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Vol
II • No. 11 • May 1999
Petty
Tyrants Hurt Us All
Who
are they?
Those who have no regard for the rules and the laws
covering the workplace. Those who personalize the management
and/or supervision of government operations and/or personnel
in an unethical and/or illegal way. Those who do whatever
they want, whenever they want, to whomever they want,
in the workplace.
Black
History Month Attendance Mandatory
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
oversees the Federal EEO program for government contractors.
But, OFCCP has been having its own problems practicing
what it preaches as well as complying with the union
contract covering its own employees.
In
February, OFCCP ordered all its employees to attend
a Black History Month Forum that it sponsored. The program
was a presentation by former Princeton U Pres William
Bowen on the book The Shape of the River: Long-term
Consequences of Considering Race in College and University
Admissions by Bowen and former Harvard U Pres Derek
Bok who was scheduled to participate but was unable
to make it.
The
forum was held Tuesday, Feb. 16 from 3 pm to 4:30 pm.
The flexitime plan covering employees in the OFCCP required
them to be on duty Feb. 16th during the core hours from
10 am until 3 pm. Mandatory attendance for any purpose
outside the core hours is a violation of the labor agreement.
AFGE 12 filed a grievance and sought to have the mandatory
attendance rescinded.
Instead
of rescinding its order and urging employees to attend,
OFCCP and the Management Office for the Employment Standards
Administration (ESA) said, “OFCCP supervisor’s
(sic) have been instructed to consider employee requests
for absence and to examine liberally requests for non-attendance.”
This was a first in the history of DOL. Customarily,
employees are instructed to get supervisory approval
before attending any agency sponsored or sanctioned
event. In this case, the purpose for requiring employees
to attend the OFCCP memo said, “As a courtesy to
our guest speakers, we are expecting full participation
by all OFCCP employees; therefore, attendance is mandatory.”
OFCCP
Reneging on Agreements with Union
OFCCP has, to date, reneged on its 1997 agreement with
the Union to promote an African-American female employee
based on a grievance filed in 1991. It honored its agreement
with the Union to promote a Caucasian male employee
who has since retired.
OFCCP
has, to date, reneged on its 1997 agreement with the
Union to create a career development position for clerical
and support level employees.
OFCCP
has, to date, reneged on its 1997 agreement with the
Union to update the job descriptions of support personnel
to account for the impact of changing technology.
OFCCP
Not Responding to Grievances
Since late 1997, OFCCP has failed to respond to grievances
filed by five African-American women. One of these women
retired because she was fed up with the treatment she
was receiving and because the Union wasn’t able
to stop the retaliation she was being subjected to because
she had filed a grievance.
OFCCP
Trying to Force African-American Female Into Retirement
Joan (so named to protect the employee’s privacy)
has 41 years of federal service and started in a GS-3
clerk-typist job in the Dept of Agriculture after graduating
from a now-defunct DC business college. She has worked
in the OFCCP since 1978. Not long after coming to DOL/OFCCP
she took a demotion from her GS-7 job to enter the upward
mobility program, and upon completion, she got her GS-7
grade back as an equal opportunity employment specialist.
Joan advanced to grade GS-12 in 1988 where she has remained
until now. Three years ago, Joan’s husband of 31
years died suddenly of a massive heart attack. She took
nearly 5 months leave following his death. It was the
most difficult period of her life. Joan and her husband
had four children. The youngest is now a junior in college.
Since
returning to work after her husband’s death, Joan
has felt increasing pressure from management to retire.
Her supervisor has intensified the nitpicking of her
work and has subjected her to other types of harassment
on an ongoing basis. Everyone in the office “just
knows” that the unfair treatment of Joan is the
work of the SES-level office director who has said,
“Why doesn’t she retire?” Another employee
says the same SES official has made the same attack
on them.
Now,
Joan has been given a written reprimand because she
would not meet with her supervisor without a Union rep.
She was presented with a PIP 12-31-98.
Now,
they have proposed to suspend Joan for 30 days in connection
with the use of 12 days annual leave. Even though Joan
submitted her request for leave in the customary way,
she was charged AWOL and received no pay for the entire
period of her annual leave. She received no pay and
they want to suspend her for 30 days for it. Joan has
199 hours of use or lose annual leave. Joan believes
they’re going to fire her if she doesn’t retire.
Picket
Line for OFCCP Awards
The Union is planning to put up a picket line for OFCCP’s
contractor awards ceremony scheduled later this year.
Suspensions,
Firings, and Nepotism
One employee with a disability has been suspended and
then fired by OSHA. Both the suspension and the firing
involved conduct for which vocational rehabilitation
and workplace accommodations are more appropriate than
discipline.
Another
OSHA employee is facing a 14-day suspension because
he declined to participate in an OIG interview without
union representation which the employee is entitled
to by law. A federal court has already found OSHA guilty
of discriminating against this employee based on national
origin. After issuing the proposed suspension, OSHA
has decided to withdraw the suspension and has now proposed
to remove the employee from the federal service. While
the OIG seems more than eager to assist OSHA in rigging
charges to fire this employee, it appears that the OIG
has turned its back to the longstanding allegations
of nepotism in OSHA’s promotion practices.
Privacy
Rights in OLMS, Forget It
All Office of Labor-Management Services (a program in
ESA) employees received the following February 17 e-mail
message: “I am sorry to report that our part-time
employee, (name omitted in this publication), has been
separated from the Federal service. He is currently
under investigation by the DOL Office of the Inspector
General and the Social Security Administration in connection
with an allegation relating to the use of certain official
documentation. He has surrendered his DOL identification
and will not be permitted to reenter the building.”
This message was sent by a top level OLMS management
official.
When
notices of employee firings and suspensions are given
to AFGE 12 , DOL withholds the names of the employees
based on privacy rights. In such cases, the employees
must take the initiative to disclose their identity
to the union. Now, the union only has to read the OLMS
e-mail.
Call
To Replace Top Career Managers
When the Clinton Administration took office in 1993,
many urged replacing the top career management in OFCCP.
They did, and now it is obvious that OFCCP is the loser,
along with DOL and the public it serves.
DOL
Continuing To Block Arbitrations
The Labor Dept is still refusing to cooperate with the
Union to schedule hearings of all nondisciplinary grievances.
So, DOL violates the rights of employees and the Union
and then blocks the rights of both to contest their
actions. Merit staffing, performance appraisal, space
change, and reorganization grievances are being blocked.
For example, DOL illegally established the Welfare to
Work Office last year. It appears that DOL is planning
to illegally reorganize ETA under the Work Force Investment
Act. Each time ETA reorganizes or establishes new programs,
most employees are left out and only the select few
benefit.
Until an arbitrator rules, DOL will continue to violate
the law. The Union has filed an Unfair Labor Practice
charge against DOL for blocking the arbitration of grievances.
Employees
Petition To Stop the Reassignment of a Manager
Seventy-one bargaining unit and supervisory employees
in the Administrative Services Center (ASC) sent the
following petition, dated March 24, 1999, to Assistant
Secy Lattimore:
“The
ASC is requesting that Kenneth A. Mills not be transferred
at this time. ASC employees feel this way because Mr.
Mills has had a tremendous effect on the quality of
the work life of the employees in this center. We also
feel that this action would put a great deal of stress
and strain on many of the aspirations of ASC employees,
especially those in lower grades who want to progress
in their government careers. His leaving, we believe,
would put an end to an extremely effective open door
policy that has made us feel that we are an integral
part of the Department. Mr. Mills has given us an incentive
to work hard, take pride in our job, and more importantly
given us a desire to come to the job. We feel like a
family because of the efforts of Mr. Mills to make us
inclusive in his policy, directives and actions. He
takes genuine interest in us, not only as an employee,
but as a person. He has changed attitudes toward performance
to such a degree that we know that the ASC is one of
the most effective operations in the Department.”
Campaign
For Fairness
WHEREAS,
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) management for some time
has been blatantly and brazenly violating the AFGE 12-DOL
contract, and
WHEREAS,
DOL management has retaliated through denial of pay,
denial of promotions, and/or other disciplinary measures
against Union representatives for their representational
activities, and
WHEREAS,
DOL management has shown contempt and disrespect for
the Union and its representatives, and
WHEREAS,
Union protests against this union busting to DOL management
have fallen on deaf ears, and
WHEREAS,
this attack on the Union not only endangers the institution
of the Union but also hurts employee morale, the mission
of DOL, and any prospects for improving working conditions
for those represented by AFGE 12,
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED that AFGE 12 will mount a Campaign for
Fairness to protect the Union, its members, and the
contract from these attacks and to rid DOL of its dysfunctional
labor relations. The Campaign for Fairness will be multi-faceted
and will seek to bring public attention to this matter
and its consequences for serving the public.
MEMBERSHIP
MEETING
12:00 Noon, Thursday
May 27, 1999
Conference Center Room 2
Postal Square Building
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