“The fight is not over yet, but at least we will have time and resources to fight a battle,” AFGE wrote in a summary of its new contract with its members. “There will no longer be union officials who have 100% official time, 75% official time or even 50% official time. Every union representative will do production work and we will feel first-hand the same pain and abuse as all other workers. It remains to be seen how exactly the changes at the top will be integrated into the mechanisms of labour-management relations. Meanwhile, union and agency representatives continue to discuss contracts and the role of unions, if any, in formulating workplace safety plans. In the end, the union was faced with a decision: drop all ongoing litigation related to the SSA collective agreement, which included two court cases and nine complaints, and negotiate with the agency – or let the deadlock body decide on the remaining articles of the existing AFGE contract. The SSA, meanwhile, said it would begin implementing the provisions of the president`s employee orders under the second option. “The new contract reflects the public service agency`s priority and will go into effect on Oct. 27,” an SSA spokeswoman said in a statement to the Federal News Network. “The agency thanks the AFGE and Social Security negotiating teams for their efforts over several months and their success in concluding the new agreement. Union representatives say this context affected the entire contract, but during a review of the agreement by the agency completed in June, the agency identified only those sections it considered affected by the now repealed orders.
The new agreement gives a bank 125,000 hours of official time – half the official time that afge time bank representatives had under the previous contract, but 75,000 hours more than what the Impasses panel granted in its recent decision. The AALJ is expected to begin negotiations on a new contract in September. 21 on behalf of an independent arbitrator. Since 2020, three arbitrators have identified instances of misconduct by SSA in their work with the AALJ. After more than a year of tense negotiations, the Social Security Administration and the American Federation of Government Employees have finally agreed on a new six-year contract. Replacing their 2019 contract remains one of AFGE`s top priorities, Bryant and DeJuliis said. If they stay at the helm and AFGE negotiates a contract with them, “it will be nothing but a fight,” DeJuliis said. “We won`t have a partnership.
We will have neither collegiality nor cooperation. SSA wanted to allow five days for negotiations with the union. AFGE proposed four weeks, the union said. Maintaining the status quo with telecommuting is one of the union`s top priorities, Couture said, but it`s one of the few areas where AFGE and SSA can`t compromise. She met with union officials where she “made it clear” that she “respects the bargaining process and wants a cooperative, respectful and civil work management relationship in social security” and expects “cooperation and professionalism in meetings with the agency`s management,” SSA spokesman Mark Hinkle said. at the FCW. Finally, SSA, like other federal agencies, is working on its plans to reopen the agency. According to the President`s decrees, AFGE representatives received a bank of 45,000 hours, or one hour per employee in the SSA bargaining unit. On July 9, President Joe Biden fired Commissioner Andrew Saul and Deputy Commissioner David Black, two executives appointed for permanent terms by former President Donald Trump. The Agency is now headed by Acting Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi, the Agency`s former Deputy Commissioner for Pension and Disability Policy.
Another major concern is the workplace safety plan, which the agency has already implemented and is currently negotiating with unions. The agreement allows 20 union representatives to use no more than 840 hours of official time per year, meaning that these workers could devote approximately 40% of their time to union activities and the remaining 60% of their time to performing the duties for which they were originally hired. AFGE expects it to reach an impasse, Bryant said. The AALJ is already at an impasse on the plan, McIntosh said. SSA has already signed an agreement with its National Union of Treasury Employees unit, Hinkle said. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) brought together representatives of the AFGE and the SSA management in September to discuss how the two sides would move forward following a June decision by the Federal Service Expert Group. “The commissioner told us that he wanted to have a strong and positive relationship with the SSA unions, that he wanted to improve the working conditions of employees,” Couture said. “Everyone is pretty much aware that the results of the survey on the views of federal employees at the SSA have been pretty bad over the past few years. In addition, the Commissioner really wanted to bring in the ideas of staff and involve staff in the work to find ways to solve, address and resolve many of the SSA`s service delivery problems.
“Be part of something bigger than yourself. Listen to the stories of federal employees told in their own words. The new collective agreement, signed by SSA management and AFGE representatives at the end of last week, settles months of disagreement between the two parties and offers some stability for the two days before the injunction of the May 2018 decree on presidential decrees is lifted. The union will meet with them in good faith, she said. Both have already established ground rules. Three sales representatives also noted several offices with increased wait times due to lack of personal availability. We are having difficulty processing your request and are currently dealing with the issue. The error was recorded and the appropriate people were notified. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Both sides struggled to agree on a negotiation process – in particular, how long they could negotiate and what to negotiate on concretely. Organizing OPM`s human resources solutions can help your agency answer this extremely important question. AFGE challenged the assessment in writing and also filed a complaint with union management, Bryant said. In addition, the collective agreement allows the union to file complaints about disputes related to an employee`s performance appraisal or other matters – another activity that the president`s orders in council would have prevented. Congress approved an increase in the cost of living for federal retirees. “It would have cut us off from the areas of the committee order where the union prevailed, especially areas such as protecting workers` rights, filing complaints about performance reviews, performance measures, strict disciplinary measures and other issues,” Couture said. FEGLI announces price changes as of January 1, 2012. .
