Advocates, Experts Urge More Protections for Feds Following Trump Workforce Initiatives govexec.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from govexec.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Natalie Alms
Everett Kelley receives an award at the annual National Action Network Martin Luther King Jr. Day Breakfast, Jan. 2019. (Photo courtesy: AFGE)
The largest federal employee union is pressing for some legislative wins with Democrats in charge of both houses of Congress and in control of the White House.
The top priority is ensuring safe working conditions during the pandemic and the provision of COVID-19 paid sick leave benefits for feds, said American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley during a Sunday press call. But the union also has a long list of other priorities. We must operate as if two years is our window of opportunity, he said during a plenary session held as part of the union s annual legislative and grassroots mobilization conference.
Biden clears out all union mediation panel members The Federal Service Impasse Panel came under regular critique for siding against unions in contract disputes. (pepifoto) President Joe Biden asked for the resignation of all 10 Federal Service Impasse Panel Members, which became effective by the end of the day Feb. 2 an FSIP spokesperson told Federal Times. The FSIP is a branch of the Federal Labor Relations Authority responsible for resolving disputes between employee unions and agency negotiators when consensus on a collective bargaining agreement cannot be reached. The previous members were appointed under the Trump administration, and union officials took frequent issue with the panel’s rulings, which appeared to favor President Donald Trump’s 2018 executive orders mandating significant union restrictions.
Congress moves to expand feds’ paid leave options January 28 Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., led congressional efforts to guarantee 12 weeks of paid leave for federal employees to both take care of a new child and address personal or family medical needs. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) Federal employees would be able to take paid time off for personal or family medical issues under new legislation introduced in the House Jan. 28. The Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act would offer 12 weeks each year for federal employees to use to care for an ill family member, their own serious medical condition or the needs of a family member soon to be designated to active duty military.