Supervising unionized federal employees differs significantly from supervising private sector employees with union protections. The rights, responsibilities, and authorities of federal management and unions under federal labor law are significantly different from those granted private sector counterparts governed by the National Labor Relations Act. These differences affect not just the legalities, but the dynamics of supervision in a unionized federal work environment.

This new guide replaces and expands upon Michael Corum's popular guide, Labor Relations for Supervisors and Managers, by providing an understanding of not just the legal requirements, but the practicalities of dealing with employees and their representatives—the federal unions. This book gives supervisors not only the knowledge necessary to help them stay out of trouble, but also prescriptive practical guidance in dealing with the day to day situations created by unionized environment. The book starts with basic principles of federal labor relations, then turns to the legal rights of all parties, and then addresses the four major day to day situations: dealing with union officials, administering the agreement, changes in working conditions, and representational situations. This book contains the following topics.

1. The Key Differences Between Supervising With and Without a Union

• Basic differences between federal and private sector labor relations
• Unilateral versus negotiable decisions
• Direct versus trilateral dealings
• Limited recourse to full recourse
• Secrecy versus transparency

2. The Five Essential Principles of Federal Labor Relations

• Exclusivity
• Non-interference
• Working conditions
• Good faith bargaining
• Protected activity

3. Formation and Coverage of Federal Unions

• How the union is created
• Neutrality
• What is a bargaining-unit employee

4. Management Rights

• Matters excluded from federal labor management relations
• How and where management uses its rights
• The eleven basic management rights
• Unfair labor practices

5. Union and Employee Rights

• Individual employee rights
• The five basic union rights
• Unfair labor practices by unions

6. Dealing with Union Officials

• The legal status of the union official
• Official time
• Communications, speech, and union literature
• Protected management speech
• Dispute resolution
• Avoiding reprisal complaints

7. Administering the Agreement

• Content of the agreement
• Interpreting contract language

8. Change Situations in Working Conditions

• Notification requirement
• Elements of past practice
• What are not change situations

9. Representational Situations

• Formal discussions
• Investigative interviews (Weingarten situations)
• Common applications of formal discussions and Weingarten interviews

10. Applying Labor Relations Requirements to the Most Common Management Decisions

• Hiring, discipline, office moves, reassignments, performance management, new equipment and tools, and more

Related Items

+ (*2021) Principles of Federal Sector Arbitration Law

This edition is no longer for sale.
The latest edition is available for purchase here.

---

(2021) Labor Arbitration Practice for the Federal Sector

Labor Arbitration Practice for the Federal Sector is a comprehensive examination of the arbitration process and advocacy. With discussion of strategies and practice tips, this how-to guide assists union and management advocates. Major topics include advocate selection, case investigation and evaluation, arbitrator selection, case preparation, prehearing practice, witness selection and preparation, hearing specifics: opening statements, creating a record, witness testimony, direction examination, cross-examination, exhibits, and closing arguments, and post-award practice. (more details)

---

(2009) Collective Bargaining Law for the Federal Sector

Collective Bargaining allows negotiators and representatives to easily access rules of law and commentary on seminal collective bargaining decisions. Major topics include the change proposal, demand to bargain, obligation to bargain, information to bargain, ground rules, good faith bargaining, negotiability disputes, impasse assistance, finalizing the bargaining agreement, post-agreement obligations and challenges, and remedies. (more details)

---

(2014) Broida on Federal Sector Mediation

Peter Broida presents this video training course on federal sector mediation. Each purchase includes Mr. Broida’s lecture (.mp4 video file sent on a CD-ROM), a workbook with course notes—outline and listing of related products, and a copy of The Advocate’s Practical Guide to Using Mediation by John Settle, a prominent mediator. Major mediation topics include: issues amenable and not amenable to mediation; reasons to mediate; preconditions to settlement; traits of a good mediator; sources of mediators and mediation programs; mediator selection; mediation structure; preparation for mediation; the mediation process step-by-step; development and review of settlement agreements; and keys to effective mediation. (more details)

---