Ibidun Roberts: Well, you see, that`s the thing. We do not know who is pulling the strings. Right now, it`s the same lawyer under the Trump administration. He`s a career collaborator, so he wouldn`t change. Political appointees would change. But it seems that they are still using people who really like what was going on during the Trump administration and who want to get there, who want to continue now. That`s why we talked to the VA lawyer about this case. We talked to their negotiating team because they are very similar to the Trump administration and come to the table. They are simply not willing to engage in what they are legally required to do. You will not be willing to negotiate in good faith or enforce the arbitrator`s award. That`s what they did under the Trump administration, they would come to the table and then negotiate illegally.
That is what we have in front of us. Now they have no interest in correcting the negotiation failure in the past. And indeed, what they want to do is preserve their illegal implementation of the Accountability Act, rather than going back and fixing and talking as if it had not been implemented. What they have done is try to sign the guidelines that they developed in 2017, which is in direct contradiction to the arbitrators` award, which is that we need to remedy everything that has resulted from their illegal implementation. As you know, federal employees have the option of contacting the MSPB or an adjudicator if they are fired, demoted or suspended for more than 14 days. So I`m happy to do that. We had several staff members turn to the MSPB, who turned to an arbitrator. And that arbitrator said you have to agree on what you`re going to do with the employees who appealed. We made suggestions to the VA on what to do with these employees. The VA rejected our proposal and did not accept his. So they turned their noses up at the arbitrator who asked us to make an agreement for the employees who appealed, and they simply refuse to do so. Ibidun Roberts: Well, first of all, we meet virtually.
So we are as reasonable as possible with the VA who wants to meet virtually. We`ve done it, we`ve exhausted it, we expect to meet in person soon. The other part is that the VA lawyers are not in the room. So while we believe they are advising the bargaining team, they are not really sitting at the table. So if some of these conversations arise, the VA doesn`t have an answer. In fact, they once told us that they had to go back to VA`s lawyer to find out what to do. So if they don`t even have the right people at the table to move us forward, they are already not negotiating in good faith, we need to have the right people at the table to reach an agreement, and they have not done so. They don`t whistle Dixie, but they are not able to respond. On 9 October 2019, AFGE filed a national complaint against the Agency regarding the implementation of Manual VA 5011/32. On December 30, 2020, an arbitrator found that the Agency had violated the 2011 VA/AFGE Framework Agreement by converting the accumulated leave balances of certain employees in the AFGE bargaining unit from “days” to “hours” using a universal conversion rate.
The agency was required to “complete” all employees affected by the violations. On the 27th. In April 2021, a settlement agreement was signed between VA and AFGE on the implementation of the Directive. Ibidun Roberts: According to the agreement, it would be all the employees in the VA bargaining unit, that is, just over 100. And I think 60,000 employees in the bargaining unit. For the employees against whom they have already acted, there are about 5000. So some of them are no longer employees at this point. But for the rest of the bargaining unit, there are well over 100,000 bargaining unit employees who would be affected by these negotiations.
Tom Temin: And by the way, the number of VA employees who would report to it would be an agreement. Your local office is the first defense when faced with unfair labor practices. They are there to listen, educate and support BUs in a commitment to the guidelines of the Framework Agreement. The deadline for submission is getting closer and closer. CLICK HERE to be redirected to the Global Settlement website. For specific settlement questions, please email NVAC`s lawyers at [email protected] Ibidun Roberts: Of course. This has been happening since 2017, when the Department of Veterans Affairs implemented the Accountability Act. And many of you will remember that President Trump touted this law at the time and what it would do for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The problem was that the VA had not negotiated with the union on how it would implement this law. So we had to file a national complaint, we won this case, it had to go to the FLRA, the Federal Labour Relations Authority, to basically tell the VA that you are legally obliged to negotiate with the union. And they didn`t succeed. They asked the FLRA to reconsider this decision.
The FLRA said the same thing, you have to negotiate with the union, you were not excused to do so. So we went back to the referee, and he brought relief for the VA`s failure to negotiate. So it was March 2021. It therefore took us from 2017 to March 2021 to obtain a solution from an arbitrator on this issue. And he solved it by ordering the VA to negotiate retroactively with the union. So that means we should negotiate as if they didn`t negotiate illegally, and then apply it until 2017. And then he also gave whole reliefs. Whatever agreement we reach, it must not only be applied retroactively to 2017, but every employee who has been injured must be healed. And that`s how we talk about the Accountability Act. These included disposal, exposures of more than 15 days and degradation. The VA used it enthusiastically.
So to date, we have about 5,000 people who have been affected by VA, which has implemented this law without negotiations. So I told you it was in March, now that the arbitrator had ordered retroactive hearings. Six months later, we were forced to file a request for enforcement with the Federal Labour Relations Authority and ask them to enforce the arbitrator`s award and agree the VA. As you said at the beginning, we thought this would only be the illegal behavior of the rogue government. But what we are finding is that this government is very willing to accept this illegal behavior and to possess and prosecute it itself. On the 10th. In June 2021, the Acting Under Secretary of State for Health approved a one-time change in conversion rates for annual and sick leave and the maximum transfer of annual leave for full-time employees who have moved from a day leave system to an hourly leave system. Our board strives to facilitate the agreements that best represent fairness for our ELEs. Grievances can lead to an agreement or withdrawal. The link to this page contains the cases that AFGE NVAC has closed. Click now to learn more. Executive Order 13836, Developing Efficient, Effective and Cost-Effective Approaches to Collective Bargaining in the Federal Sector, signed by the President on May 25, 2018, requires organizations to file each collective agreement (CBA) and its expiry date within 30 days of the CBA`s effective date.
EO 13836 also requires OPM to make these ACAs publicly available on the Internet. This promotes transparency by allowing the public to see the types of agreements between federal sector organizations and unions. Organizations are also required to submit arbitral awards to OPM within 10 business days of receipt. OPM has published a memorandum on the publication of the CBA database, which provides guidance on the requirements for the submission of authorities for ACAs and arbitral awards. The AFGE National VA Council conscientiously represents its members when there are grievances in the workplace or when there is a violation of laws, regulations, ministry directives in manuals or past practices, as well as an agreement. The contentious procedure results in a settlement or withdrawal, an arbitration award and a decision of the FLRA (including ULP orders). To find the original legal bases for filing disputes, click on this link for the National Grievances page. .