The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs acted unfairly in brokering a new contract with a labor union representing some 291,000 agency employees, an arbitrator ruled.
Felice Busto wrote in a March 9 decision that in the course of negotiating over the federal governmentās largest collective bargaining agreement last year, the VA violated the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute.
The union has alleged that the agency was merely going through the motions in the talks, āasserting that it had āno interestā or ādisagreedā with [the union] without offering counter proposals.ā
āThe arbitrator directs the agency to cease and desist from bargaining in bad faith during collective bargaining negotiations with the American Federation of Government Employees,ā Busto wrote.
The decision requires the agency to rescind some of its proposals and post a notice of the ruling to employees for 60 days. The agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Bustoās ruling.
AFGEās National VA Council, which represents VA workers, says it has been negotiating with agency officials on a new labor contract for a year, with unresolved differences on significant issues still in the way.
āThis arbitration decision is proof that our previous criticisms of the VA negotiating team were valid and that Secretary [Denis] McDonoughās VA is acting in a way totally contrary to President Bidenās commitment to be the most pro-union president in history,ā said Alma Lee, NVACās chief negotiator in a statement on March 13.
In 2022, after the presidential transition brought in new labor policies, negotiations started up again on an updated collective bargaining agreement on a range of issues including employee discipline, awards and promotion.
This week, the parties are still in talks, with tentative agreements in place on much of the language that is rolling over from the previous contract or that has been deemed beneficial to both sides. However, union officials said theyāve reached impasses on substantive portions of nearly each of the 11 articles on the table.
āThe tentative agreements are subject to an agreement in the whole,ā said Bill Wetmore, NVAC executive vice president, in an interview on March 7. āThatās why theyāre tentative. So if we reach agreement in the whole, then all those tentative agreements will become finalized.ā
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Sticking points continue to be details on employee discipline, awards and promotion.
āThey donāt want us involved in upward mobility,ā Wetmore said in the interview. āThey donāt want us involved in merit promotion. Their proposals cut us out of all those activities ... To cut us out of these kinds of considerations seems short sighted.ā
Union representatives said intransigence on the agencyās behalf seems to stem from lingering attitudes that align more closely with the Trump administrationās stances on management authority than with what the Biden administration has urged about protecting the merit-based civil service.
Following Joe Bidenās inauguration, the White House and Congress moved to stamp out and reverse measures by Donald Trump that collectively impeded unionsā employee representation at the worksite and attempted to bypass the merit-system via a reclassification to Schedule F.
āA unionized VA workforce is a strong VA workforce,ā said VA Secretary Denis McDonough at a March 2 press conference. āWe achieve great things through collective bargaining ... Good faith bargaining with the American Federation of Government Employees on a new master agreement is progressing and tentative agreements on language are reached at every bargaining session. I attach great importance to these talks and have remained closely and personally engaged in them.ā
Wetmore said thereās a disconnect between what the departmentās leaderships says and what transpires at the bargaining table and in litigation.
VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes said in a statement to Federal Times on March 15 that in the past two years, the department has taken several steps to support employeesā interests at the workplace, including reestablishing the National Partnership Council, restoring official time for union representatives and resuming labor management meetings with VA union officials.
Still, the union says it struggles to find a legal basis for some of the VAās arguments.
āI would think, for a friendlier administration, we wouldnāt still be here,ā said Linda Ward-Smith, president of AFGE Local 1224, in an interview. āIt appears that weāre still under Trump guidance as far as management leadership and instructions and directions given to them. It just doesnāt feel different.ā
Nearly 80% of all VA public servants are bargaining union employees, according to the department.
āThe way itās going, I think weāre scheduled to do this for at least another year, and then weāll be in mediationā said Wetmore.
Mediation may help narrow down the differences, Wetmore said, but if that doesnāt result in a voluntary agreement, then the Federal Service Impasses Panel would be the next step.
So far, in addition to awards, merit promotion and discipline, the parties have discussed investigations, performance appraisal, local supplemental agreements, term negotiation, official time and technology procedures for administering and tracking. The health and safety article was dropped from negotiations, and telework is not among topics being negotiated.
Molly Weisner is a staff reporter for Federal Times where she covers labor, policy and contracting pertaining to the government workforce. She made previous stops at USA Today and McClatchy as a digital producer, and worked at The New York Times as a copy editor. Molly majored in journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
