They were joined by Lennie, Abruzzo, and Robert Schiff, the Chairmans Chief of Staff. On February 27, Durkin asked Jones about the drawings, and Jones said the Agency did not have any. I conclude that the November bargaining offer was not sufficient, for two reasons. 58 at 2. How does my legal medical marijuana drug test affect my pre-employment and Dos and Donts of Writing a Warning Letter to an Employee, Salaried-Exempt Employees and Paid Vacation Leave. 233), and officials of both unions asked that they be given copies of the exercises that had been done, so that the unions could evaluate the feasibility of different alternatives. The President can designate the Chairman with no separate Senate confirmation required. Event Location: This training will be conducted virtually using WebEx during CST. 324. . 236, 238. Watch free online FLRA trainings on our Youtube channel and dont forget to subscribe to receive updates on new videos. Tr. GC Ex. NLRB, the National Labor Relations Board, is an independent federal agency vested with the ability to safeguard employees' rights to organize and to determine whether to have unions as their bargaining representative. And so we went through . Vikki Velasquez is a researcher and writer who has managed, coordinated, and directed various community and nonprofit organizations. The Union caucused briefly to consider what to do next. 162, 250, 285-86, 349-52, 474, 477; GC Ex. 43 at 9, 23, 29, 36, 49), and others dated April 2 (. The NLRB was given the power to resolve labor disputes through quasi-judicial proceedings and was assigned two principal functions: The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was amended by Congress several times, including in 1947 through the Taft-Hartley Act, in 1959 through the Landrum-Griffin Act, and in 1974 when the NLRB was given jurisdictional authority over nonprofit hospitals and nursing homes. The second method is to petition the agency for amendment or rescission of the regulations and then to appeal the agencys action. Before implementing a change in conditions of employment, an agency must provide a union with notice of the change and an opportunity to bargain over those aspects of the change that are within the duty to bargain, if the change will have more than a de minimis effect on conditions of employment. Tr. If the Union did not waive its right to bargain beyond April 24, the Agency was required to bargain until it reached agreement or impasse. In that event, the Agency will pay lodging, travel, and per diem expenses for the Union negotiators for the agreed-upon dates for face-to-face bargaining and for the travel dates immediately preceding and following the bargaining dates. 322.) The Board is supported by a General Counsel, who is also nominated by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of five years. The NLRB My Account Portal is an NLRB website that allows individuals to view cases and inquiries to which they are a party, e-file documents in those cases/inquiries, view their e-file history and manage their user profile. According to Durkin, Sutton stated that the project was running behind schedule in design plans; at a later phase of the process, after construction drawings were made, theyd decide on furniture. Tr. GC Ex. About two hours later, the Union team submitted five of its own counterproposals, which the Agency rejected. Find a listing of FLRA contacts that you can call for more information. Based on the foregoing, I conclude that the ground rules agreement did not justify the Respondents decision to end bargaining prior to reaching agreement or impasse. 45. Where they mainly differ is in the portion of the workforce they serve. [T]here were some [Union] proposals that were left out of our counter that we werent able to agree to. Tr. WE WILL upon request, negotiate in good faith with the Union concerning the relocation of Agency headquarters to the extent required by the Statute, including participating in mediation under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, if requested by either party, and if requested and necessary to implement the results of any agreement reached or resolution imposed by the Federal Service Impasses Panel, replace or substitute any features located within the new headquarters building that are subject to bargaining under the Statute. Graham and Lennie responded that the Agency was requesting those changes. In order to evaluate this defense, I consider the meaning of the ground rules agreement, using the standards and principles of interpreting agreements applied by arbitrators and the federal courts. Featherbedding describes an unlawful practice of forcing employers to increase labor costs, such as hiring unnecessary workers. Labor-Management Relations Statute, Chapter 71 of Title 5 of the U.S. Code, 5 U.S.C. 32-33. The NLRB has no independent statutory power to enforce its decisions and orders, but it may seek enforcement through a U.S. court of appeals. Although the NLRA covers most employers, it does not . 465. A few days later, the Union tried to initiate mediation of the dispute, but the Agency refused to participate. Created by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, it is a quasi-judicial body with three full-time members who are appointed for five-year terms by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. the background and history of the move, and talked about it being a very tight timeline, tight monetary restrictions. Tr. One example of such a proposal was Union Proposal 36, requiring bargaining over furniture at a later time. The primary responsibilities of the FLRA are to: Resolve complaints of unfair labor practices (ULPs). 3290 (D.C. Cir. Circuit recently refused to enforce a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that involved a conflict between an . adopts similar guidelines in concluding that no impasse had been reached: among the factors cited were that neither party had actually declared an impasse; the parties had modified their proposals and demonstrated a responsiveness to the bargaining process; and the parties had not yet had a reasonable opportunity to invoke the processes of FSIP. 42FLRA at 1279-80. 5. 106-07. 25. In the weeks and months that followed, the Agency unilaterally made decisions about the design and layout of the new headquarters, including issues such as office furniture and other matters that had been discussed (but not resolved) during bargaining. Subsequently, the GC, the Charging Party, and the Respondent filed post-hearing briefs, which I have fully considered. Similarly, neither side used the term impasse or described proposals as a last best offer. Although invoking the word impasse does not magically produce one, it is common for negotiators to advise their counterparts when they believe progress has been deadlocked. Now that the relocation has been completed, and all employees are working at the Half Street building, it is not at all clear how many of the decisions unilaterally imposed by the Agency can be undone through retroactivity. . Tr. 106. They include federal laws such as the: State laws that are typically considered employment laws include each states various wage and hour laws, wage payment laws, and leave laws. Thus, paragraph 2 states, The parties will conduct two bargaining sessions at the Agencys current headquarters on the following dates: April 23 and 24. . Organized labor is a strategy where workers join together in unions in order to negotiate for better wages and working conditions. 428. Finally, the GC submits that the Respondents [h]alf-hearted, delayed (by months) and qualified bargaining offers in November 2014 and January 2015 did not cure its previous refusals to bargain. The Chicago Regional Office of the Federal Labor Relations Authority offers this training to parties involved in "change bargaining" under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute. Tr. Immediately upon returning from lunch at 1:10 p.m., the Agency team requested a caucus, so that it could prepare counterproposals. Durkin replied that we anticipate continuing bargaining, and that the Union was focusing here now on time sensitive issues like the size of offices, but we anticipate bargaining over these things into the future. Tr. While the parties had some subsequent discussions about the relocation, no further negotiations occurred until at least November. Finally, it should be emphasized, as the Authority did in. for commenting on the design drawings for Half Street. Mediation is, without a doubt, a form of bargaining. The next day, Woodcock informed Jones that the Union would be willing to meet with him to discuss furniture, but that the meeting would not constitute bargaining or a satisfaction of the Agencys bargaining obligation, in light of ongoing efforts to settle the underlying ULP charge previously filed by the Union. Tr. It did so by negotiating ground rules for bargaining over the relocation, and then by negotiating with the Union for the time allotted to negotiations in those ground rules. 18, 19. . The NLRB administers and enforces the National Labor Relations Act, conducting secret ballot elections to determine whether employees wish to be represented by a union, and resolving alleged ULPs committed by employers and unions in the private sector. 469. GC Ex. Around this time, an architecture firm, WDG, was selected to design the interior space at Half Street. 233-34. Griffin acknowledged that that was a problem . Tr. Giving employees the freedom to decide whether they want union representation and, if yes, by which union by conducting secret ballot elections. measurements of those offices. 39. The NLRB Process The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency vested with the power to safeguard employees' rights to organize and to determine whether to have unions as their bargaining representative. During bargaining, Jones would be joined by Jessica Graham, Assistant Chief of the Space Management Section, Facilities Branch; Andrew Krafts, Deputy Chief Counsel to Member Nancy Schiffer; and Rachel Lennie, an Assistant General Counsel. GC Ex. 3; Tr. ", National Labor Relations Board. Thus the November teleconference cannot truly be considered pre-implementation. As with many of the decisions made between the Respondent and the architects in February and March, the Respondent had already narrowed the Unions ability to negotiate to a significant extent. First, the Agency had already made the decision, with GSA, to utilize GSAs FIT program, which significantly narrowed the remaining options for furniture. Durkin and Luther complied. 22 at 3-5. These activities are governed by a handful of federal and state laws, the most prominent being the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Tr. 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. However, other actions by the Agency on and before April 25 contributed to the failure and ultimate breakdown of negotiations. marked the opening to broader compromises, but the Agency chose instead to close the book on bargaining. On January 31, the Union informed the Agency that it had assembled a team to bargain over the move. Ch. . . The General Counsel claims that the Agency was required to bargain until either an agreement or impasse was reached, citing. 418. On the first day of the hearing, the GC moved to amend the complaint to allege, On April 25, 2014, and on May 15, 2014, the Respondent . 110-12, 363-64. . Protecting rights and facilitating stable relationships among federal agencies, labor organizations, and employees while advancing an effective and efficient government through the administration of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute. , 25 FLRA 787, 789-90 (1987). these things. was very similar to Agency counterproposal 10, except that the Unions counterproposal specifies that the office would be consistent with the current design reflecting 108SF. Further, Union counterproposal 4 (coat hooks) is similar to Agency counterproposal 16, except that the Union added that it reserves the right to bargain and make proposals for other Unit employees who may have offices or cubicles in the new building. GC Exs. In light of the fact that the bargaining offers were made in the midst of trilateral settlement negotiations, and that the Respondent was unwilling to settle the underlying ULP complaint against it, the offers were inadequate, using the NLRBs own case precedent as a benchmark.