Afge Settlement Agreement

Thomas Dargon, a supervisory lawyer at AFGE`s Office general counsel, said the agreement also included a “comprehensive” agreement to compensate union officials who had taken leave or worked after work on replacement tasks they would otherwise have performed in official time, and to reimburse union premises for costs associated with renting office space and equipment. after the VA introduced restrictions on the union`s access to the workplace in accordance with Trump`s orders. In a statement wednesday, the VA confirmed the deal, which will result in the withdrawal of numerous complaints and other disputes between the VA and AFGE, as well as the National Association of Government Employees, the National Federation of Federal Employees and National Nurses United, and the department said that “a unionized VA workforce leads to a strong overall VA labor operation.” The Department of Veterans Affairs and the nation`s largest federal employee union announced this week that they have reached a settlement agreement to return labour-management relations to the status quo before the Trump administration and commit to negotiating a new union contract in good faith. On October 9, 2019, AFGE filed a national complaint against the Agency regarding the implementation of Manual VA 5011/32. On the 30th. In December 2020, an arbitrator found that the Agency had violated the 2011VA/AFGE Framework Agreement by converting the accumulated leave balances of certain employees in the AFGE bargaining unit using a universal conversion rate of “days” to “hours”. The agency was asked to “complete” all employees affected by the violations. On 27 April 2021, a settlement agreement was concluded between VA and AFGE on the implementation of the Directive. “The problem of reimbursing office space and equipment is unique, in part because the previous government`s decrees were unique,” he said.

“This is damage that was done to the union as a result of these actions, and in some cases, locals spent a significant amount of money to secure resources that should have been provided under our [2011] agreement, which has remained in effect since the beginning … I think this could be a roadmap [for other unions and organizations], and I hope it is. We are encouraged by the positive steps taken by AFGE and VA in recent months and look forward to building this relationship in the years to come. The agreement also provides for the VA to withdraw by July 30 its controversial 2018 decision to ban all health professionals under the ministry`s Title 38 from using official time. The American Federation of Government Employees announced the deal tuesday. It effectively rejects all proposals put forward in the union`s negotiations with VA over the past four years and foresees new contract negotiations that will begin early next year, with a limited reopening of 12 articles of the 2011 treaty. VA also agreed to implement three now-repealed anti-union executive orders, which were signed by President Trump in 2018. Background: On September 15, 2019, Manual VA 5011/32, Hours of Service and Leave, was introduced to change vacation expenses, vacation accumulation rate and maximum deferral for full-time physicians, dentists, chiropractors, podiatrists and optometrists from several days to a few hours.

The Directive sets the maximum amount of the carry-over of annual leave at 685 hours. In addition, union representatives who have been disciplined by the ministry for using official time will have these disciplinary measures lifted and removed from their file. On June 10, 2021, the Acting Under Secretary of State for Health approved a one-time change to the conversion rates for annual leave and sick leave and the maximum carry-forward of annual leave for full-time employees who have moved from a day leave system to an hourly leave system. “More than 79% of VA`s workforce is made up of collective bargaining unit employees, and we are working to build strong and lasting relationships with the unions that represent the department`s unionized workforce to provide world-class service to veterans,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. in a press release. NEXT STORY: GovExec Daily: The latest update on paid leave approval goes into effect on September 14. September 2019 for full-time physicians, dentists, chiropractors, podiatrists and optometrists with fixed and approved work schedules. The permit was approved for the holiday conversion measures that came into effect on September 15, 2019. .