110-12, 363-64. 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. 146-47. The Federal Labor Relations Authority ( FLRA) is an independent agency of the United States government that governs labor relations between the federal government and its employees . 236. The General Counsel argues that the Agency violated 7116(a)(1) and (5) when it refused to negotiate with the Union over the headquarters relocation on and after April 25. 2423.32. 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. Last edited on 24 February 2023, at 17:23, independent agency of the United States government, Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (United States), United States Merit Systems Protection Board, "The Statute: 7104. . 324. . At that point, it was apparent to both parties that these decisions could not be made until much later in the relocation process, and indeed Union Proposals 35 and 36 sought to commit the parties to negotiations when they possessed the necessary information to resolve them, rather than in April, when both sides were buying a pig in a poke. Tr. . The NLRB refused, and an unfair labor practice proceeding ensued. Finally, the GC submits that the Respondents [h]alf-hearted, delayed (by months) and qualified bargaining offers in November 2014 and January 2015 did not cure its previous refusals to bargain. Synopsis of Rule of Law. More importantly, the Union continued to keep its original forty-one proposals on the table. The Respondent is an agency within the meaning of 7103(a)(3) of the Statute. The NLRB covers most of the private sector. Tr. What We Do., National Labor Relations Board. Tr. 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. 85-88; GC Ex. Jones added that bargaining other than face-to-face bargaining would present a number of practical difficulties, saying, We couldnt possibly try to negotiate a subject as complicated as the complete relocation of the Agencys headquarters by email or telephone. 30-31, 215-16); Lisabeth Luther, a compliance officer based in the Indianapolis Regional Office (Tr. While the Union might have been able to figure out, from Joness repeated assertions, that the Agency would not agree to the Unions proposals calling for further bargaining (Union Proposals 35-40), it would nevertheless have been reasonable for the Agency to give specific written responses to the Unions proposals, or to offer its formula for handling these problems, so the Union could know where it stood. During this period, Agency officials were negotiating with the architects how much space each division of the Agency needed, how large the offices and cubicles could be, and other meaningful design issues. On December 23, Jones sent Woodcock an email, offering one additional bargaining session in January in an attempt to resolve all outstanding issues related to the headquarters relocation. GC Ex. . to meet at reasonable times and to consult and bargain in a good-faith effort to reach agreement with respect to the conditions of employment . . Tr. GC Ex. Most of those employees work for the Agencys General Counsel (including about eight or nine who work for the Washington Resident Office, also referred to as the WRO, which is a division of the Baltimore Regional Office); about fifteen work for the Board. . In order to evaluate this defense, I consider the meaning of the ground rules agreement, using the standards and principles of interpreting agreements applied by arbitrators and the federal courts. 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. Based on the above precedent, I find that the planned relocation to a new building involved a change in conditions of employment. at 30. With regard to the dates for bargaining, Durkin testified that the ground rules agreement went into detail concerning face-to-face bargaining, but not concerning other types of bargaining such as by email or teleconference. Ex. bargaining sessions on April 23 and 24, and it further provided that [b]y mutual agreement, the parties may agree to additional dates for face-to-face bargaining. GC Ex. at 330. 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. Date: _________________ By: _______________________________________________ Chairman, National Labor Relations Board (Signature), Date: _________________ By: ______________________________________________ General Counsel, National Labor Relations Board (Signature). And, without strong enforcement of labor laws, unions cannot effectively function. 221. . Tr. At the time of the hearing, and for the previous twenty-one years, the Agencys headquarters office was located in the Franklin Court Building, 1099 14th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. (Franklin Court). The participation of employees in the formulation and implementation of employee policy and procedures affecting them contributes to the effective conduct of public business. In the late afternoon, about an hour before bargaining was scheduled to end, the Agencys bargaining team submitted twenty-three counterproposals. the background and history of the move, and talked about it being a very tight timeline, tight monetary restrictions. Tr. Durkin testified that around this time, the Union team told the Agency team that they were willing to continue bargaining, but we cant continue and expect to wrap up bargaining that night. Tr. SUBMITTED BY:Denise Duncan, RN, President and Delegate Elizabeth Hawkins, RN, Secretary and Delegate UNAC/UHCP California. GC Ex. The Chicago Regional Office of the Federal Labor Relations Authority offers this training to parties involved in "change bargaining" under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute. Are You Covered?, Federal Labor Relations Authority. 127-28. It's a tool that's. 135, 429; GC Ex. 106. 3290 (D.C. Cir. . Meanwhile, the Agency continued to make decisions with the architects concerning design aspects of the new offices, and while the Union participated in some discussions about these issues as members of the Agencys Space Advisory Committee, those discussions did not constitute bargaining within the meaning of the Statute. 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. 33, 35. By the time the Agency made its limited offer in November to bargain, it had already implemented many aspects of the relocation plans, by making commitments with GSA and the architects. 326-27. [3], In 1981, it decertified that is, stripped it from its status as a representative union - the air traffic controllers' PATCO union, after the 1981 air traffic controllers strike.[4]. She has conducted in-depth research on social and economic issues and has also revised and edited educational materials for the Greater Richmond area. that these are the bargaining sessions and that if we need more, we can agree mutually to have more; but I didnt want anybody to think that we were agreeing to just have two opening sessions . The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) no longer deliver on their respective statutory mandates to protect the rights of workers to form, join and support a union and encourage the practice and procedure of collective bargaining; and, Pro-worker decisions were issued under the Obama-era federal labor boards, but we are seeing significant retrenchment under the current NLRB and FLRA. The agency also acts to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices committed by private sector employers and unions. When the parties began face-to-face negotiations on April 23, they had signed off on the ground rules less than a week earlier. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. Because the ground rules agreement cannot reasonably be interpreted as limiting the parties bargaining period to two days, I conclude that the Union did not waive its right to bargain until either an agreement was reached or the parties had come to an impasse. . In light of the fact that the bargaining offers were made in the midst of trilateral settlement negotiations, and that the Respondent was unwilling to settle the underlying ULP complaint against it, the offers were inadequate, using the NLRBs own case precedent as a benchmark. 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. First would come drawings (referred to by witnesses and in documents as preliminary drawings, design drawings, or just drawings) that were, essentially, floor plans, showing things like the location of walls and doors, and the size and location of offices and cubicles. In, Once the Agency stopped bargaining on April 25, it began to unilaterally implement all manner of decisions related to the relocation. On March 14, Durkin proposed two consecutive days of face-to-face bargaining, to occur on April 16 and 17. 450. Know Your Legal Rights Before Your Start, Positive Communication: How to Elevate Customer Experience, Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), The Myth of the Two Weeks Notice Requirement. Jt. . 45. The Union asserted that its tentative agreement to the counterproposals does not limit or waive the Unions right to submit proposals and/or counterproposals, and to engage in bargaining regarding headquarters relocation. 9; Resp. 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. Frequently, the two are used interchangeably and, in most day-to-day usage, the interchange of the two words is accepted and appropriate. Yet on May 10, Agency officials submitted final comments on the floor plans to GSA and the architects, which paved the way for construction of the new offices to begin; and in subsequent months the Agency made other decisions on structural and design aspects of Half Street without negotiating with the Union. These activities are governed by a handful of federal and state laws, the most prominent being the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). 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. Ex. at 327. With regard to the drawings, Jones stated, We have not yet received the final drawings from the architect.. 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. 138-39; GC Ex. The NLRB Union challenged regulations that were promulgated by the Federal Labor Relations Authority on January 17, 1980, nearly seven years prior to the appeal. And hiring an attorney who dabbles can lead to bad outcomes. 53-54. Organized labor is a strategy where workers join together in unions in order to negotiate for better wages and working conditions. 366. Tr. . 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. 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. Since the Respondents ULP in this case was its improper termination of bargaining over the impact and implementation of the proposed relocation, it is clear that an appropriate remedy must (among other things) order the Agency to return to the bargaining table and resume negotiations from the point at which they ended on April 24. Finally, a petitioners contention that the challenged regulation should be amended or rescinded because it conflicts from the statute from which its authority derives is reviewable outside the statutory limitations period. 51 at 7. 148-49, 168. LEXIS 15827, 266 U.S. App. 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. [2], The Authority adjudicates disputes arising under the Civil Service Reform Act, deciding cases concerning the negotiability of collective bargaining agreement proposals, appeals concerning unfair labor practices and representation petitions, and exceptions to grievance arbitration awards. Nonetheless, the union and the GCargued that the agency was obligated to begin bargaining once the relocation was contemplated., . Even after receiving permission to extend their caucus beyond the allotted hour, the Union negotiators realized that we were rushing and we were not going to be able to do a very thorough job of reviewing the proposals and that concerned us. Tr. . The relocation process involved a series of drawings that would increase in complexity as the project progressed. Dissent. . 1935 Passage of the Wagner Act., National Labor Relations Board. 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. High-profile cases in which the NLRB has been involved include when it helped to end a baseball strike that culminated in the 1994 playoffs and World Series being canceled. 472. 237. At 6:11 p.m., the Union sent the Agency a document titled Unions Initial response to Agencys counterproposal of 4/24/14. Tr. 13 at 1. 39. We had bargained all day. 7101-7135 (the Statute), and the Rules and Regulations of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (the Authority or FLRA), 5 C.F.R. Jones, by contrast, testified that the parties reached impasse on April 24, [w]hen the Union got up and walked out. Tr. 162, 250, 285-86, 349-52, 474, 477; GC Ex. As an initial matter, the GC asserts that the Respondent had a duty to bargain over the relocation, and that this duty arose when the Agency signed the lease for the new office building on January 29. The fact that the parties disagreed. 25. Tr. About 450people work at its headquarters office in Washington, D.C. Tr. The Union asked to submit its remaining counterproposals the following week, and to resume bargaining thereafter, since it had not had time to prepare a response on all issues. Was NLRB barred by the statute of limitations? D.C. 165, 126 L.R.R.M. The reason that knowing the distinction between employment laws and labor laws is important, especially when hiring an attorney, is because lawyers who claim to be both labor and employment lawyers have a tendency to specialize in one and dabble in the other. Tr. The parties had only begun to discuss the many issues on the table, neither side had submitted a full range of counterproposals, and the Agency inexplicably refused even to attempt mediation. According to its website, the NLRBs core duties are: The NLRB is a fairly small agency, with 26 regional offices dotted across the United States. 117. Jones suggested meeting April 15-17, with the first day spent touring Half Street and hearing from officials involved in the move, and Durkin agreed. I believe that by deleting the word initial from the Unions draft language of paragraph 2, Jones intended to phrase the ground rules to suggest a fixed period for bargaining, but there is no evidence that this point was actually discussed by the parties during the negotiation of the ground rules. These activities are governed by a handful of federal and state laws, the most prominent being the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). GC Ex. Durkin (along with Nixon and later Luther) responded, [N]o, the Agency has to continue bargaining. The FLRA claimed that judicial review was barred by the sixty day statute of limitations. 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. 1947 Taft-Hartley Substantive Provisions., National Labor Relations Board. While private-sector employees are entitled to collectively bargain . 264). LEARN MORE Introduction to the FLRA Register for Training eFiling Getting Started FILE A CASE The Board is composed of 3 members, nominated by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of 5 years. Tr. After lunch, the Union team met with Graham to ask her questions about the design plans. . . as a full agreement. GC Ex. 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