FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 17, 2024
October 17, 2024
Contact:
Tim Kauffman
202-639-6405/202-374-6491
[email protected]
Largest Federal Employee Union Calls on Labor Department to Stop Costly Delay Tactics and Negotiate in Good Faith
Categories:
DOL
AFGE leaders call on Congress for help after DOL negotiators abruptly end negotiations by withdrawing all proposals and implementing a new telework policy
WASHINGTON – The American Federation of Government Employees’ National Council of Field Labor Locals (NCFLL), which represents 7,500 employees at the Department of Labor, is calling on the department to stop bad faith delay tactics and negotiate employee telework proposals in good faith.
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su recently implemented a return to office mandate requiring all NCFLL bargaining unit employees to report to their duty location a least five days per pay period. In her email, she stated that DOL had engaged with the union to meet “any labor management obligations it may have had in advance of implementation.”
Shortly before the implementation announcement, National Council of Field Labor Locals President Daryl Laurie sent a letter to Sen. Bernie Sanders, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, asking for help defending workers’ rights by urging DOL to bargain in good faith.
“President Biden has taken a firm position in favor of labor, collective bargaining, and the federal workforce. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su has been the public face of this effort, recently supporting flight attendants at American Airlines and culinary workers at The Venetian Hotel as they secured important victories,” Laurie stated in the letter. “Unfortunately, these same commitments are not apparent in the Department of Labor’s negotiations with its own staff.”
The National Council of Field Labor Locals, which represent DOL field employees has been negotiating return-to-office policies since January. Due to the lack of agreement reached, negotiations have included two weeks of mediation with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, followed by an 11-hour mediation session with the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP), after which, DOL suddenly declared that the NCFLL bargaining proposals were non-negotiable.
Because of DOL’s bad-faith delay tactics, the case is no longer under FSIP jurisdiction and must be addressed through a separate, lengthy process under the Federal Labor Relations Authority. While the union respects DOL’s right to raise a negotiability claim, there is no justification for declaring the NCFLL bargaining proposals as non-negotiable after the impasse hearing had taken place, wasting time and taxpayer dollars.
“To be clear, there is no indication that Acting Secretary Su is personally to blame. However, by their actions the Department of Labor has done President Biden, DOL’s employees, their unions, and the workers they serve and protect a great disservice,” the letter continued.
AFGE leaders are looking forward to working with Acting Secretary Su to reach a solution that works for all parties.
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