On January 31, the Union informed the Agency that it had assembled a team to bargain over the move. Jt. The caucus lasted from approximately 1:15 to 4:00 p.m., at which time the Agency transmitted a list of twenty-three counterproposals to the Union by email. Find a listing of FLRA contacts that you can call for more information. 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. 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. The issue before me is whether, by participating in the two days of negotiations called for in the ground rules agreement, the Agency fulfilled its statutory duty to bargain concerning the relocation. . 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. . Frequently, the two are used interchangeably and, in most day-to-day usage, the interchange of the two words is accepted and appropriate. In response to the unions argument that excluding it from negotiations with the prospective landlord would prevent it from contributing to the important decisions affecting the relocation, the judge said: Since it is the responsibility of an agency seeking to make the change to insure that it has fulfilled its bargaining obligation before implementation . Tr. GC Ex. However, the Unions action was precipitated by the Agencys rejection of those counterproposals, even though they reflected nearly full agreement on those five issues, and by the Agencys declaration that bargaining was over. 141; GC Ex. The Agency negotiators explained that the size of restroom facilities was based on a formula in an international code, while the Unions math is not based on anything; youre just coming up with numbers. Tr. The second method is to petition the agency for amendment or rescission of the regulations and then to appeal the agencys action. Tr. 403-04. 43-44, 323, 404; GC Ex. The NLRB is an independent federal agency enforcing the National Labor Relations Act, which guarantees the right of most private sector employees to organize, to engage in group efforts to improve their wages and working conditions, to determine whether to have unions as their bargaining representative, to engage in collective bargaining, and to On April 30, Larry Sutton informed Jones and others at the Agency advising that the GSA needed to receive any Management and Union changes to the space plan/layout . Tr. . The FLRAis the federal public sector counterpart to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which governs labor relations between private sector employees and employers. 274. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent federal agency created in 1935 and vested with the power to safeguard employees' rights to organize, engage with one another to seek better working conditions, choose whether or not to have a collective bargaining representative negotiate on their behalf with their employer, or refrain 1959 Landrum-Griffin Act., National Labor Relations Board. The Authority has held on a number of occasions that after an agency has unilaterally implemented changes in conditions of employment, subsequent offers to bargain over the changes do not cure the statutory violation, and post-implementation actions are irrelevant. National Labor Relations Board: 80 Years, Page 11. Tr. On March 10, Durkin noted that the construction schedule called for final DIDs to be submitted by March 13, and for Agency review and approval to be completed by March 27, yet the Agency had not even begun ground rules negotiations with the Union; she asked how the Agency intended to provide a reasonable amount of time for bargaining with the Union, in light of these facts. Notwithstanding the lack of an agreement with the Union on the impact and implementation of the relocation, the Agency asserts that it fulfilled its bargaining obligation because (1) the Union had waived its right to bargain beyond April 24 by signing the ground rules agreement, and (2) the negotiations reached impasse on April 24. 51 at 7. . 7101-7135. Upon receipt of such forms, they shall be signed by the General Counsel and the Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, and shall be posted and maintained for sixty (60) consecutive days thereafter, in conspicuous places, including all bulletin boards and other places where notices to employees are customarily posted, nationwide. I mean, we had done everything to try to continue bargaining, to ask for continued bargaining. On March 14, Durkin proposed two consecutive days of face-to-face bargaining, to occur on April 16 and 17. Labor-Management Relations Statute, Chapter 71 of Title 5 of the U.S. Code, 5 U.S.C. On Wednesday, April 23, the Unions bargaining team met with Agency representatives Jones and Graham. 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. 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. 34. Durkin testified about several of the proposals discussed that day. Br. Tr. When parties are engaged in bargaining over a proposed change in conditions of employment, an agency is generally required to maintain the status quo pending the completion of the entire bargaining process, including the opportunity to pursue impasse resolution procedures. 117. 318. National Labor Relations Board. 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. If the Agency had not cut off bargaining, the parties could easily have reached agreement on these points. the Agencys counterproposals to find the things that we could agree on. Tr. If there came a point where we could starting initialing off on things, then we would have done that, but we were too early on. GCExs. National Labor Relations Board. Jt. Sotomayors Baseball Ruling Lingers, 14 Years Later., The Washington Post. 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. 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. 39. GC Ex. But the Agency would not defer bargaining about furniture to a later time, as that would be like buying a pig in a poke. Tr. 8 at 2. It then listed five Union counterproposals (which are set forth in the appendix). 2. Notwithstanding the lack of drawings, Jones and Durkin began on March 12 to discuss ground rules and potential dates for negotiations. GC Ex. As for whether the parties had reached impasse by the end of the April 23-24 bargaining session, Durkin stated that they had not, noting that neither party submitted last best offers or asserted they were at impasse. The teams made it through about thirty of the Unions proposals before breaking for lunch. With regard to the drawings, Jones stated, We have not yet received the final drawings from the architect.. 237-38. . 23 at 11-12, 15-16, 27-32), and some were dated April 11 (. The agency also acts to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices committed by private sector employers and unions. The next day, Luther informed Jones, In light of your rejection of our . On the morning of Tuesday, April 22, the Union bargaining team, and Jones, Graham, and Lennie, toured Half Street, whose interiors were still mostly empty. 425. It could be by teleconference or videoconference. Tr. Concurrence. . Tr. 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. As for whether the parties discussed the issue of furniture, Jones stated, When we walked through the initial proposals of the Union . . The Board has five Members and primarily acts as a quasi-judicial body in deciding cases on the basis of formal records in administrative proceedings. there has to be an end point. The Respondent argues that its actions were justified, given the fact that it was under pressure to give the architects comments on the preliminary drawings by May 9. View the legislative history of the Federal Service Labor-ManagementRelations Statute, the Civil Service Reform Act, andthe Foreign Service Act. 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. At the same time, negotiations were also underway with the Union, Agency and FLRA to settle the Unions ULP charge. (a) 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. Tr. 121. The Authority has defined impasse as that point in negotiations at which the parties are unable to reach agreement.. The parties will conduct two bargaining sessions at the Agencys current headquarters on the following dates: April 23, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. April 24, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 7. "University of Southern California. Ex. Durkin suggested that the Agency install an additional nursing room on the third floor, and asked whether workstations could be moved next to a window. But this interpretation requires an emphasis on selective phrases in the agreement, at the expense of its context. Other labor laws of note are the Railway Labor Act (RLA), the Federal Labor Relations Act (FLRA), as well as state labor laws that govern bargaining rights of state employees. 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. as a full agreement. GC Ex. But I, again, reiterated to them that we were willing to stay late to try to hammer out an agreement. 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