AFGE Urges Congress to Avoid Government Shutdown
September 18, 2023
AFGE is urging members of Congress not to repeat the same mistakes they made a few years ago.
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Another Win for the AFGE National VA Council!
July 12, 2021
Categories:
VA, The Insider
In 2017, the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act was signed into law. Lawmakers claimed that this law was necessary to help the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) get rid of unethical managers and help veterans get their health care faster. However, it has notoriously been used to fire low-level employees, many of whom are people of color and veterans.
Following passage of Accountability Act, the VA began unilaterally sending pre-hearing submissions, which are briefs, memos, or letters that one party sends to an arbitrator outlining legal or factual arguments. VA’s pre-hearing submissions outlined their flawed interpretation of the Accountability Act – previewing its since-debunked claims that the VA was not required to follow certain procedures in the 2011 Master Agreement and that arbitrators could not review the reasonableness of the penalty chosen by the VA.
On Nov. 15, 2018, AFGE’s National VA Council filed a national grievance arguing that the VA’s practice of sending pre-hearing submissions constituted a change to the arbitration process, which is a violation of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and Article 44 of the collective bargaining agreement between AFGE NVAC and the VA.
Arbitrator Gary Eder sustained the grievance; however, the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) later remanded the award for additional findings on the unfair labor practice claim, absent settlement.
In June 2021, NVAC and the VA reached a settlement and in exchange for the VA’s agreement to cease and desist its practice of unilateral pre-hearing submissions in cases arising out of Section 714 of the Accountability Act, NVAC would withdraw the national grievance. The settlement also requires the VA to rescind these pre-hearing submissions in pending 714 cases.
Recent AFGE News:
Veteran Employee Appreciation Week Brings Together Labor and Management in Detroit, Serves as Model for Nation
September 18, 2023
A week of Veteran Employee Recognition activities is held at the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center.
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The Activist: Juan Ibarra, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
September 18, 2023
The seventh episode of AFGE’s new series, The Activist, highlighting our union members who have stepped up to help make a difference in the lives of their colleagues and our government.
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