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NFFE 1450
News
Unfair Labor Practice Charge Settled!3/28/2008
On March 28, 2008, NFFE Local 1450 and HUD San Francisco Regional Office entered into a settlement agreement in which HUD admitted that it violated HUD Los Angeles Field Office employees’ bargaining-unit rights under the Federal Service Labor Management Relations Statute by conducting formal discussions with employees without notifying the Union to be represented.
How did this start? An agency attorney contacted several bargaining-unit employees in the HUD Los Angeles Field Office to discuss and get facts about the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaint of another employee being represented by the Union. NFFE 1450 Vice President Ricardo Miranda immediately suspected foul play and contacted the attorney involved to discuss the contact. Rather than focus on substance, the attorney went so far as to tell Mr. Miranda that he should get his money back from whomever was providing the Union their legal advice!
Per the settlement, HUD agreed to post a notice signed by the Los Angeles Field Office Director to all HUD Los Angeles employees for 60 days notifying them that it will not conduct formal discussions with bargaining-unit employees without notifying the Union to be represented, coercively question employees about issues in third-party proceedings (for example, arbitration hearings, EEOC complaints, Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) appeals, etc.), and will not interfere with, restrain or coerce bargaining unit employees in the exercise of their rights assured by the Federal Service Labor Management Relations Statute.
Under the U.S. Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) case law (called the Brookhaven Safeguards), it is voluntary for bargaining-unit employees to participate in management requests to be interviewed to discuss other employees’ third-party proceedings (arbitration hearings, EEOC complaints, Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) appeals, etc.). Management may not threaten employees with discipline or discipline them for refusal to be interviewed. Under the Federal Service Labor Management Relations Statute and the NFFE Local 1450 Labor Management Agreement, the Union has the right to be notified of any formal discussions by management with one or more bargaining-unit employees to discuss any grievance, personnel policies and practices, and other general conditions of employment. FLRA case law has also held that statutory appeals procedure complaints such as EEOC complaints and MSPB appeals are grievances within the meaning of the Federal Service Labor Relations Statute thereby entitling the Union to notification and representation for any formal discussions such as interviews with bargaining-unit employees to discuss another employee’s case. The HUD attorney did not follow this protocol and this is why HUD entered into the settlement agreement.
If you are ever in this situation and are not sure about whether or not your Weingarten rights to Union representation apply for any management requests to be interviewed, always contact your Union representative to find out.
NFFE 1450 wishes to THANK NFFE National Business Representative Jan Thompson who provided our Local with the "Great Broida" book and we also wish to thank our Union Members who approved funds for EEO case law books and the recent CyberFeds subscription!
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Last modified: 11/20/2009
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