Labor Authority Abandons Decades of Precedent, Eviscerates Union Bargaining Rights

Government Executive: The Federal Labor Relations Authority again overturned decades of precedent this week in a trio of decisions that collectively hamstring federal employee unions’ ability to negotiate with agencies.

The first decision changes the standard for whether an agency policy change triggers a duty to bargain over its implementation and impact on employees from “greater than de minimis” to “substantial.” A second decision finds that federal labor law “neither requires nor prohibits midterm bargaining” and makes zipper clauses, which limit negotiations during the term of a union contract, mandatory subjects of bargaining.

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