Table of Contents
In 1973, the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) was certified
as the
exclusive employee representative for the Foreign Service bargaining
units at
the Department of State, the Agency for International Development, and
the
United States Information Agency. In 1994, AFSA was certified as the
exclusive
representative for the Foreign Service bargaining units in the Foreign
Agricultural Service (FAS) and the Foreign Commercial Service (FAS).
As the exclusive representative for the Foreign Service employees in the
five
foreign affairs agencies, AFSA has certain rights and responsibilities
under
the Foreign Service Act and the individual "framework" or collective
bargaining
agreements AFSA has negotiated with the various agencies. AFSA's rights
and
responsibilities can be broken down into two broad categories:
negotiating/consulting with the agencies regarding changes in "conditions
of
employment" and representing individual employees in grievances and
certain
meetings with management.
AFSA has the legal right to negotiate with management regarding changes
in
"conditions of employment" of bargaining unit employees. As the exclusive
employee representative, AFSA is the only entity that possesses this
right. In
fact, it is a violation of law for management to bypass the union by
dealing
directly with employees or other groups to discuss changes in conditions
of
employment.
It is also a violation of law for management to implement a change in a
negotiable condition of employment prior to reaching an agreement with
AFSA. If
this occurs, AFSA can file an "unfair labor practice" with the Foreign
Service
Labor Relations Board (FSLRB) or an "institutional grievance" with the
Foreign
Service Grievance Board and the agency may be ordered to reverse its
action
until agreement is reached with AFSA. In addition, if AFSA and management
cannot reach an agreement on a negotiable issue, the Foreign Service
Impasses
Disputes Panel may order the terms of settlement between the parties.
While unions in the private sector enjoy an almost unlimited scope of
bargaining, numerous statutory exceptions limit the scope of
federal-sector
bargaining. Thus, while an issue may be negotiable in the private sector,
it is
not necessarily negotiable in the federal sector.
The Foreign Service Act of 1980 defines the term "conditions of
employment" as
"personnel policies, practices and matters, whether established by
regulation
or otherwise affecting working conditions" but the definition
specifically
exempts matters relating to political activities, classification of
positions,
matters specifically provided for by federal statute, or matters relating
to
government-wide or multi-agency responsibility of the Secretary of State
affecting the rights of individuals employed in agencies which do not
utilize
the Foreign Service personnel system. It is under this last exception
that AFSA
was precluded from negotiating the reduction in the hardship differential
in
1994, since the differential is part of the Standardized Regulations,
which
apply to individuals who are not under the Foreign Service personnel
system, as
well as those who are.
Certain subjects are "mandatory" subjects of bargaining which the
respective
agency must negotiate with AFSA. Other issues are "permissive" subjects
of
bargaining, which the agency may choose to negotiate. A third category is
known
as a "reserved management right," which the agency is not legally allowed
to
negotiate with AFSA.
Examples of changes in conditions of employment that are mandatory
subjects of
bargaining include:
- criteria for performance standards
- evaluation and promotion procedures
- grievance procedures
- procedures governing disciplinary action
- policies related to the work environment (smoking policy, lead-levels)
Under the Foreign Service Act, agencies may choose to negotiate with AFSA on: the numbers, types, and classes of employees or positions assigned to any organizational subdivision, work project, tour of duty, or the technology, methods and means of performing work. Many of the foreign affairs agencies have agreed to negotiate permissive subjects, if requested by AFSA.
There are certain issues AFSA may not negotiate. These are called
"management
rights" and include the agency's right: to determine the mission,
budget,
organization, internal security practice and the number of employees; to
hire,
assign, direct, lay off and retain individuals; to suspend, remove or
take
other disciplinary action against employees; to determine the number of
promotions within agencies; and to fill positions from any appropriate
source.
If the parties do not agree as to the obligation to negotiate, the
parties may
call upon the services of the FSLRB. The agency is precluded from
implementing
its proposed action until the FSLRB resolves the negotiability issue,
unless
implementation is necessary to carry out the agency's mission during
emergencies or if extraordinary circumstances exist.
Even though AFSA may not negotiate on issues falling into the
"management
rights" category or those matters excepted from the definition of
"conditions
of employment" (i.e., government-wide regulations), AFSA does have the
right to
consult with management prior to its implementation of any changes to
such
matters. This means that management must inform AFSA of any proposed
changes
and AFSA must be permitted a reasonable period of time to present its
views and
recommendations regarding such changes. In addition, management must
consider
such views and recommendations before taking final action and must
provide AFSA
a written statement of the reasons for taking the final action.
Management's
failure to comply with these requirements is an unfair labor practice.
Two
areas where AFSA has consultation rights are medical regulations and
Reduction-in-Force (RIF) rules.
In addition to the right to consult with management prior to its
implementation of any changes falling into the "reserved management
rights"
category, AFSA does have the right to negotiate on the procedures that
the
agency may use to implement the changes it wishes to make in a management
rights area and an appropriate arrangement for employees adversely
affected by
management's exercise of its rights. For example, while it is the
agency's
right to determine how many employees to promote, AFSA has the right to
negotiate the procedures for promotion. Although AFSA does not have the
right
to negotiate the criteria for separating employees in a RIF (because
Congress
has legislated this as a reserved management right), AFSA can negotiate
matters
such as the amount of notice employees will receive prior to being
separated
and the participation of riffed employees in career transition seminars,
since
these constitute appropriate arrangements for employees who will be
adversely
affected by a RIF.
As the exclusive employee representative, AFSA may request information
from
agencies which is necessary for full and proper understanding of subjects
within the scope of collective bargaining. This is a valuable right
because it
should enable AFSA to obtain information quickly, without having to go
through
the lengthy Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process.
AFSA represents the interests of all bargaining unit members (those who are dues paying members as well as those who are not) when it negotiates and consults with management regarding conditions of employment. AFSA also represents the interest of all bargaining unit members when it testifies on Capitol Hill. While AFSA provides general guidance to non-members in grievances, EEO and disciplinary cases and Inspector General and security investigations, individual representation by AFSA in these matters is available only to dues paying members.
AFSA's five bargaining units (State, USAID, FCS, FAS and IBB) are
unique from
those of other federal labor unions because they are comprised of many
different categories of employees ranging from junior officers to members
of
the Senior Foreign Service, as well as Foreign Service Specialists, in
worldwide bargaining units. AFSA seeks to ensure fair representation by
having
diverse membership on its various standing committees, seeking input from
the
different constituencies and specialist groups and polling its members.
While only AFSA Washington is authorized to negotiate changes in
conditions of
employment with management, certified AFSA post representatives do have
the
authority to meet with post management to discuss employees' views
pertaining
to working conditions at post.
Post management is required to meet with AFSA post representatives to
discuss
agency regulations and agency-wide labor management agreements so that
the
agency can demonstrate compliance with the regulations or agreements.
Post
management has the discretion to meet with AFSA post representatives to
discuss
matters on which the regulations are silent and matters specifically left
to
the Chief of Mission or Principal Officer. Examples of topics that are
frequently discussed at post are:
- post-funded training
- permissible employee activities
- parking regulations
- duty rosters and work schedules
- housing and furnishings
- handling and clearance procedures for household effects
- procedures for obtaining local medical care
- housing board membership
- use of post facilities
AFSA is the exclusive employee representative for approximately 12,500
Foreign
Service employees at State, USAID, FCS, FAS, and IBB. With a limited
labor
management staff, we need your assistance in offering the best
representation
possible.
To help us better assist you with your grievance or other concern, we ask
that
you attempt to resolve your problem, if possible, informally before
coming to
AFSA. For example, if you believe MED should be paying for a particular
medical
procedure, contact MED to ascertain its side of the story before calling
AFSA.
It is also helpful if you research the applicable FAM regulations so you
can
provide as much information to AFSA as possible.
You can also assist AFSA by joining the AFSA standing committee for your
particular agency or participating in an AFSA working group. The standing
committees meet frequently in Washington to discuss working conditions,
personnel issues, negotiating proposals and numerous other topics. The
working
groups focus on discrete issues for shorter periods of time. We also urge
you
to participate in the "polls" AFSA periodically conducts to ascertain the
views
of its members on specific issues. If you are posted overseas, we urge
you to
become an AFSA post representative. Finally, we urge that you join AFSA.
While
we have a responsibility to represent all bargaining unit members,
whether or
not they are members of AFSA, your dues enable AFSA to provide these
important
labor-management benefits.
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