7312019 Senate Democrats chastise Social Security for union treatment

httpswwwfederaltimescomfederal-oversightcongress20190730senate-democrats-chastise-social-security-for-union-treatment 15

Congress (wwwfederaltimescomfederal-oversightcongress)

Senate Democrats chastise Social Security for union treatmentBy Jessie Bur (authorjessie-bur) emsp 1 day ago

14

Tense negotiations between the Social Security Administration and the Association of Administrative Law Judges caught the attention of Congress July 23 as the entirecaucus of democratic senators sent a letter to the agency demanding good faith negotiations with the union

ldquoWe are writing to express our dismay that the Social Security Administration refuses to bargain in good faith with union representatives When your nomination wasbefore the Senate you committed to working transparently and in good faith with the unions representing workers at SSA Now you have an opportunity andresponsibility to honor that commitmentrdquo the senators wrote in the letter which was released July 26

ldquoSSA already filed for impasse on its contracts with the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union as it insists onimposing anti-union and anti-worker policies In light of SSArsquos request that the Federal Service Impasses Panel resolve its contract dispute with a branch of theInternational Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers we urge your agency to end its unilateralism and return to the bargaining tablerdquo

The FSIP has already ruled on an SSA impasse with AFGE granting the agency significant authority over telework reducing the availability of official time and locking theunion into a seven-year contract

Judge Melissa McIntosh president of the AALJ said in early July (httpswwwfederaltimescommanagement20190705social-security-administration-reaches-impasse-in-union-negotiations) that the agency is looking to get a similar ruling for its contract with her union

ldquoIt is apparent that SSArsquos conduct on this matter constitutes a deliberate attempt to reach an impasserdquo the senators wrote

ldquoSSA has sought to eliminate references to the Administrative Procedures Act which ensures the judicial independence of administrative law judges while alsoattempting to eliminate references to their judicial function Given the nature and importance of disability claims it is essential that the American public can rely ondecisions that are fair and rational free from any interferencerdquo

(httpswwwfederaltimescommanagement20180723ssa-violates-discipline-rules-after-employee-protests-union-crackdown)A fedrsquos protest leads to discipline rule violations (httpswwwfederaltimescommanagement20180723ssa-violates-discipline-rules-after-employee-protests-union-crackdown)

US Code limits the time an agency employee can be placed on administrative leave but the Social Security Administration has exceeded it for anemployee following a nondestructive act protesting union crackdowns

By Jessie Bur

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7312019 Senate Democrats chastise Social Security for union treatment

httpswwwfederaltimescomfederal-oversightcongress20190730senate-democrats-chastise-social-security-for-union-treatment 25

According to the letter the substance of the agencyrsquos proposals in its negotiation with AALJ are similar to those outlined in three executive orders signed by PresidentDonald Trump in May 2018 Although those orders were ruled by a District Court judge to have violated congressional intent(httpswwwfederaltimescommanagement20180826judge-rules-trump-overstepped-with-union-executive-orders) outlined in US Code an appeals courtdetermined in mid-July that the first court did not have the authority to override the orders

That ruling (httpswwwfederaltimescommanagement20190716appeals-court-reverses-ruling-on-trumps-union-executive-orders) does not negate the possibilitythat the executive orders violate federal statute but agencies must now take the issue up with the Federal Labor Relations Authority before bringing it to the courts

But the Senators have called for SSA leadership to explain whether the White House or any other entity advised SSA on its contract proposal and why there is a need to setthe contract for seven years require unions to submit unfair labor practices with the agency before the FLRA add new requirements to union information requests placetelework at the sole discretion of the agency and limit grievance filing

ldquoWe urge SSA to return to the bargaining table with IFPTE immediately and negotiate in good faith It must abandon its insistence on retrograde anti-union and anti-worker policies We request immediate updates on the agencyrsquos next stepsrdquo the senators wrote

14

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7312019 Senate Democrats chastise Social Security for union treatment

httpswwwfederaltimescomfederal-oversightcongress20190730senate-democrats-chastise-social-security-for-union-treatment 55

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