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June 2013—AFGE Local 1273, which represents 1,000 employees at the Boise VA Medical Center, Regional Office, Vet Center and CBOCs in Salmon, Twin Falls, Caldwell and Burns has announced that as a result of the latest drive from the AFGE’s National VA Council that membership in the organization has increased by more than 10%. AFGE Local 1273 is slightly above the national average, being organized at 35% of the bargaining unit (those employees covered by the Master Agreement). Membership at the Regional Office increased by more than 15%, likely in response to poor management decisions and the implementation of mandatory overtime for all VBA employees nationwide. “Poor management decisions or unfair treatment of employees by managers often leads an uptick in membership in a work unit,” says Travis Riggs, Vice President and Chief Steward for Local 1273. “If you have a manager following an employee into a restroom to admonish them, for instance, this often causes other employees to join the union in solidarity with the harassed worker.” When a supervisor behaves in an unreasonable fashion, says Riggs, such as requiring an employee to request sick leave before attending to the medical emergency of a family member, reasonable people will want to unite against such unreasonable behavior; sometimes people just need a common adversary to unite. The membership drive concludes June 15, 2013; however there are incentives to join even after the membership drive concludes. Popular incentives include the many members-only benefits that are available, such as dental insurance, vision insurance, access to free legal consultations, representation if you are injured on the job, travel savings and many more. The average member can save over $1000 per year if they access their benefits. “For me,” says Riggs, “membership is the socially responsible thing to do and about participating in my work place; but the benefits are nice too.”

Chief Steward’s Report

Page 2

Labor History Page 4

Benefit Highlights: Farm and Garden

Produce Page 7

Labor Voice American Federation of Government Employees ● Local 1273 ● AFL-CIO

Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Regional Office, Boise, Idaho

Summer 2013 Volume 2/Issue 2

Inside this Issue

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Local 1273 increases membership 10%

For years AFGE Local 1273 has consulted with attorneys on a limited basis in cases where the issue was heading for arbitration. A few months ago, Travis Riggs, 1st Vice President and Chief Steward of AFGE Local 1273 saw a posting for Lisa Schultz, an attorney dedicated to civil rights and family law in the Boise area. In the process of helping to add her to the attorney program for members’ personal needs she mentioned a labor law firm in the Boise area. That led Riggs to Erika Birch and Lauren Scholnick at Strindberg and Scholnick. At the April 2013 membership meeting the membership elected to pursue a relationship with Strindberg and Scholnick to represent the members of AFGE Local 1273. This summer AFGE Local 1273 will sign a one year contract with the firm, the first time in decades that AFGE Local 1273 has retained a law firm for routine assistance and representation for members. It is important to remember that only members will be able to access representation from the firm, as it is the membership that is paying the retainer. Non-member employees will still be represented by employee stewards.

Strindberg and Scholnick is a widely recognized labor law firm and has one many cases for employees in Idaho and Utah and has received high praise from union leaders in both states. The firm also has experience in EEO and OWCP cases with the Department of Veterans Affairs in Utah and Idaho. Lauren Scholnick was recently named to Community Foundation of Utah's "Enlightened 50" and Erika Birch was instrumental in helping to found the Street Law Clinic, which is a free legal clinic operated in Boise. The Clinic recently won a pro-bono case for unemployment benefits after an employee was unfairly terminated. In addition to helping with arbitration and grievances for employee Strindberg and Scholnick will also assist with research, bargaining, unfair labor practices and investigations. “We are excited to be working with Strindberg and Scholnick,” says Mike Kepner, President of AFGE Local 1273. “This relationship will improve our position at the bargaining table and at the grievance meeting.”

Labor Voice Newsletter AFGE Local 1273 ● Volume 2, Issue 1 ● Spring 2013

The following is a sampling of cases and issues handled by AFGE Local 1273 over the past three months. The dates indicate the date the case was closed and added to the report. Representation for the following was handled by the various officers and stewards of AFGE Local 1273 with coordination by Travis Riggs, Chief Steward and Second Vice President and Mike Kepner, President. Membership dues were used to finance the training for the various representatives. March 20, 2013 – An employee and supervisor were having difficulty communicating over scheduling issues, annual leave balances and other items during the employee’s personal family emergency. A representative of AFGE Local1 273 assisted the employee and the supervisor and an agreement was reached. March 25, 2013 – AFGE Local 1273 is working with the agency over attempts to reduce traffic through the gate leading to Union and Thatcher streets from parking lot

7. Efforts are ongoing. March 25, 2013 – An employee had previously volunteered for additional duties with their department; however due to financial and time considerations he no longer wished to participate in the extra duties. An agreement was reached with his supervisor that as soon as they trained another employee in the additional tasks that the original employee could resign from the extra duties. March 25, 2013 – An employee was issued a written counseling during the recent survey by the joint commission. Despite the fact that there were several witnesses to dispute the supervisors claim the employee elected not to pursue a grievance due to the fact that the supervisor resigned. March 25, 2013 – An employee was the subject of a Weingarten investigation. AFGE Local 1273 assisted

(Continued on page 3)

Chief Steward Report

Local 1273 Signs Historic Contract with Law Firm

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them with drafting their responses. Neither further investigation nor disciplinary action was proposed. March 25, 2013 – An employee was issued a verbal counseling for working outside their light duty restrictions. AFGE Local 1273 investigated the written counseling and found the agency had issued conflicting orders to the employee. A grievance was filed and the agency agreed to issue clear instructions in the future, the written counseling was amended to reflect this. April 2, 2013 – A probationary employee was going to be terminated during their probationary period, AFGE Local 1273 successfully negotiated with HR and the employee was able to resign in lieu or termination. April 3, 2013 – An employee was issued a revised functional statement, AFGE Local 1273 issued a cease and desist and demand to bargain over the proposed changes. A review of the proposed changes in comparison with several other like positions revealed disparate treatment of the employee. The service corrected the discrepancies so that there was fair and equitable treatment of all employees. The agency met its bargaining obligation and the issues were resolved. April 10, 2013 – A group of employees were concerned that overtime was being given to Compensated Work Therapy employees to avoid allowing Bargaining Unit Employees to earn overtime. AFGE Local 1273 analyzed all overtime use for both groups of employees and found no violation of the Master Agreement or Public Law. April 25, 2013 – An employee failed a Performance Improvement Plan and their supervisor recommended termination. AFGE was in the process of working with the agency on a last chance agreement when the employee was arrested for DUI. While the arrest happened off-station and off-duty there was a clear nexus between the employee’s position description and the DUI offense. The employee was terminated. May 13, 2013 – An employee was placed on a performance improvement plan after his supervisor noticed that there was a slow turnaround time for their completion of privacy act requests. AFGE Local 1273 and Steward Don Outram investigated the issue and

(Continued from page 2) discovered the slow turnaround time was due to a failure of the system (notably a lack of a system) to track privacy act requests. The PIP was rescinded, said the employee “Yea! A million thanks to all you guys. Just when I thought I needed to refresh my résumé, you guys applied the right kind of pressure at the right time. Don, special thanks to you for helping me keep my cool. Go Union!” May 13, 2013 – An employee received a written counseling from his supervisor, while the employee agreed that some of the details were accurate, he did not feel that other parts of the counseling were 100% unbiased. AFGE Local 1273 worked with the employee to draft a response to the written counseling to set the record straight. May 15, 2013 – An employee was having difficulty with another employee in their work unit. The employee requested a meeting with the union and their supervisor. It was determined that the issue was a personality conflict compounded by communication difficulty. It was recommended that the employee request mediation with their co-worker. Said the employee: “Thank you [AFGE Local 1273] for all your help; it is much appreciated.” May 16, 2013 – A member was issued a written counseling for offensive language and approached AFGE Local 1273 for assistance. The union filed a request for information and upon detailed review of the evidence concluded that we would not prevail in a grievance. The union also concluded that because it was a written counseling and the fact that it unlikely the behavior would be repeated a grievance would do little to “make the employee whole.” The union informed the member of our findings and offered to assist them in writing a formal response to be kept with the written counseling. It is important to remember that a written counseling is not considered to be a disciplinary action and they can only be appealed to the section chief. May 16, 2013 – A member was proposing a new technique to their supervisor for performing shoulder surgeries at the Boise VA Medical Center and did not feel that the process was moving at an acceptable pace. The member also did not feel that his recommendations were being met with the sincerity



June 04 Gov. Jerry Brown signs the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act, the first law in the U.S. giving farmworkers collective bargaining rights. The legislation came after years of effort by the United Farm Workers union - 1975 June 07 Militia sent to Cripple Creek, Colo., to suppress Western Federation of Miners strike - 1904 June 07 Militia sent to Cripple Creek, Colo., to suppress Western Federation of Miners strike - 1904 June 08 A battle between the Militia and striking miners at Dunnville, Colo., ended with six union members dead and 15 taken prisoner. Seventy-nine of the strikers were deported to Kansas two days later - 1904 Spectator mine disaster kills 168, Butte, Mont. - 1917 New York City drawbridge tenders, in a dispute with the state over pension issues, leave a dozen bridges open, snarling traffic in what the Daily News described as "the biggest traffic snafu in the city's history" - 1971 June 09 Helen Marot is born in Philadelphia to a wealthy family. She went on to organize the Bookkeepers, Stenographers and Accountants Union in New York, and to organize and lead the city's 1909-1910 Shirtwaist Strike. In 1912, she was a member of a commission investigating the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire - 1865 July 29 After five years of strikes and boycotts, table grape growers in California sign their first collective bargaining agreement with the United Farm Workers. The contract—which covered over 10,000 workers—ended labor contracting and established seniority and hiring rights; included an immediate wage increase; and provided for fresh water and toilets in the fields, and a medical plan—1970

July 17, 1944 An explosion while loading munitions onto a cargo

vessel at the military depot at Port Chicago, California, kills 320 and injures nearly 400 sailors (mostly African-American enlisted men who were part of a segregated unit) and civilians. Following the disaster, many of the surviving sailors refused to resume loading munitions, citing unsafe working conditions. Fifty men were convicted of mutiny and received 15-year sentences. It was the largest mass

mutiny trial in U.S. history. (Photo: Freddie Meeks, one of the “Port Chicago 50.”) July 11 A nine-year strike begins at the Ohio Crankshaft Division of Park-Ohio Industries in Cleveland, Ohio, over wages and benefits. Despite scabs, arrests, and firings, UAW Local 91 members hung on and ratified a contract in 1992 with the company (under new management) that featured company-funded health and retirement benefits, as well as pay increases—1983 August 30 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issues revised scaffold standards, “Safety Standards for Scaffolds Used in the Construction Industry.” The new standards set performance-based criteria to protect workers from scaffold-related hazards, such as falls, falling objects, structural instability, electrocution, and overloading.—1996 August 28 250,000 people participate in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, D.C. The march—initiated by A. Philip Randolph, president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters—was organized by a coalition of civil rights, labor, and religious organizations. It was here that Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.—1963 August 22 Flight attendants working for United Airlines form the


Labor History—at look back at where we’ve been

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they deserved. AFGE Local 1273 approached the Chief of Staff regarding the issue and learned that the member had sent a rather strongly worded email regarding the issue already. The union was able to smooth things over and offered to be present to help facilitate discussion on the matter and was assured that the recommendation was indeed being treated with all seriousness. While the union cannot negotiate on new procedures offered by the agency we were invited to monitor the situation and our offer to help facilitate discussion was appreciated. As of this entry discussions regarding the new procedure are ongoing. May 29, 2013 – An employee was counseled by their supervisor for taking extended restroom breaks. The supervisor has had issues with more than 60% of their employees at the Regional Office. AFGE Local 1273 believes that there is a pattern of abusive behavior by the supervisor and with working with VBA management to resolve the issue. In the interim the employee was advised to file a request for reasonable accommodation. May 29, 2013 – An Administrative Investigative Board (AIB) was convened to investigate allegations of sexual harassment. AFGE Local 1273 represented 19 employees during the course of the investigation. Initial conversations with management indicate that at least one employee would be disciplined, though no official notification of discipline has been received by the union. The initial complainants continued with their EEO complaint against the agency. May 29, 2013 – An employee was questioned regarding a patient complaint. AFGE Local 1273 represented the employee during the Weingarten examination. No disciplinary action was taken against the employee. May 29, 2013 – An employee was issued a urine test for suspicion of drug use on the job, the results came back negative. The employee was also issued a sick leave certification and was harassed by their supervisor over their use of FMLA. AFGE Local 1273 is investigating whether to file a grievance against the supervisor for their unacceptable behavior. May 29, 2013 – A group of employees were concerned that they were not being treated fairly with regard to

(Continued from page 3) shift rotation. The union investigated the issue and no inequitable treatment was found. May 29, 2013 – An employee felt he was not given the opportunity to apply for a position and that the agency selected someone for the position in a manner contrary to the announcement and the Master Agreement. The employee was instructed to check with the HR representative in charge of the announcement to determine that he was properly notified and considered. The employee did not re-contact the union and the matter was closed. May 31, 2013 – An employee recently completed a degree and was placing their degree after their name plate near their office, though they were not performing the job duties typically associated with the degree. After explanation they agreed to remove the reference to the new degree from their nameplate. There were also questions as to whether the employee was performing duties outside their scope and whether the agency was taking advantage of the employee’s new degree without proper compensation; the supervisor was able to explain the position description to the employee’s satisfaction. Names and departments were removed to protect the identity of the employees involved. Not all representational work by AFGE is represented here, only those cases assigned to the Chief Steward’s office.

Evening and Night Shift Stewards. Call extension 7526 for

details.

WANTED


Union Meeting Schedule

There is a cash drawing at each meeting; you must be

present to win. If the person whose name is called is

not in attendance the drawing increases by $50 until it

reaches $500 where it remains until won. Meetings are

every fourth Thursday at noon in the LRC (unless

indicated otherwise) and open to members.

June 27, 2013 July 25, 2013

August 22, 2013 September 26, 2013

6

Mike Kepner

(above) and

Travis Riggs

(left) pose in

front of the sign

for the Burns-

Hines VA

CBOC in Burns, OR on May 1, 2013. AFGE Local

1273 visited the CBOC to meet staff and educate

them about the union. They were also able to buy

them lunch and listen to questions and concerns

from the employees.

May 19-23—Mike Kepner, Travis Riggs, JoAnn Amieva, Tiffany Nelson, Don Outram all attended training for stewards in the 11th District in Vancouver, WA. Mike Kepner and Travis Riggs attended the OWCP training (bottom right); Don Outram attended Stewards Training; and the rest attended advanced training. Top right: Tiffany Nelson, Travis Riggs, Shelley Estep and JoAnn Amieva at the Red Lion restaurant in Vancouver, WA. AFGE Local 1273 is looking for stewards to assist with representing employees during disciplinary actions and also with bargaining and negotiations with management. If you are interested in becoming a steward see Mike Kepner or Travis Riggs. Stewards must be a member in good standing with the local . The membership will provide training opportunities for stewards which will include local training and may also include training that requires you to travel. A big thanks to the membership for providing this training opportunity!

Officers, Stewards attend training in Vancouver, WA


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Department of Veterans Affairs 500 W Fort Street, Bldg. 88 Boise, ID 83702

Air Line Stewardesses Association, the first labor union representing flight attendants. They were reacting to an industry in which women were forced to retire at the age of 32, remain single, and adhere to strict weight, height, and appearance requirements. The union later became the Association of Flight Attendants, and since 2004 has been part of the Communications Workers of America—1945 August 15 Eight automotive department employees at a Wal-Mart in Gatineau, Quebec, win an arbitrator-imposed contract after voting for UFCW representation, becoming the giant retailer’s only location in North America with a collective bargaining agreement. Two months later the company closed the department.—2008 August 4, 185,000 members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 206 locals across the country go out on strike over part-time work issues at the United Parcel

(Continued from page 4) Service (UPS). The strike lasted fifteen days and ended in a victory for the workers—1997 August 3 Members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) go on strike for a shorter work week, increased wages, and better working conditions. Newly elected President Ronald Reagan threatened to fire anyone who didn’t return to work within 48 hours. Most stayed out and on August 5, Reagan fired more than 11,000 workers. 1981

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