Federal Workers Alliance file lawsuit against three workforce executive orders

Federal Workers Alliance file lawsuit against three workforce executive orders

By Lynda Carson - June 16, 2018

On June 13, 2018, a large coalition of 13 unions collectively known as the Federal Workers Alliance (FWA), representing 300,000 federal workers, sued the Trump administration for violating the rights of government workers to be represented by unions in their workplaces.

As stated in the release: “This is a democracy and not a monarchy with a king who can unilaterally eliminate the rights of Congress and federal workers,” said Paul Shearon, who serves as secretary treasurer of the international Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.

Donald Trump, a small guy who would like to be king, signed three executive orders on May 25, 2018, that has galvanized widespread resistance among 300,000 federal workers employed throughout the federal government.

“Donald Trump did not have the authority to issue these executive orders because the power to do so was not granted to him by either Congress or by the Constitution,” said Sarah Suszczyk, National Association of Government Employees and FWA Co-chair.

The unions’ lawsuit specifically addresses:

-Several sections of Executive Order13836 (concerning time spent representing workers by union officials) usurp Congress’s legislative authority. The same executive order prohibits representatives from using official time to “prepare or pursue grievances (including arbitration of grievances) brought against an agency,” but allows it for employees working on their own behalf. Treating a union and its representatives differently from individual employees encroaches on a union’s right to take collective action.

-Executive Order 13837 (concerning due process rights) violates rules related to collective bargaining delegated to the Federal Labor Relations Authority, not the President.

-Executive Order 13839 (concerning merit principles) is an attempt to exclude matters from the negotiated grievance procedure, such as removals based on misconduct and incentive awards. Trump exceeded his authority by interfering with rights granted by Congress to unions and federal agencies to decide which matters are and are not subject to the negotiated grievance procedure, not the President.

“President Trump has made it clear that he believes he is above the law,” said Randy Erwin, National Federation of Federal Employees’ national president and FWA Co-chair. “Trump seeks nothing more than the full authority to fire anyone who disagrees with him or challenges his ideology. By limiting the rightful authority of unions to lawfully represent their members, he gets closer to instilling a culture of fear and intimidation in the Executive Branch.”

Concerned that longtime protections including representation, due process, and the right to communicate with Congress are eroded for federal employees, whistleblowers and other workers, the coalition believes that the federal workers will fall prey to political corruption and extortion.

In the fight against the Trump regime, the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union, also have filed lawsuits citing violations of the First Amendment and other grounds.

On another front in the battle against Trump, Donald Trump and the Trump Foundation also have <a href="https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=ANW000fmAF2lwr0BjD0tBA==">been sued in recent days by the Attorney General of the State of New York, for the alleged misuse of charitable assets for the benefit of Donald J. Trump and his personal, political and/or business interests.

The 13 unions that are party to the Federal Workers Alliance lawsuit include:

Federal Education Association/National Education Association (FEA/NEA)
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW)
International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, AFL-CIO (IFPTE)
Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association, AFL-CIO (MEBA)
Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO (MTD)
National Association of Government Employees, SEIU (NAGE)
National Federation of Federal Employees, IAMAW, AFL-CIO (NFFE)
National Labor Relations Board Professional Association (NLRBPA)
National Labor Relations Board Union (NLRBU)
National Weather Service Employees Organization (NWSEO)
Patent Office Professional Association (POPA)
Seafarers International Union/NMU, AFL-CIO (SIU)

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com

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