John,
For federal employees like us the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA or Authority) is a key piece to our ability to solve workplace disputes.
For the past four years, the FLRA General Counsel’s office has essentially ceased to function in its crucial mission to adjudicate unfair labor practice disputes, grievances and arbitrations. Over this time, the authority continued to rule, virtually always against working people’s interests and the General Counsel’s office has roughly 250 complaints pending, leaving crucial unfair labor practices unaddressed.
We need the Senate to move forward with the confirmations of Ernest DuBester to serve as Chair of the Authority, Susan Grundmann to serve as a member of the Authority and Kurt Rumsfeld to serve as General Counsel to the FLRA.
Just this year, the Authority’s disgraceful decision to allow federal agencies to ban mid-term bargaining by unilaterally imposing zipper clauses in collective bargaining contracts was overturned in federal court. It is yet another example of the politically motivated, even malicious turn the Authority has taken over the last four years to overstep its bounds on a determined path to eradicate federal employee collective bargaining rights.
When executed properly, the FLRA is an essential component to the smooth functioning of the federal government and its relationship with its workforce. When working at full capacity, the Authority and the General Counsel ensure fairness in labor-management disputes and adjudicate matters efficiently.
It's time to restore professionalism and fairness to the FLRA! Tell your senators to support the three nominees who will place the agency on a path to balanced decision-making and close the books on this embarrassing chapter in FLRA’s history.
In Solidarity,
AFGE
For the latest AFGE news and information, follow us on:
