With regard to Proposal 14 that interior office windows have an opaque glaze or frosted glass Jones said, we havent chosen yet to frost or not frost, but we want it to be uniform, so we cant have individual people in individual offices choosing whether to have theirs frosted or not. Tr. The Union team found several of the Agency proposals vague, as the Agency offered to use its best efforts to obtain certain design features (for example, Proposal 8) and agreed to other features only to the extent [that] the architects [WDG] can incorporate them into the drawings (for example, Proposals 19 and 20). Who We Are.. If complete agreement is not reached after the conclusion of negotiations, either party may request mediation from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Also, according to Durkin, Lennie told attendees that they had been working with the architects for months to try to fit everything in, and that they had received design drawings a month prior and . Tr. Issue. WHEREAS: The parties discussed the number of stalls needed in the mens and womens restrooms (Union Proposal 31), and the Union team argued the Agencys floor plan was grossly inadequate. Meanwhile, it withheld from the Union the ongoing dialogue between Agency officials and the new buildings architects about the proposed plans for the new headquarters. At 6:11 p.m., the Union sent the Agency a document titled Unions Initial response to Agencys counterproposal of 4/24/14. Tr. to negotiate before a firm decision had been made to relocate.. . Neither the General Counsel nor the Union seeks a full status quo ante remedy, however, as everyone seems to recognize that the Agency cannot return to Franklin Court. The Federal Labor Relations Authority(FLRA) has a similar mandate to the NLRB. 1974 Health Care Amendments., National Labor Relations Board. The FLRA is an independent administrative federal agency that administers the labor-management relations program for 2.1million non-postal federal employees worldwide. The Agencys proposed interpretation of the ground rules also ignores paragraph 13, which states that either party may request mediation from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Mutual consent is not required for mediation. . As the judge noted in, There are a number of signs indicating that the parties were still in the early stages of bargaining when the Agency walked away from the table. Based on the entire record, including my observation of the witnesses and their demeanor, I make the following findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendations. And even if the Union had been able to write up a full set of responses that evening, the parties would have needed much more than that day to properly address them and try to reach compromises. 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. Similarly, it is apparent that the parties were a few short conversations away from reaching agreement on the issue of an additional nursing room; Jones himself admitted that the parties were still in the early stages of bargaining when the Agency left the table. 386-87; Jt. As Luther described in her testimony, the five issues addressed in the Unions Initial response to Agencys counterproposal of 4/24/14 (GC Ex. . Tr. I also believe that in these factual circumstances, the Union should, as the court envisioned in. 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. Gwynne A. Wilcox. . Many of these proposals were not related to the size of individual offices or cubicles, and indeed the Agency itself had no way of properly or knowledgeably negotiating many of these subjects (such as the height of cubicle walls, frosting on glass, and options for furniture, flooring, and walls) in April or May. As for whether the parties discussed the issue of furniture, Jones stated, When we walked through the initial proposals of the Union . 3 at 2. Before the days session ended, Jones asked Durkin why the Union had not spent the day talking about its written proposals. . encompassed in those proposals. 122. When asked why the Agency rejected the five counterproposals offered by the Union late on April 24, Jones stated, [W]e were too early on. 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. [W]hen a respondent claims as a defense to an alleged unfair labor practice that a specific provision of the parties collective bargaining agreement permitted its actions alleged to constitute an unfair labor practice, the Authority, including its administrative law judges, will determine the meaning of the parties collective bargaining agreement and will resolve the unfair labor practice complaint accordingly. Luther testified that this surprised her, because it contradicted what he had said at the beginning of the conversation., The Agency finally responded to the Unions proposed ground rules with its own draft of a ground rules agreement on April 14. Tr. The architects finalized design intent drawings in August. GC Ex. It didnt have to be face-to-face. 116. Durkin added, Weve used email exchanges, teleconference exchanges, and videoconference exchanges with the Agency numerous times, at the drop of a hat, including over this relocation process and over the ground rules. To make matters worse, the Union was told that it only had a few days to make any further comments on the floor plans, and that all issues relating to the move had to be negotiated in that time even issues that were not tied to the Agencys final comments on the floor plans. I mean, we had done everything to try to continue bargaining, to ask for continued bargaining. An agencys regulations may be attacked in two ways after the statute of limitations has expired. 106-07. 220. 221. As we said several times throughout the course of the day, we were willing to work late last evening in an attempt to reach an agreement, or narrow the issues, but the Union team was unwilling to continue beyond 6:30. It could be by teleconference or videoconference. Although Jones insisted in March and April that the Agency had not received preliminary drawings or floor plans for the new offices until April 14, the record demonstrates that the architects had submitted a series of proposed floor plans to the Agency prior to April 14, and that Agency officials had been engaged in detailed discussions with the architect and with GSA about the adequacy (or inadequacy) of the space being allocated to the NLRB. The Union team had not seen the entire Franklin Court facility the previous day, so the parties agreed to spend the morning continuing Tuesdays walk-through. 288), and Graham and Jones both acknowledged that no agreement was reached. the background and history of the move, and talked about it being a very tight timeline, tight monetary restrictions. Tr. We were quite exhausted. The Union offered to submit a counterproposal on the remaining issues by April 30, and it requested that bargaining continue, using all technological means at the parties disposal, including telephone and videoconferences, in addition to face-to-face meetings. The President can designate the Chairman with no separate Senate confirmation required. 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 . 32 at 1. 42 at 1. 105, 233. In this regard, the GC asserts that there was no clear and unmistakable waiver of the Unions right to bargain to agreement or impasse. . If the Union had had the opportunity to argue for its proposals in February or March, it might have been able to persuade management, the architects, and GSA that the Agency needed an additional 10,000 or 12,000 square feet, rather than 8,000. . GC Ex. cubicles. Atvarious times during the Franklin Court walk-through, Durkin and Luther attempted to measure employee workspaces, and Durkin attempted to ask at least one employee about his workspace. It just wouldnt work. Tr. It was during this period of time that the Union could have been afforded a similar opportunity to add its perspective and interests into the discussion that was going on between the Agency and the architects. Tr. Organized labor is a strategy where workers join together in unions in order to negotiate for better wages and working conditions. 403-04. . at 7. GC Exs. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent federal agency created by the U.S. Congress in 1935 to enforce the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Since seven months went by after that declaration, with no negotiations, the Agencys limited offer to bargain in November was far too little, and extremely late. 409; This evidence shows that there was a significant period of time prior to April 14 in which the Agency was able to make meaningful changes in the size and configuration of the office space at Half Street. [on] the 24th, we walked through each of these and there was some general discussion. FLRA, 39 F.3d 361 (CADC 1994); Defense . In, Once the Agency stopped bargaining on April 25, it began to unilaterally implement all manner of decisions related to the relocation. Accordingly, the parties should negotiate fully and in good faith on all issues relating to the impact and implementation of the move to Half Street. Employee Relations and Labour Relations are different, but with significant overlap, in principle, to ensure greatest success within any organization. 47 at 1. Since the Union had been actively pursuing mediation, the Union team understood this to mean that the Agency was refusing to engage in mediation. Event Location: This training will be conducted virtually using WebEx during CST. In the afternoon, bargaining teams from the two unions (along with several interested NLRB managers) attended a series of briefings. About NLRB., National Labor Relations Board. 105. Teams Virtual Training 10am - 12:00pm EST, Teams Virtual Training 11:00am - 12:00pm EST, U.S. Forest Service, Collbran Job Corps Civilian, Conservation Center, Collbran, CO (Agency) and National Federation of Federal Employees, IAMAW, AFL-CIO (Petitioner/Labor Organization), American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858 (Union) and United States Department of the Arrmy, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Agency), National Treasury Employees Union (Union) and United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (Agency), Collaboration and Alternative Dispute Resolution Office (CADRO), Archival Decisions, Legislative History, & Foreign Service Decisions, Meetings under the Statute, Investigatory Examinations, Formal Discussions, Bypasses, Susan Tsui Grundmann Designated FLRA Chairman, The FLRA Proposes Revising Its Regulations, and Revoking a Related Policy Statement, Concerning the Revocation of Written Assignments for the Payment of Union Dues, The FLRA Releases Training Video on Labor Management Forums, The FLRA and its Recognized Union of Authority Employees Reestablish Internal Labor-Management Forum, FLRA Invites Customer Input on Representation Issue, FLRA Swears in Member Susan Tsui Grundmann. 51 at 7. the advantage conferred by the privilege to retain or waive its right to retroactive application of bargaining terms. 856 F.2d at 299. It also provides that there may be additional dates for face-to-face bargaining, but this requires the mutual agreement of the parties. The primary responsibilities of the FLRA are to: Resolve complaints of unfair labor practices (ULPs). It is their duty, when called upon, to hear labor disputes and resolve them through quasi-judicial proceedings. The fact that the parties disagreed. . The Federal Labor Relations Authority has found that the National Labor Relations Board violated the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute), and has ordered us to post and abide by this notice: WE WILL NOT terminate bargaining over the relocation of our headquarters offices in Washington, D.C., prior to reaching an agreement or prior to reaching an impasse with the National Labor Relations Board Union (the Union). On March 14, Durkin proposed two consecutive days of face-to-face bargaining, to occur on April 16 and 17. Tests and elements required to prove violations differ from one law to the next; the exclusions and exemptions regarding which employers and employees are and are not covered can be different; and the procedures that govern the complaint processes can vary significantly. Durkin (along with Nixon and later Luther) responded, [N]o, the Agency has to continue bargaining. , 25 FLRA 787, 789-90 (1987). These activities are governed by a handful of federal and state laws, the most prominent being the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). 115-16. GC Ex. . By terminating negotiations before the Union had a chance to submit a full set of counterproposals, the Agency undercut its claim that negotiations were at an impasse. The agency is separate from the National Labor Relations Board, which governs private-sector labor relations. some of the areas [of] discussions that we had with the Union, such as the Unions suggestion to have a second nursing room. As for further bargaining, the Union stated that it was. The Agency could not sincerely claim that the parties were at impasse until they had engaged in full-fledged negotiations over those additional counterproposals. Durkin testified at the hearing that she had already requested much of this information, but had not received it, in earlier requests. The Railway Labor Act (RLA) was passed by Congress 9 years before the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA): 1926 and 1935 respectively. Nonetheless, the union and the GCargued that the agency was obligated to begin bargaining once the relocation was contemplated., . After investigating the charge, the Regional Director of the FLRAs Chicago Region issued a Complaint and Notice of Hearing on January 12, 2015, on behalf of the FLRAs General Counsel (GC), alleging that, On May 15, 2014, the R. espondent . 39. . Labor Board Calls for Revote at Amazon Warehouse in Alabama in Major Victory for Union., National Labor Relations Board. Tr. Find a listing of all of the FLRA's current job openings. Brief Fact Summary. 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. But this interpretation requires an emphasis on selective phrases in the agreement, at the expense of its context. Donna Nixon was scheduled to be on a flight that night. And hiring an attorney who dabbles can lead to bad outcomes. 425. 418. Our bottom line view at this point is that we have fulfilled our obligation to bargain under the terms of [the] ground rules agreement. 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. However, on November 21, Jones advised the Union negotiating team that the Agency was in the process of finalizing its furniture order for the new building, and he invited the Union to participate in bargaining by telephone over any Union proposals concerning furniture on November 24. It makes no sense for the Agency to use the ground rules to declare that bargaining was over, when those very ground rules enabled either party to initiate mediation. There has been no senate-confirmed General Counsel since Julia Akins Clark left the post in January 2017, and no Acting General Counsel between November 2017 and March 24, 2021, when President Joe Biden named Charlotte A. Dye to be Acting General Counsel. Former President Barack Obama once claimed that this move saved baseball.. The teams made it through about thirty of the Unions proposals before breaking for lunch. . Half Street. 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. 233-34. 38. The NLRA, otherwise known as the Wagner Act, is one of the most groundbreaking labor laws ever enacted in the United States. The Agency insists that a fixed date for concluding negotiations is implied in the ground rules, but the law requires such a waiver of the Unions statutory rights to be explicit. 413. Ex. The Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute) protects federal employees' rights to organize, bargain collectively, and participate in labor organizations of their choosing - and to refrain from doing so. 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