It has been said that change is the only constant.  This seems to be more true today than ever before.  We are bombarded with change (New and Improved!) in the marketplace, in our personal lives, and at work.  I will use this to talk about how we as a Union respond to change and what your job as a steward is in helping us manage change.

The Department of Labor and its agencies can propose changes in working conditions that are mandated by changes to laws, Executive Orders government-wide regulations (CFR), court cases, etc.  These procedures are discussed in Article 2, Section 4 of our Contract.

The more numerous changes are those that the Department and its agencies choose to make in their discretion as the employer.  These are discussed in Article 2, Section 5 of our Contract.

Regardless of the type of change, the NCFLL has legal rights and obligations.  Your job as our "eyes and ears" is to help your Local and NCFLL leadership understand what the changes are, how they impact upon our BUEs and the Union as an institution, and what our response should be.

Volumes have been written on changes which have "de minimis" impact on the BUEs or NCFLL.  This means that we may not be able to negotiate the changes.  However, even when a change is "de minimis", the Department must notify the NCFLL of the change.

It is dangerous for us to ever assume.  You have probably heard the old joke about the spelling of assume is "ass u me", which means by assuming you make an ass out of you and me.

The reason I say this is because it is dangerous and improper for our BUEs or stewards to assume that management has notified the NCFLL at the regional or national level (wherever the change originates) of the changes and that the NCFLL is taking action.  Do not be fooled; management fails to notify the NCFLL around half the time changes are made.

When local or regional management tells you about a change, please do the following:

1. Ask that manager if they have notified the NCFLL.

2. Immediately report via e-mail to your agency Vice President and the three NCFLL contacts in our region: Robert Williams (williams.robert@dol.gov), Cosme Gutierrez (gutierrez.cosme@dol.gov), and me (darby.jeffrey.p@dol.gov) what information you have.  Robert, Cosme, or I will tell you if we have been informed and what our action is.

3. If Robert, Cosme, or I need more information from you as to the change, its potential or known impact, how many people it affects, etc., we will ask you.

4. Be prepared to work with us in formulating negotiation topics and serving on the negotiating team.  This topic is covered in Article 4 of the Contract.

5. If Robert, Cosme, or I do not get back with you within one week of you contacting us, keep contacting us until one of us gets to you and takes action.  The three of us are quite busy, but never too busy as to be derelict in our duties.

I shudder to think of how many significant changes have been implemented at severe cost to our BUEs and Union because one or more stewards in an agency assumed the NCFLL knew about the change.?

Just a quick word about itineraries in the Wage and Hour Division.  I have questioned their usage since they were implemented five years ago.  I have filed two ULP charges against WH through the FLRA in Dallas.  Both times, FLRA has dismissed our charges because no WH BUE has been harmed (either through the performance appraisal or a disciplinary/adverse action) and thus FLRA considered the usage of itineraries to be "de minimis".  If any BUE gets a lower performance appraisal or receives an oral admonishment confirmed in writing or a written reprimand because management does not think the BUE did a proper itinerary, I need to know about this immediately so that I can file yet another ULP charge.  Any harm done to a BUE will automatically make the itineraries no longer "de minimis".

Thank you for your work.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Have a good weekend.  I am out of here in 45 minutes.

Jeff Darby