This dispute can be traced back to September 2010, when the Agency started considering what it would do in June 2013, when its lease at Franklin Court was set to expire. The evidence thus shows overwhelmingly that the parties had not reached impasse at any time, and that mediation might have been exactly what the parties needed to bridge their differences. Reasonable steps shall be taken to ensure that such Notices are not altered, defaced, or covered by any other material. Giving employees the freedom to decide whether they want union representation and, if yes, by which union by conducting secret ballot elections. The issue before me is whether, by participating in the two days of negotiations called for in the ground rules agreement, the Agency fulfilled its statutory duty to bargain concerning the relocation. The FLRA's New and Improved eFiling System provides the federal-sector labor-management community with a convenient, user-friendlyway to electronically submit case filings. 1(c). On the first day of the hearing, the GC moved to amend the complaint to allege, On April 25, 2014, and on May 15, 2014, the Respondent . On May 16, Jones advised the Union that mediation would be pointless[,] since we have moved forward in accordance with the GSAdirective. GC Ex. 25. The premise of this argument is false: many of the Unions original proposals including Proposals 14 (frosted windows), 15 (locks on office doors), 20 (height of cubicles), 24 (task lighting) 25 (ergonomic task chairs), 26 (desks), 27(storage), 28 (coat hooks), 29 (phones), 30 (printers), 31 (restrooms), 32 (lactation rooms), 33 (storage for printers), 35 (color and style of flooring, carpeting, and walls), 36 (furniture), and 37 (moving arrangements) had little or nothing to do with the size or configuration of offices. The FLRA is the federal public sector counterpart to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which governs labor relations between private sector employees and employers. Discussion. 23. Thus the April 23 and 24 bargaining sessions scheduled in paragraph 2 were clearly not the only negotiations that the parties anticipated. In response to the unions argument that excluding it from negotiations with the prospective landlord would prevent it from contributing to the important decisions affecting the relocation, the judge said: Since it is the responsibility of an agency seeking to make the change to insure that it has fulfilled its bargaining obligation before implementation . About 450people work at its headquarters office in Washington, D.C. Tr. Meanwhile, the Agency continued to make decisions with the architects concerning design aspects of the new offices, and while the Union participated in some discussions about these issues as members of the Agencys Space Advisory Committee, those discussions did not constitute bargaining within the meaning of the Statute. The Understanding Law Video Lecture Series: Monthly Subscription ($19 / Month) Describing this part of the bargaining session, Durkin testified that it appeared that the design was fluid, and that changes were still being contemplated . Timing and Availability of Judicial Review, The Constitution and the Administrative State, Statutory Constraints on Agency Procedure, Constitutional Constraints on Agency Procedure, LSAT Logic Games (June 2007 Practice Exam), LSAT Logical Reasoning I (June 2007 Practice Exam), LSAT Logical Reasoning II (June 2007 Practice Exam). . Also on April 14, an architect at WDG provided Jones with updated drawings for Half Street. Nonetheless, when the Union requested mediation, the Agency refused to participate. It also provides that there may be additional dates for face-to-face bargaining, but this requires the mutual agreement of the parties. He repeated managements view that if the parties had continued negotiating, they might have been able to reach an agreement, or narrow the issues . This conclusion was verified by an exchange of emails on May 15 and 16. . An agencys regulations may be attacked in two ways after the statute of limitations has expired. And even if the Union had been able to write up a full set of responses that evening, the parties would have needed much more than that day to properly address them and try to reach compromises. Even if the parties had been deadlocked on office size and configuration, there were plenty of other issues to discuss when negotiations broke down. Half Street. Where they mainly differ is in the portion of the workforce they serve. . Tr. Although Jones insisted in March and April that the Agency had not received preliminary drawings or floor plans for the new offices until April 14, the record demonstrates that the architects had submitted a series of proposed floor plans to the Agency prior to April 14, and that Agency officials had been engaged in detailed discussions with the architect and with GSA about the adequacy (or inadequacy) of the space being allocated to the NLRB. The Board has five Members and primarily acts as a quasi-judicial body in deciding cases on the basis of formal records in administrative proceedings. 137; GC Ex. And we expressed those things in our response back to him as to why we werent going to stay longer that night with [no] reasonable expectation of concluding all bargaining. . In determining whether a party has fulfilled its bargaining responsibilities, the Authority considers the totality of the circumstances of the case. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) no longer deliver on their respective statutory mandates to protect the rights of workers to form, join and support a union and encourage the practice and procedure of collective bargaining; and, Pro-worker decisions were issued under the Obama-era federal labor boards, but we are seeing significant retrenchment under the current NLRB and FLRA. But, he continued, there is not going to be ongoing bargaining. The Union is most certainly willing to continue negotiations by any reasonable means . My reaction to this was that we rejected this because it wasnt a comprehensive proposal. . LEARN MORE Introduction to the FLRA Register for Training eFiling Getting Started FILE A CASE First would come drawings (referred to by witnesses and in documents as preliminary drawings, design drawings, or just drawings) that were, essentially, floor plans, showing things like the location of walls and doors, and the size and location of offices and cubicles. According to Durkin, Jones said no, were not going to continue bargaining. . The judge and the Authority rejected this theory and held that while it might be desirable from the Unions viewpoint to be a participant in the, decision-making process at an earlier stage, it is difficult to envision an obligation on SSAs part . Based on the above precedent, I find that the planned relocation to a new building involved a change in conditions of employment. When they have agreed on an issue, the presumption should be to implement it retroactively, although the Union will have to weigh the feasibility and the cost of retroactivity, insofar as it affects what the Agency may otherwise be able to agree to, in the overall agreement. 30 at 3) were highlighted by the Union team in the late afternoon of April 24, because these were issues where there was common ground . Labor-Management Relations Statute, Chapter 71 of Title 5 of the U.S. Code, 5 U.S.C. While the parties had some subsequent discussions about the relocation, no further negotiations occurred until at least November. GSA signed a lease on behalf of the Agency, on January 29, 2014. for the Agencys new headquarters space, located in a newly constructed building at 1015 Half Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. (Half Street). The document began, The Union has not had sufficient time to create a complete counterproposal to the Agencys counterproposal of 4/24/14. 1(a). at 30. If the Agency had not cut off bargaining, the parties could easily have reached agreement on these points. Was NLRB barred by the statute of limitations? In other words, the paragraph simply specified the dates on which bargaining would be conducted. 3 at 2. Later that morning, Jones and Graham escorted the Union team through Franklin Court. The Board is supported by a General Counsel, who is also nominated by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of five years. The participation of employees in the formulation and implementation of employee policy and procedures affecting them contributes to the effective conduct of public business. LEXIS 15827, 266 U.S. App. We had bargained all day. Effective Friday July 31, 2020, the agency now extends the prohibition on in-person filings indefinitely. The Agency cut bargaining off before this could happen. The FLRAis the federal public sector counterpart to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which governs labor relations between private sector employees and employers. GC Ex. . 13. GC Ex. and we explicitly request continued bargaining. This isnt to say that there are no attorneys that are able to successfully practice both employment and labor law. As already noted, the Respondent terminated negotiations on April 25. Tr. Meanwhile, the relocation project moved forward. and . It didnt have to be face-to-face. 30. 233), and officials of both unions asked that they be given copies of the exercises that had been done, so that the unions could evaluate the feasibility of different alternatives. Durkin reiterated that the Union disagreed with that position. Griffin also referred to competing concerns from the different divisions within the Agency. Tr. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was passed in 1935 and later amended by the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA), also known as the Taft-Hartley Act, in 1947. I guess we will have to agree to disagree about any further bargaining. 401. means. While the Union might have been able to figure out, from Joness repeated assertions, that the Agency would not agree to the Unions proposals calling for further bargaining (Union Proposals 35-40), it would nevertheless have been reasonable for the Agency to give specific written responses to the Unions proposals, or to offer its formula for handling these problems, so the Union could know where it stood. 386-87; Jt. GC Ex. Last edited on 24 February 2023, at 17:23, independent agency of the United States government, Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (United States), United States Merit Systems Protection Board, "The Statute: 7104. National Labor Relations Act., National Labor Relations Board. He said today and tomorrow; thats it.. 32 at 1. My Account Portal About Us National Labor Relations Act NLRB Process Board Rules & Regulations Board Rulemaking Careers We certainly would have done that. The Authority has defined impasse as that point in negotiations at which the parties are unable to reach agreement.. In the practice of law, however, there is a distinction between the two, and it is important that anyone seeking the assistance of a lawyer know what that distinction is. This individual is appointed by the president for a four-year term and functions independently from the board. 41, 217-18); Donna Nixon, an attorney in the Detroit Region and a district vice president of the Union (Tr. 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