May 9, 2013
District Director Lori Pietropaoli
USCIS District 14, Chicago
101 W. Congress Pkwy.
Chicago, IL 60605
Dear Lori,
Yesterday’s meeting, which was supposed to be a jubilant preparation for training the employees on the contents of the LSA, was not what I call a “partnership.” In fact, it could have been perceived as a “my-way-or-the-highway” attitude on management’s part. Management set a tone that the union should listen and management would dictate what they will and will not allow.
Management took the attitude that, “we are management and we make the rules.” This is the very type of behavior that we hoped would be relegated to District 14 history once you arrived. We should all be mindful that the same rules apply to all pre-and-post negotiations as it did while the initial negotiations were in order.
All union reps involved in yesterday’s meeting (me, Bruce Allen, Brenda Treml, and Suzanne Canady) witnessed very unprofessional behavior that made us uncomfortable. Martha Medina and James Booth were rolling their eyes, putting their heads in their hands, and talking about “union officials” in front of everyone. It was not productive, and did not conform to the standard of behavior that should prevail at a joint union/management meeting.
James’ presence in particular was counterproductive. James immediately attempted to lead and control the discussion, and then constantly slammed paper on the table as if in disgust. He was rude and tried to intimidate. While I was speaking, other union reps heard him say to Martha that Andre was ridiculous and that they couldn’t conduct a meeting with Andre because no one could get a word in edgewise. He attempted to speak on an understanding that took place at bargaining, during which he was not present. He tried to interject numbers into his argument about flex time, even though the fact that the employees of the District will have flex time is an issue that has been settled for almost a year.
James was present for the first time regarding the LSA, and wanted to lead the discussion without introducing himself or explaining his role at the meeting. I asked about his role because the union thought perhaps his presence was for some information to put in our monthly newsletter. Martha then apologized and stated that she had forgotten to formerly introduce him. We then learned he was taking your place as a designated management official. The union absolutely has no problem with that at all, but there must be some clarity as to his role and that of any union official who sits in negotiations.
Lori, I have sat on consultations and negotiations for several years and it has always been customary to either introduce the guest or subject matter expert and or a new negotiator for the purpose of their input into the negotiating process. I cannot understand why the union was placed in a somewhat “dictated” atmosphere and to top that off, the union felt that management acted in an extremely adversarial way.
While James entered the discussions with an adversarial posture, Martha also began to exhibit unprofessional behavior as the productivity of the meeting deteriorated. During the last ten minutes of the meeting, Martha held her Blackberry prominently in front of her, apparently sending and reading messages. While Martha stated that she was there in partnership, when I posed a question regarding some BUE questions she seemed irritated and targeted me with being disruptive of the negotiations. The union has a right, in my humble opinion, to ask questions and pose questions regarding the training and implementation of the LSA. See Master Agreement 2010…Article D. Right to Present Views:
The union shall have the right to present its views, either orally or in writing, to the Employer on any matters of concern regarding personnel policies and practices and matters affecting working conditions.
The union has asked numerous times for clarity as to management’s position on scheduling the training for the LSA. It appears that delay tactics are being used to stall employee’s ability to start maxi flex. We agreed on maxi flex - something that other offices have been using for years - in June 2012. We met to prepare training in October 2012. Brenda created the PowerPoint presentation in January 2013. We finally got an LSA effective date of April 8, 2013. Ever since that time, we have been trying to get a training date scheduled, and keep being put off.
It would have been a wonderful gesture to the employees to give them the opportunity to start maxi flex at the beginning of the summer, but that hope was extinguished yesterday as management still resists. No wonder many employees are reluctant to believe maxi flex will ever happen. They think it will not happen because management will find some way to make sure it doesn’t. Even now, we still only have what Martha called a “tentative” training date of May 30, almost 2 months after the effective date of the LSA.
Furthermore, we learned yesterday that management’s position is that starting maxi flex is a “schedule change” and that employees can only start at the beginning of a quarter. The union’s position is that this is not a schedule change, but a beginning of a new schedule option, and that the employees should be able to start with one full pay period’s notice as soon as they are trained. This is more than fair for the employees, given that they’ve been waiting to take advantage of this new schedule since last summer’s agreement, and management has had that long to prepare for any necessary changes.
When we made our position clear, James and Martha became even more adversarial and condescending. James claimed that employees cannot start maxi flex until July 1, 2013, because it would impact production. Martha too claimed that the “blitz” weeks and months are a reason employees cannot start maxi flex sooner. As those of us who muddled through days of negotiation on this topic know, the core hours were designed to address the interests and needs of the mission and production. One thing has nothing to do with the other and we thought the issue was settled.
I appeal to you and will to the National Council and to anybody else necessary. Nobody feels "awesome" about these delays. Employee morale is still low. Let’s get this schedule option to our employees without any more delay. There is no logistical reason the employees cannot start maxi flex (assuming we train them by May 30) by the pay period beginning June 16, 2013. After the initial inception of the schedule, any changes must be made at the beginning of the quarter as stated in the LSA.
Finally, Lori, I was chastised by and accused of threatening the FOD when I mentioned that I need to speak to you about this. That was an abuse of power. I have never heard you suggest or condone such behavior. Martha mentioned the need to appear unified at the joint training session, and we are in full agreement. We just wanted to express a concern and head off any potential embarrassments that may occur because our employees are smart, and thorough, and they will ask many tough questions.
Lori, the union will not back off where the BUEs have a vast interest, regardless of the standing issues. We (union) have a constitutional duty as AFGE officials. Our attempts to bring this LSA to closure seem to get further and further away. The union has tried to address the rollout with Martha, but she appears focused on the fact that we are only GS 12s and GS13s and should not question the FOD. This is totally distasteful and reckless.
The BUEs do trust in you, the DD, and we believe that trust is at an all-time high for our District. We give our respect to you being the District’s newly assigned District Director. That employee trust, however, does not extend our FOD or much of the rest of management, which is regrettable.
We implore to intervene and address the BUEs in a town-hall and give them straight talk because the truth stretches a long way with these employees.
Please allow me to remind everybody that according to the Master Agreement 2010:
All Supplemental Agreements are to be immediately forwarded to the Council President and the Labor Relations Office at the Service's headquarters for review and approval following their execution by the Local Parties. Supplemental Agreements automatically go into effect 90 days after submission if there have been no revisions requested by either party.
Thank you for hearing us.
Sincerely,
Mr. Andre' Jones
President Union CIS/ICE
AFGE LOCAL 2718
