Shhhhh… It’s an open secret!
By: Rebekah Foley, Secretary
It’s an open secret at the Detroit Arsenal that not all organizations enforce the 30 minute lunch policy in the same way. I am sure that you, or someone you know, are able to benefit from an extended lunch. If you work in an area that strictly enforces the 30 minute lunch policy, there is an option for extending your lunch period without taking annual leave.
NLMA Article 19, Section B(5) states: “Each BU employee will received a thirty (30) minute unpaid lunch period somewhere near the middle of his/her work day. With prior approval, on a case by case basis, a BU employee may request and may be granted up to thirty (30) addition-al unpaid minutes for lunch if his/her hours of work requirements will be met within 0600 hours—1800 hours. Each BU employee will depart for and return from lunch on time.”
So remember, if you need an extra 30 minutes at lunch, talk to your supervisor ahead of time and make plans to work an extra 30 minutes at the beginning or end of your duty day.
Your Life Without the Union: A Tale of Terror
By Jessica Fields, AFGE 1658
Imagine your life without the union. Imagine a world where no union ever existed. No eight hour workday, no forty hour workweek, no weekends. No work-man’s compensation, no healthcare plans, no retirement benefits. Since there are no child labor laws, there’s no such thing as childhood. Unsafe working conditions are the norm. Disparate treatment is rampant for women or mi-norities or LGBT workers. The worksite is inaccessible for those with disabilities. History bears out what workers can suf-fer when employers operate without checks and balances. Consider the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, the radium watch dial girls and the Memphis sanitation worker. Such fates are unimaginable to us, because we live in a world that is transformed by collective bargaining.
The foundation of any union is an assertion of basic human dignity and a belief that we are stronger together than apart. Unions are found across the social spectrum: pipe fitters and actors; autoworkers and athletes; nurses and police officers. Solidarity binds us together, and our varied perspectives coalesce into a unified voice. Despite our differences, we become a sort of family – sisters and brothers – and pool our resources for the collective good. Through collective bargaining we change the quality of life in our workplace. One individual is transformed into a force for societal change. Holy smokes! The very idea of a union is a revolutionary act.
Your union is so much more than the full-time employees and elected officials. The un-ion is you. You are the union. The union is most effective when its members invest and participate. Our union encompasses an in-credible assortment of talent and experience and education.
The question becomes what can’t we accom-plish if we were to flex our collective strength! What if we increased our lobbying of political representatives? What if we spoke positively and proudly of our union? What if we peer reviewed our resumes and increased scholarships and promoted union values into leader-ship positions? There is so much the union can still accomplish. We stand on the solid foundations that past unions were able to construct. We can add our own chapter to this great labor history. Speak your mind, lend your skills, teach a class, bring a new mem-ber, come to meetings, sign a petition, get involved politically, support other Federal unions – but do something.
Any other future is, well, terrifying.
Negotiation: A Dinner Drama
By Gregory Polcyn; Area Vice President, AFGE 1658
As our Local heads into negotiations on the Negotiated Labor Management Agreement (NLMA), aka the union contract, I decided to write an article on everyday negotiations. If the feedback is positive, I’ll write more articles on this subject. If not, I’ll write about how we defend employees who steal toilet paper from Government bathrooms.
There are four possible out-comes regarding negotiations: win-lose, lose-win, lose-lose and the coveted win-win. Most negotiations result in a win-lose situation, which inevitably involves compromise. I’ll provide a little vignette that I’m sure everyone can relate to:
It’s Friday night and you and your spouse/significant other want to go to dinner. Well, here’s the problem. You want Chinese and they want Italian. What to do, what to do? You can stomach Italian, but you’ve been craving beef and broccoli all week! You know that it’s going to take a lot of begging and cajoling to convince her (sorry, I mean “them”) that Chinese is the way to go. Also, did I mention that you’re already in the car and both restaurants are about the same distance? How do you negotiate in this scenario? I’m sure we all have our methods, but I bet it might go some-thing like this:
“Ok, we’ll do Italian tonight if we can do Chinese next week”. In this scenario, one party gets what they want (Italian) and the other party doesn’t. This is the common “win-lose” scenario, and this is a great as long as you are the winner. However, what if you don’t want Chinese next Friday? What if you get sick and can’t go out? What if you have to work late! Well you should have thought about that before you compromised. This is one of the problems with “win-lose” scenarios in negotiation.
I’m sure we can all see the flip side of the coin where you win and get your beef and broccoli; but what would be a “lose-lose” in this dinner scenario? Well, it turns out that you and your spouse are both “blah” on Mexican food. The funny thing is, you both think the other person really likes Mexican food. You don’t want to hurt their feelings by saying you don’t, so you continue to go Mexican restaurants – hating every minute of it – all the while thinking you’re doing the other person a favor. Sound familiar? I hope not.
Here’s the real question on most people’s minds: What would be a win-win? That’s a little more difficult to define, but there is a Chinese-Italian fusion restaurant where you can have beef and broccoli, and your significant other can have whatever they want. However, it is 15 miles further out, it will cost 50% more and since you’re in the car already and didn’t make reservations, you’ll be waiting 45 minutes to be seated. Hey, I didn’t say it was easy, I just said it existed.
What is the take-away here? If you want the coveted win-win, you’ve got to prepare for it.
Running Out of Time…
By: Jessica Fields; Steward, AFGE 1658
New Year’s is a perfect time to talk about your leave, particularly Leave Without Pay (LWOP). Too often, employees are subjected to adverse or disciplinary action because they are out of leave. This article will help clarify the contractual provisions regarding LWOP, as well as the Command’s position on LWOP and what you can do to protect yourself and your career.
The contractual provisions for LWOP are extremely limited. Article 20, Section D of the Negotiated Labor-Management Agreement (NLMA) covers LWOP and outlines the three situations in which LWOP will be approved: Disabled veterans undergoing medical treatment for a service-related disability; Reserve or National Guard members called for military duty; and Bargaining Unit (BU) employees requesting LWOP under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
The Command takes a hard line regarding LWOP. Historically, if an employee has exhausted all paid leave, as well as their legally-protected 12-week FMLA entitlement, supervisors are encouraged to charge their employees Absent With-out Leave (AWOL) and discipline them accordingly, up to and including removal from Federal service. Obviously, not all management is created equal, and the Union has worked with several fair and reasonable supervisors who respectfully and compassionately assist their employees through difficult times and low leave balances. However, you should be aware that those individuals are the exception and not the rule.
If a medical condition (including that of a family member) is draining your paid leave, please ask the Union about FMLA, Reasonable Accommodation, the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (VLTP), etc. These programs exist to protect your employment. You must remember that the Command – EEO, HR, the Disability Program Manager (DPM), your management team – is not your advocate. You are your best advocate. At the beginning of this New Year, please take a few moments to assess your paid leave balances. If they are low, please take proactive steps to increase your leave balances or invoke your entitlements. If your paid leave balances are high, please consider supporting your Brothers and Sisters through the VLTP.
