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Update on HHS Term Bargaining and National Grievance/ULP

NTEU has filed a national grievance/ULP against HHS for its tactics related to term bargaining; and the parties have exchanged initial proposals.

Wooden gavelI want to update you on some recent, important developments regarding term bargaining with HHS. NTEU opened the existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in July 2015. While bargaining ground rules, HHS engaged in numerous stall tactics that we believe were in bad faith and cost the parties nearly two years. In 2016, we were finally able to get before an Obama-appointed neutral Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP) member, who on December 31, 2016, imposed ground rules on the parties. Thereafter, and consistent with its years-long efforts to delay any bargaining over new contract terms, HHS disapproved the ground rules on January 31, 2017. NTEU immediately filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) with the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), which is currently pending. Continue reading “Update on HHS Term Bargaining and National Grievance/ULP”

Government-wide Federal Employee Provisions in Senate Defense Authorization Bill

Senate passes National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2019 that contains provisions affecting federal workers government-wide. The measure now goes before a conference committee to resolve differences in the House and Senate- passed bills.

Seal of the United States SenateToday the Senate passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), H.R. 5515, by a vote of 85 to 10. Although there were several amendments filed that adversely impacted federal employees, including on official time, those amendments were successfully blocked and not considered. The bill now goes to a House and Senate Conference Committee to work out differences between the two bills. Continue reading “Government-wide Federal Employee Provisions in Senate Defense Authorization Bill”

Your Union Fighting to Improve Your Working Conditions

An Article By Doug Sanders, NTEU Field Representative and Assistant Counsel

NTEU Field Representative and Assistant Counsel Doug Sanders
NTEU Field Representative and Assistant Counsel Doug Sanders

As your NTEU National Field Representative, I assist NTEU Chapter 254 in protecting your right to have representation when meeting with Agency Management about your working conditions. Last year, Management at the National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) in Jefferson, Arkansas, took it upon themselves to bargain changes in the working conditions of several of your colleagues, namely their office arrangements. NTEU is the representative of all bargaining unit employees when it comes to your working conditions, to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and with respect. The Agency knows this – after all, it’s the law, and the Agency also agreed to this when it negotiated the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Union. Because Management attempted to negotiate directly with its employees, and did not afford them the right to have a Union representative present when it did so, Chapter 254 decided to remind Management of their obligations by filing a grievance to make sure this does not happen in the future. Continue reading “Your Union Fighting to Improve Your Working Conditions”

Joy is hiding in plain sight

Excerpt from LinkedIn Daily Rundown published on June 15, 2018

Office decor color swatchesIn her new TED talk, designer Ingrid Fetell Lee shares evidence that people working in colorful offices are more joyful and alert, friendlier and more confident than those working in drab ones. Spaces with bright pops of color and round or symmetrical shapes give us a sense of abundance and elevation. Lee argues that we should stop seeing joy as a sign of a lack of seriousness and start recognizing it as a signal of curiosity and engagement. • Here’s what people are saying.