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UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE POLICY
AND PROCEDURE FOR C.C.C. LODGES 1697, 1840, and
1855
Complaint
Form
1187
Form
ULP Charge
Form
The following provides a
general guideline in identifying
Unfair Labor Practices. It is not
meant to be all inclusive but rather serve as
an information source. For additional
information go to
(http://www.flra.gov/).
What is
an Unfair Labor Practice?
First, an
Unfair Labor Practice has little to do with
“unfair labor.” An Unfair Labor Practice
is a violation of section 7116 of the Federal
Service Labor-Management Relations Statue.
There are eight subsections which define the
violations. I will cover the situations which
we deal with most often later on in this
paper.
Who is responsible for
processing an Unfair Labor
Practice?
The Federal Relations
Authority processes Unfair Labor Practices.
They have established regional offices
throughout the country. You can obtain their
mailing address and phone numbers from the web
site.
Who is responsible for
identifying and reporting Unfair Labor
Practices?
It is the
responsibility of every member to be on the
look out for Unfair Labor Practices committed
by management. Members should immediately
alert their Center Union Representatives if
they suspect a violation has occurred. It is
important that all Union Officials are
especially diligent in monitoring their Centers
for infractions.
Who can file an
Unfair Labor Practice?
The Union,
Management, or a Bargaining Unit Member can
file an Unfair Labor Practice. We highly
advise that all Unfair Labor Practices
which concern the Local and its membership be
filed by the Union.
How long do I
have to file and Unfair Labor
Practice?
The parties have six
months from the date of the incident to file
the charge.
What happens after an
Unfair Labor Practice Charge is
filed?
The Federal Relations
Authority will order a 15 day “cooling off
period” between the parties and attempt to
bring the parties together to resolve the
issue. If unresolved, the Authority will
investigate the charge to determine
merit.
What happens after the
investigation?
If merit is not
found, the Authority will dismiss the case. If
the Authority finds merit, it will issue a
corrective “make whole” order to management.
This order will be posted throughout the Center
and will remain on all bulletin boards for a
prescribed amount of time.
What if
management is in disagreement with the
Authority’s findings?
Management may
appeal the decision. The Authority and the
Agency will each present their case before an
Administrative Law Judge for a determination.
The Judge may uphold, overturn, or modify the
Authority’s decision.
Most Common
Unfair Labor Practices
I will
attempt to outline the most common situations
that generate the type of Unfair Labor
Practices we deal with the most. This list
is not meant to be all inclusive. It should
be noted that every situation is different and
therefore requires a common sense application
of the law. I have provided broad situations
that should give you a general understanding of
some of the more common violations. I want to
remind everyone that, as you have often heard
me say, “Feelings” is a song. You will
need to base any case on the FACTS; especially
those cases before the Authority.
It
is an Unfair Labor Practice by Management
to:
(1). Harass, interfere with,
restrain or coerce any employee for
filing a complaint. If an employee files a
complaint and is being harassed or retaliated
against for filing, they are covered under the
law (Unfair Labor Practice). Please note…to be
protected you first have to file a
complaint.
(2). Harass, interfere
with, restrain, or coerce a Union
Official in the carrying out of their
duties. If you are being harassed or
discriminated against by management because of
your role as a Union Official, it is an Unfair
Labor Practice. First, you must be able to show
that you are actively engaged in
representational duties. This means you can
demonstrate that you have been handling cases
and you can show the official time you have
logged. Therefore, it is very important not to
do representational duties “off the clock.”
Secondly, if you’re a Union Official in
“name only,” you can be sure your case
is going to be very weak.
(3).
Changing working conditions without
negotiations “Failure to Negotiate.”
Every member and Union Official should be on
the look out for changes in working conditions.
By law, management is required to negotiate as
appropriate before they make any changes
(See Article 11 of the Master Agreement). This
provision can be one of the hardest sections to
understand. It can take a while to gain an
understanding of the width and scope of changes
that require negotiations. Management is always
saying they are not making changes (just
assignments of regular work) and the Union is
always looking very hard at any changes for
impact and implementation issues.
Your
Union’s number one job is to negotiate. We are
the exclusive representative of the
bargaining unit. That is why the Authority
refers to the Union as a “Bargaining Unit.”
Treat every situation as a change in working
conditions until you determine otherwise.
Remember that management cannot make changes in
working conditions without the risk of being
charged under the law (except in rare cases)
unless negotiations have been
completed.
(4). Engage in
“By-Pass.” Management shall not
meet with the bargaining unit employees in
an attempt to obtain agreement or consensus in
making changes to practice, policy or working
conditions. To do so is a “By-Pass” of
the Union. As I stated before, the Union is the
exclusive representative of the
Bargaining Unit. Management negotiates with
the Union, not with the
employees. They may bring the employees
together to announce changes (which we will
cover next) but they may not engage in
negotiations or attempt to gain an agreement
from the employees.
(5). Engage in
“Formal Discussions” without notifying
the Union and allowing a Union Representative
to be present. Management may hold
“Formal Discussions” (See Article 5, Section
(4)) once they have notified the Union and
provided us with a reasonable opportunity to
have a representative at the meeting. The Union
Representative can not disrupt the meeting but
they may ask questions to gain clarification.
Most meetings should be treated as “Formal
Discussions” unless they are general work
meetings such as Residential Living assembling
at the start of the shift to receive work
assignments.
(6). Discontinuing a
“Past Practice” without notifying and
providing the Union an opportunity to
negotiate. To meet the definition of a “Past
Practice,” the practice must meet two criteria.
The practice has to be (1.) legal and (2.)
management must have had reasonable knowledge
of the practice. See Article 11, Section (6),
Past Practice.
Once again, it
is very important for each bargaining unit
employee and every Union Official to keep
constant vigilance to insure that the
law is not being violated. The rights you
protect…are your own!
Committee
Members:
Michelle
Marnhout, Chair
Leif Amundson
Don Flemon
Lance Hamann
Tim Helzer
Kathy Simmons
Beverly Tobin
Doug Vanover
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