Catherwood LibraryILR School

For the first time in American labor relations history, the Labor Department has filed unfair labor practice (ULP) charges against a union representing its employees with the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)---an uncommon move in the federal public sector, where unions are almost always the party to file such charges. The charge originates in the refusal by Local 12 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) to bargain over a $45 increase in monthly transit subsidies because a presidential order guarantees that the increases will be automatic. In a startling defeat that the union has vowed to fight, not only has acting FLRA regional director Barbara S. Liggett agreed with the Labor Department and scheduled a March 10, 2003 hearing on the charge, the FLRA has turned down two ULP charges brought by Local 12 accusing the Labor Department of illegally attempting to circumvent the union.