AFGE locals are ready to have their cases heard as the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) is now fully operational following the Senate confirmation of Anne Wagner as its third member.
The Senate confirmed Wagner on July 11. Prior to her confirmation, she served as the associate special counsel with the Office of Special Counsel. She was also an AFGE alum, serving as assistant general counsel for nearly 20 years handling several precedent-setting cases.
Her confirmation allows the agency to settle disputes between federal workers and agencies after an 18-month deadlock with only two members on the board.
Local 2384 President Bryan Hunt said he currently has an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) complaint filed with the FLRA that has had no action yet. His ULP involves the local’s secretary-treasurer who was contacted by her supervisor who told her there were funds for bonuses and she would not get one unless she gave up her 25% official time.
“I’m hoping the case gets moving soon now that the authority will be staffed,” he said.
One of the pending cases involves the eligibility of certain lower graded employees who support HR work to be in the bargaining unit. Tens of thousands of employees especially in the VA and DOD have been excluded from the bargaining unit since then FLRA Chair Duffy Kiko and Member James Abbott, who represented the Republican majority on the panel, re-wrote case law to remove them, changing 50 years of consistent precedent.
“Our pending case asks the FLRA to re-visit this issue and return to how these positions were evaluated and mostly included in bargaining units in the pre-Trump era,” said AFGE Deputy General Counsel Cathie McQuiston.
The Office of Personnel Management last week took a huge step toward aligning the locality pay maps for employees on the Federal Wage System and General Schedule.
Read More
With the election approaching Marcial Gomez talks about what’s on the line for TSA employees and his concerns about Project 2025.
Read More
Members of AFGE’s DEFCON Steering Group met along with AFGE staff and elected leaders to discuss ways to better serve employees throughout the DoD in the year ahead.
Read More
