difference between nlrb and flradifference between nlrb and flra

at 7. GC Ex. [W]hen a respondent claims as a defense to an alleged unfair labor practice that a specific provision of the parties collective bargaining agreement permitted its actions alleged to constitute an unfair labor practice, the Authority, including its administrative law judges, will determine the meaning of the parties collective bargaining agreement and will resolve the unfair labor practice complaint accordingly. Failing to do so can lead to unfavorable outcomes. The Agency denied the request, insisting that the ground rules limited bargaining to two days. . If the Union did not waive its right to bargain beyond April 24, the Agency was required to bargain until it reached agreement or impasse. Thus, as with the April negotiations, the bargaining in November failed to satisfy the requirements of the Statute. Monday, January 13, 2020. (a fact the Agency belatedly understood several months later, when it offered to return to the table), and the Agencys termination of bargaining in April was arbitrary and unreasonable. to negotiate before a firm decision had been made to relocate.. As for whether the parties reached agreement, Woodcock testified that the parties didnt come close to or even come to any kind of agreement or deal (Tr. Starting in January and continuing through (and beyond) April, Agency officials engaged in extensive discussions with GSA, the new landlord, and the architects regarding the amount of space it would occupy in the new building, and the configuration of that space, and the Agency consciously froze the Union out of this process entirely. The FLRA is charged with safeguarding the rights of certain non-postal federal employees, while the NLRB protects the rights of most private-sector employees. It just wouldnt work. Tr. Jones also acknowledged on the morning of April 25 that there was more bargaining for the parties to do, when he faulted the Union for ending talks at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 4, 1987), NLRB Union v. Federal Labor Relations Authority, 834 F.2d 191, 1987 U.S. App. The President can designate the Chairman with no separate Senate confirmation required. Conduct Elections GC Br. FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY OALJ 16-16 Office of Administrative Law Judges WASHINGTON, D.C. 20424. The FLRA claimed that judicial review was barred by the sixty day statute of limitations. This is part of an ongoing debate about whether student athletes are in fact employees of universities and should be protected as such. 22 at 3-5. 1(a). 24. 275; On April 28, Lennie offered further discussions about the BUs concerns that week, and the Union accepted. the judges discussion of the agencys duty to allow a reasonable time for the bargaining process to occur. 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. Should those rights not be respected and lead to unfair treatment, its the NLRBs job to investigate and, if necessary, take action. 1935 Passage of the Wagner Act., National Labor Relations Board. ssues. This is an unfair labor practice (ULP) proceeding under the Federal Service. . GC Ex. As Luther described in her testimony, the five issues addressed in the Unions Initial response to Agencys counterproposal of 4/24/14 (GC Ex. And, without strong enforcement of labor laws, unions cannot effectively function. The main dispute is what effect should be given to those terms on which the parties reach agreement: specifically, should they be effectuated retroactively or only prospectively? 2; Tr. 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. 11 at 1. Subsequently, the GC, the Charging Party, and the Respondent filed post-hearing briefs, which I have fully considered. GC Ex. The primary responsibilities of the FLRA are to: Resolve complaints of unfair labor practices (ULPs). Mediation would be pointless since we have moved forward in accordance with the GSA directive. The general counsel is responsible for supervising the NLRBs field offices and processing of cases as well as investigating and prosecuting unfair labor practices. Tr. . 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. . Employment Laws 34. Ch. Jones, by contrast, testified that the parties reached impasse on April 24, [w]hen the Union got up and walked out. Tr. 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. We were quite exhausted. . Tr. He repeated managements view that if the parties had continued negotiating, they might have been able to reach an agreement, or narrow the issues . AFSCME councils and locals must educate their members about the unfairness of labor laws governing workers' right to organize and the need for reform; and, That AFSCME will continue to build coalitions with community, civil rights and religious allies to demand that employers obey existing protections found in labor laws; and, That AFSCME will demand that elected officials and candidates for office publicly support workers' rights to choose representation free from coercion. 42 at 1. Witnesses testified that the relocation would require at least 5 employees who had worked in offices ranging in size from 100 to 137 square feet, and about 24 employees who had worked in cubicles (some 57 square feet, some 82 square feet, and one 100 square feet) to work in cubicles of 48 square feet. 30 at 3. 4 at 9. 409; This evidence shows that there was a significant period of time prior to April 14 in which the Agency was able to make meaningful changes in the size and configuration of the office space at Half Street. Introduction to the FLRA.. On May 9, Lennie gave the Union a list of the location and size of each employees workspace at Franklin Court. Tr. The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) has a similar mandate to the NLRB. 12. 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 Learn more about federal labor-management relations, including unfair labor practices, representation matters, impasses, and negotiability. Tr. The NLRB, not GSA, instigated the May 9 deadline for submitting comments on the floor plans, and the Agency had many months thereafter in which it continued to make significant decisions regarding the relocation, despite having already terminated bargaining with the Union. We certainly would have done that. First, the Agency had already made the decision, with GSA, to utilize GSAs FIT program, which significantly narrowed the remaining options for furniture. Organized labor is a strategy where workers join together in unions in order to negotiate for better wages and working conditions. Jones testified that his team tried to find areas where we could compromise[,] but he acknowledged that they did not provide specific counterproposals for each Union proposal. Tr. Also on February 5, Durkin emailed Jones an information request, asking for any and all documents and records showing the floor plan, layout and/or design, for the Half Street building, as well as a timeline for the relocation process. The duty to negotiate in good faith includes the obligation to approach the negotiations with a sincere resolve to reach a collective bargaining agreement and to meet at reasonable times and convenient places. The Unions two other counterproposals were very similar to Agency proposals, indicating that further discussions could have led to an agreement. Find a listing of all of the FLRA's current job openings. 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. at 327. 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. If employees have any questions concerning this Notice or compliance with its provisions, they may communicate directly with the Regional Director, Chicago Region, Federal Labor Relations Authority, whose address is: 224 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 445, Chicago, IL 60604, and whose telephone number is: (312) 886-3465. . 3; Tr. Board Members are appointed by the President to 5-year terms, with Senate consent, the term of one . 43-44, 323, 404; GC Ex. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was established by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1935, and it enforces statutorily defined unfair labor practices on the part of employers, labor organizations, or their agents. 17 at 1. . These issues could and should have been addressed by the parties through bargaining at subsequent times over the next several months, right up to the date the NLRB finally moved to Half Street. Finally, it should be emphasized, as the Authority did in. Prior to this swing move occurring, the Agency and the Union engaged in formal negotiations and executed a Memorandum of Agreement on the subject on December11. A hearing was held in this matter on March 25-27, 2015, in Washington, D.C. All parties were represented and afforded an opportunity to be heard, to introduce evidence, and to examine witnesses. 237. At the same time, negotiations were also underway with the Union, Agency and FLRA to settle the Unions ULP charge. This individual is appointed by the president for a four-year term and functions independently from the board. This Notice must remain posted for sixty (60) consecutive days from the date of posting and must not be altered, defaced, or covered by any other material. In, Once the Agency stopped bargaining on April 25, it began to unilaterally implement all manner of decisions related to the relocation. The GC and the Charging Party argue for a retroactive bargaining order, while the Respondent argues that a retroactive order would be inappropriate. On May 19, the Union filed the ULP charge. Where they mainly differ is in the portion of the workforce they serve. (b) Unilaterally changing working conditions of bargaining unit employees represented by the Union concerning the relocation of Agency headquarters without notifying the Union and affording it the opportunity to negotiate to the extent required by the Statute. 47 FLRA at326-27. Ex. [I]t was not necessary to explicitly lay out those types of bargaining, because they dont involve the same logistics that face-to-face bargaining does. Tr. Annual Subscription ($175 / Year). On Monday, April 21, the Union submitted forty-one bargaining proposals. 8. View the legislative history of the Federal Service Labor-ManagementRelations Statute, the Civil Service Reform Act, andthe Foreign Service Act. Although the NLRA covers most employers, it does not . Tr. During bargaining, Jones would be joined by Jessica Graham, Assistant Chief of the Space Management Section, Facilities Branch; Andrew Krafts, Deputy Chief Counsel to Member Nancy Schiffer; and Rachel Lennie, an Assistant General Counsel. These factors establish that there was a strong potential for further and productive bargaining, if only the Agency had the patience to persist beyond its arbitrary deadline. , the agency must allow a reasonable time for the bargaining process to occur. . Bargaining on Thursday, April 24, began with Jones and other members of the Agency team giving their initial reactions to most of the Unions forty-one proposals. But the agency told the union that no final decision had been made about the relocation, and indeed the relocation did not occur. Tr. Case digests provide a brief synopsis of the most pertinent principles in merits decisions issued by the Authority. informed the Union that the Respondent had fulfilled its obligation to bargain over the effects of the Headquarters Office Move, and that [s]ince on or about May15, 2014, the Respondent has failed and refused to negotiate with the Union over the Headquarters Office Move to the extent required by the Statute, in violation of 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Statute. First, a party who possesses standing can challenge the regulations directly on the ground that the issuing agency acted in excess of its statutory authority in promulgating them. In the proposed ground rules, the Union called for an initial bargaining session. The Agency refused to continue bargaining not because the parties had reached impasse, but because the agency believed it had satisfied its duty to bargain, a position I have already rejected. encompassed in those proposals. . Tr. The FLRA is the federal public sector counterpart to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which governs labor relations between private sector employees and employers. 33, 42-43, 403; GC Ex. Tr. The Court distinguished between indirect attacks on the substantive validity of regulations initiated over sixty days after their promulgation from attacks on their procedural lineage. . This argument ignores the important difference between the text of the NLRA and the text of the FSLMRS. After lunch, the Union team met with Graham to ask her questions about the design plans. Third, the Agency failed to respond in writing to all of the Unions proposals, including the Unions proposal on furniture (Proposal 36). 450. . . But I, again, reiterated to them that we were willing to stay late to try to hammer out an agreement. In response to an inquiry about the Unions recent information request, Jones told the Union team: Once again, I want to make our position clear that we have fulfilled our obligation to bargain over the effects of the headquarters relocation under both the Statute and the ground rules agreement. GC Ex. 45. 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. 288), and Graham and Jones both acknowledged that no agreement was reached. National Labor Relations Act., National Labor Relations Board. 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. . Tr. This includes such matters as union organizing, collective bargaining negotiations, and unfair labor practice charges. It then listed five Union counterproposals (which are set forth in the appendix). He indicated that at that point in the process, major changes, such as adding movable walls or more bathroom stalls, would be difficult, if not impossible. (c) In addition to physical posting of paper notices, the Notice shall be distributed electronically, such as by email, posting on an intranet or internet site, or other electronic means, if the Agency customarily communicates with employees by such means. , 41 FLRA at 340 n.*. 469. The agencys board is also not permitted to act on its own motion and can only pursue cases that have been initiated by employees, employers, or unions. Resp. Accordingly, the evidence does not support the notion that in negotiating the ground rules, the Union made a conscious choice, after a full discussion of the issue, to establish a strict time limit of April 24 for negotiations. Gwynne A. Wilcox. . Tr. 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. Concurrence. 8 at 2. 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. Tr. Organized Labor - Defining Unions and Collective Bargaining, Impact of the NLRB on Professional Sports, Sotomayors Baseball Ruling Lingers, 14 Years Later, Labor Board Calls for Revote at Amazon Warehouse in Alabama in Major Victory for Union. One important difference between the two laws is the scope of the authorized collective bargaining process. In the months after unilaterally and unlawfully terminating bargaining on April 25 and refusing mediation on May 16, the GC asserts that the Agency proceeded to make and implement unilateral decisions concerning the relocation decisions on issues that were addressed (but not resolved) in the April negotiations, and that should have been negotiated with the Union. . And then Harry Jones turns around and emails and suggests that we werent willing to continue bargaining, and suggested that our ground rules agreement somehow limited bargaining to those two days, which we disagreed with. Donna Nixon was scheduled to be on a flight that night. 32, 264. Tr. Clearly, the Respondents national office was involved in this ULP, which involved negotiations over the relocation of its national headquarters. What We Do., National Labor Relations Board. . One example of such a proposal was Union Proposal 36, requiring bargaining over furniture at a later time. GC Ex. Which Jobs and Sectors Are Not Protected by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)? I conclude that the November bargaining offer was not sufficient, for two reasons. 121, 413, 448-49; GC Ex. . When some alternative features were suggested, he said, no, weve tried that . Ulp ) proceeding under the Federal Service Labor-ManagementRelations Statute, the Union filed the ULP charge that! Strong enforcement of labor laws, Unions can not effectively function accordance with the directive! Bargaining negotiations, the Civil Service Reform Act, andthe Foreign Service Act, the five issues addressed in Unions! Flra is charged with safeguarding the rights of most private-sector employees ( )! The two laws is the scope of the most pertinent principles in decisions! 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