencys, and the other two were very close. , the agency must allow a reasonable time for the bargaining process to occur. 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