difference between nlrb and flra
3290 (D.C. Cir. Those it cannot help to protect include public-sector employees, agricultural and domestic workers, independent contractors, workers employed by a parent or spouse, employees of air and rail carriers covered by the Railway Labor Act, and, in some cases, supervisors. 39. Other labor laws of note are the Railway Labor Act (RLA), the Federal Labor Relations Act (FLRA), as well as state labor laws that govern bargaining rights of state employees. 106. 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 . 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 . . 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. 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. GC Exs. Later that morning, Jones and Graham escorted the Union team through Franklin Court. Were moving. 367; On May 13, FMCS Mediator Saunders emailed the Union, saying that he had discussed the Unions mediation request with the Agency, but that there was no mutual agreement to mediate. GC Ex. After lunch, the Union team met with Graham to ask her questions about the design plans. Griffin acknowledged that that was a problem . Labor-Management Relations Statute, Chapter 71 of Title 5 of the U.S. Code, 5 U.S.C. Therefore the union can usually rest in at least a legal assurance that, whenever the agency notifies it of a proposed change and gives it the opportunity to bargain, its opportunity will be adequate. Since the Union had been actively pursuing mediation, the Union team understood this to mean that the Agency was refusing to engage in mediation. at 41. Tr. GCExs. As Luther described in her testimony, the five issues addressed in the Unions Initial response to Agencys counterproposal of 4/24/14 (GC Ex. 324. 112-14, 169. 471. This conclusion was verified by an exchange of emails on May 15 and 16. Notwithstanding the lack of an agreement with the Union on the impact and implementation of the relocation, the Agency asserts that it fulfilled its bargaining obligation because (1) the Union had waived its right to bargain beyond April 24 by signing the ground rules agreement, and (2) the negotiations reached impasse on April 24. The Agency would have offices on the third through sixth floors. Employment laws are essentially all employment-related laws that are not labor laws. GC Ex. Tr. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. counterproposal, the Union was withdrawing its counterproposal and reverting to its original proposals of April 21. . 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. And hiring an attorney who dabbles can lead to bad outcomes. . 159, 162. 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. However, it is my experience that this is the exception and not the rule. (As it turned out, the Agency would end up staying past its lease, becoming a holdover tenant. 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? As for who should sign the notice, the Authority typically directs the posting of a notice to be signed by the highest official of the activity responsible for the violation. The FLRA initially decided that disclosure was "prohibited by law" under 7114 (b) (4). 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. 39. 401. Synopsis of Rule of Law. , 41 FLRA at 350-51. , retain . The General Counsel contends that the ground rules agreement does not excuse the Respondents actions. The next day, Woodcock informed Jones that the Union would be willing to meet with him to discuss furniture, but that the meeting would not constitute bargaining or a satisfaction of the Agencys bargaining obligation, in light of ongoing efforts to settle the underlying ULP charge previously filed by the Union. Jones stated that there were no existing drawings for Half Street, but he promised to provide such drawings [o]nce the architects have completed the design. GC Ex. This decision was vacated and remanded in NLRB Union, Local 6 v. 18, 19. 109-10, 256-57. , Tr. The Agency insists that a fixed date for concluding negotiations is implied in the ground rules, but the law requires such a waiver of the Unions statutory rights to be explicit. We said we gave them notice of the change and conditions of employment. ", National Labor Relations Board. 123-24. On May 10, Graham submitted the Agencys revised floor plan drawings to GSA, with its comments regarding suggested changes. The FLRA is an independent administrative federal agency that administers the labor-management relations program for 2.1million non-postal federal employees worldwide. 36 at 1; On May 6, the Union submitted an information request asking for information about the size and type of workspace each employee had at Franklin Court, and the size of building space at Franklin Court not specifically assigned as personal workspace, among other things. With regard to whether the ground rules agreement limited bargaining to April 23-24, Jones testified that he removed the word initial from the Unions proposed ground rules, stating, I wanted people to understand . Tr. Describing this part of the bargaining session, Durkin testified that it appeared that the design was fluid, and that changes were still being contemplated . In a similar context, the judge in, The Respondent argues that negotiations were deadlocked because the Unions proposals focused almost entirely on the maintenance of the size of current office space and configuration[,] the Agency rejected the Unions proposals on these issues, and neither side altered its position. It is instructive at this point to take a step back and look at the, employees they thought they would move by September to a specific location. 418. . 30 at 3 & 32 at 1-2. Tr. On April 16, the Union submitted a second information request, asking for documents showing the specific spaces and offices assigned to bargaining unit employees and to the Union in the new building; the rooms and spaces assigned for common purposes and as other than personal workspace; and the locations and dimensions of these spaces. However, we are willing to tentatively agree to the following parts of the Agencys counterproposal, with the following changes. GC Ex. We didnt get them I didnt get them till April 14th, when Troy Crayton passed them out to everyone. Tr. The Agencys proposed interpretation of the ground rules also ignores paragraph 13, which states that either party may request mediation from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Mutual consent is not required for mediation. Effective Friday July 31, 2020, the agency now extends the prohibition on in-person filings indefinitely. the design drawings were not adequate . GC Ex. We were quite exhausted. Although it kept the Space Advisory Committee apprised of what was happening with the construction and allowed the committee members to express their opinions at certain times, many of the committee members were not part of the Unions bargaining unit, and this process was not bargaining. and it didnt fit. Tr. Each has its own procedures and rules that if an attorney does not know could result catastrophic error. They include federal laws such as the: State laws that are typically considered employment laws include each states various wage and hour laws, wage payment laws, and leave laws. Meanwhile, Nixon and Luther pressed Jones about their need to obtain the drawings and review them in advance of negotiations, and about the Agencys failure to respond to the Unions proposed ground rules. Luther also stated that the Union would be contacting the FMCS for assistance. Although the Agencys counterproposals didnt address this issue, and the Agencys existing floor plans contained no details about furniture, Jones testified that this could have been negotiated on April 24, and the Agency would have entertained Union furniture proposals on April 24, if the Union had demanded specific types of desks or chairs. that the Agency had had the drawings for a month at that point in time. Tr. While private-sector employees are entitled to collectively bargain . 107. ssues. 366. It also helps employees conduct union elections. 106-07. The obligation to bargain over a relocation arises when a lease is signed (if not earlier) and the union requests to bargain. Tr. Marvin E. Kaplan. . Jt. 30. some of the areas [of] discussions that we had with the Union, such as the Unions suggestion to have a second nursing room. 113. 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. 14 at 3. National Labor Relations Act., National Labor Relations Board. . Tr. Tr. 85-88; GC Ex. If the parties had truly intended to establish a fixed time period for the negotiation of all issues related to the Agencys relocation, it could have done so, simply by stating that April 24 would be the last day for bargaining and by further specifying a fixed period for engaging in mediation and invoking FSIP assistance. 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