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CONTENTS
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| SYSTEM ELEMENTS |
DESCRIPTIONS OF PROPOSED CONCEPTS |
| Bargaining Units - Continued |
Bargaining units may not include the following categories of employees:
management officials;
supervisory employees (including supervisors of military members);
work leaders;
confidential employees;
human resources employees (to include clerical);
employees performing intelligence or counter-intelligence, investigative, and security work that impacts or affects in a significant way DoD physical, personnel, and information security;
Attorneys;
Employees on time limited appointments of 2 years or less;
Students;
Professional employees and employees requiring certification (i.e. DAWIA, accountants, teachers) (unless a majority of the employees vote for inclusion in the unit).
Employees engaged in administering the provisions of NSPS labor relations regulations.
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| 4. Union Dues
(What will the process be for collection of union dues?)
Guiding principle: Provide a mechanism that allows for efficient collection of union dues balancing considerations of impact on union employees and agency resources utilized to collect such dues. |
- Retain current union dues allotment procedures (dues allotments through payroll deductions) with the following changes:
- Bargaining unit employees may cancel dues at any time after one year has passed since initial dues allotment commenced.
- Management will not be held fiscally responsible for administrative errors related to dues withholding.
- Disputes between the union and union members concerning dues are not included in any agency complaints procedures.
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| 5. Duty to Bargain
(When is management obligated to bargain?)
Guiding principle: Provide for collective bargaining that allows the parties to collaborate by focusing bargaining on issues of significant impact and ensuring that critical agency resources are used in a constructive manner. |
General requirements: Bargaining shall be accomplished in good faith. Both parties must give due consideration to each other's concerns, interests, and perspectives.
Under the NSPS labor relations system, collective bargaining means the use of a collaborative, issue-based approach where the parties have a mutual obligation to consult on matters concerning conditions of employment.
Duty to Bargain - Management Initiated Changes (When must management bargain on changes to conditions of employment initiated by management?)
- Bargaining is required when management makes changes to conditions of employment that have a significant impact on the bargaining unit.
- "Significant" will be clarified in NSPS labor relations regulations.
- As a point of information, but not to imply bargaining rights, the exclusive representative will be informed of changes to conditions of employment that do not have a significant impact on the bargaining unit.
Duty to Bargain - Union Initiated Changes When must management bargain on changes to conditions of employment proposed by the union and not initiated by management?)
Union initiated bargaining occurs on matters significantly affecting conditions of employment for the bargaining unit and not covered by existing policies or national level bargaining unless conditions are substantially altered by new events or circumstances.
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| SYSTEM ELEMENTS |
DESCRIPTIONS OF PROPOSED CONCEPTS |
| 6. Scope of Bargaining
(Once a duty to bargain is established, what are the parameters of what must be bargained?)
Guiding principle: Simplifies the parameters of what must be bargained when collective bargaining does occur by eliminating complex and confusing legal standards that have resulted in extensive disputes and litigation. |
AGENCY RELATIONS - Existing and new DoD-wide and Component-wide regulations, policies and other similar issuances will supercede any conflicting provisions of collective bargaining agreements and past practice issues.
MANAGEMENT RIGHTS -
The exercise of these rights is subject only the NSPS bargaining process.
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| 7. Bargaining Processes - At the Level of Recognition
(When there is a duty to bargain, what processes are used to meet this obligation?)
Guiding principle: Provide for an efficient and effective local bargaining process that balances the need for a meaningful exchange of interests and concerns and the need to accomplish mission requirements in a timely manner. |
Bargaining is accomplished through a form of local "consultation" with the exclusive representative when there is a "duty to bargain" on a matter and the union has timely requested to bargain.
Consultation means a form of collectively bargaining that is an issue-based process of collaborating over changes to conditions of employment that have a significant impact on the bargaining unit. Consultation affords the employee representatives and management the opportunity to have a meaningful exchange of views in an attempt to reach agreement on the resulting policy document that is issued.
- Immediate implementation for emergencies and national security with post-implementation consultation.
- Consultation process in all cases lasts no more than 60 calendar days (notification period and consult period combined). If no agreement is reached after good faith efforts (within the time limits provided), management may implement the proposed changes.
- A copy of any resulting policy will be provided to the union(s) with the reasons for taking the final action.
- Post-implementation consultation may continue by mutual agreement.
- Union will have opportunity to seek a review of procedural compliance with the DLRB. There are no status quo ante remedies.
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| 8. Bargaining processes - Above the Level of Recognition (National Level Bargaining
(When there is a duty to bargain, what processes are used to meet this obligation?)
Guiding principle: Provide for an efficient and effective national level bargaining process that streamlines bargaining on Deparment-wide and Component-wide issues and allows for a meaningful exchange of interests and concerns balanced with the need to accomplish mission requirements in a timely manner. |
National level bargaining replaces both the traditional national consultation process and local bargaining on the issue. National level bargaining can occur at the DoD level on DoD policy changes or at the DoD level.
Such bargaining is accomplished through a form of consultation with the exclusive representative when there is a duty to bargain on a matter and the union has timely requested to bargain. National level bargaining will use the same process as the local bargaining.
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| SYSTEM ELEMENTS |
DESCRIPTIONS OF PROPOSED CONCEPTS |
| 9. Union Rights and Obligations
(What rights does the union have when representing bargaining unit employees and what are its obligations when doing so?)
Guiding principle: Provide simplified criteria of union rights and obligations that ensure the union may represent the interests of the bargaining unit balanced with effective and efficient accomplishment of mission requirements. |
UNION PARNTERSHIP IN MEETINGS WITH EMPLOYEES
Formal Discussions (Addresses exclusive representative's independent right to be present at certain discussions held with bargaining unit employees)
- Retain the "formal discussion" concept with modifications:
- Management will invite the union to meetings where it is known in advance that there will be a discussion of changes in general conditions of employment having a significant impact on the bargaining unit.
- Any matters concerning any employee complaint(s) will not be considered a formal discussion. There is no automatic right for union attendance at such meetings. However, employees may invite union attendance.
- Witness preparation or interviews will not be considered a formal discussion in any formal complaint process.
- No portion of the EEO process will be considered a formal discussion in any administrative or statutory process.
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| Union Rights and Obligations - Cont'd |
Investigations (a.k.a Weingarten rights) (Addresses exclusive representative's right to be present at certain investigatory meetings held with unit bargaining employees)
- Employees have a right to union representation during management investigations (and the employee reasonably believes will result in discipline and requests representation); however, management may limit delays to investigations awaiting union representation. This determination is based on geographic location of closest steward, security, health, safety, and integrity of the interview process.
- Unions do not have a right to be present during investigations by CID, AFOSI, DCIA, NCIS, DCIS, IG, and similar investigative organizations.
- Conflict of interest will be considered a reason for disapproval of a particular union representative's involvement.
UNION ACCESS TO INFORMATION MAINTAINED BY THE AGENCY
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) procedures will be used as the method for union requests for information.
UNION DUTY TO REPRESENT BARGAINING UNIT EMPLOYEES
The union has the right to not represent a bargaining unit member if a fee is required and not received. If a fee is received, the union must fairly and competently represnet the member.
Failure by the union to adequately adhere to this not provision will not result in the reversal of any management action.
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| 10. Official Time
(What duty status it the union representative in while representing an employee or the bargaining unit during duty hours?)
Guiding principle: Simplify the criteria for when official time may be granted minimizing disputes between labor and management on official time use. |
- Official time is available only for designated uses as specified below with advance approval by the appropriate supervisor.
- Designated uses for official time:
- Consultation (negotiations)
- Preparation time for consultation (negotiations)
- Presentation of labor disputes
- Management initiated meetings
- For other situations as requested by the union and approved by management at its sole and exclusive discretion
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