{"id":25580,"date":"2023-03-16T17:42:40","date_gmt":"2023-03-16T17:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/03\/16\/va-failed-to-negotiate-labor-contract-in-good-faith-arbitrator-rules\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:06:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:06:27","slug":"va-failed-to-negotiate-labor-contract-in-good-faith-arbitrator-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/leadership\/2023\/03\/16\/va-failed-to-negotiate-labor-contract-in-good-faith-arbitrator-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"VA failed to negotiate labor contract in good faith, arbitrator rules"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Felice Busto wrote in a March 9 decision<\/a> that in the course of negotiating over the federal government\u2019s largest collective bargaining agreement last year, the VA violated the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The union has alleged<\/a> that the agency was merely going through the motions in the talks, \u201casserting that it had \u2018no interest\u2019 or \u2018disagreed\u2019 with [the union] without offering counter proposals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe arbitrator directs the agency to cease and desist from bargaining in bad faith during collective bargaining negotiations with the American Federation of Government Employees,\u201d Busto wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 Busto\u2019s ruling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AFGE\u2019s National VA Council, which represents VA workers, says it has been negotiating with agency officials on a new labor contract <\/a>for a year, with unresolved differences on significant issues still in the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis arbitration decision is proof that our previous criticisms of the VA negotiating team were valid and that Secretary [Denis] McDonough\u2019s VA is acting in a way totally contrary to President Biden\u2019s commitment to be the most pro-union president in history,\u201d said Alma Lee, NVAC\u2019s chief negotiator in a statement on March 13. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 they\u2019ve reached impasses on substantive portions of nearly each of the 11 articles on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe tentative agreements are subject to an agreement in the whole,\u201d said Bill Wetmore, NVAC executive vice president, in an interview on March 7. \u201cThat\u2019s why they\u2019re tentative. So if we reach agreement in the whole, then all those tentative agreements will become finalized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t