The Department of Veterans Affairs told its employees this week that it had let its collective bargaining agreements with the American Federation of Government Employees expire, weeks after a federal appeals court ruling suspended an order requiring management to honor the agreement amid negotiations for a successor deal.
As part of its effort to implement President Trump’s executive order banning collective bargaining for most federal workers on national security grounds, the VA had been seeking to terminate its union contracts for months, including in two cases where cancellation was blocked in court.
In July, the VA announced it would let the contract expire on its scheduled August 8 expiration date. AFGE officials argued that when the VA asked last spring to begin negotiations on a successor agreement, it triggered a clause in the CBA that extends its provisions indefinitely until those negotiations are completed.
But VA management said the union failed to come to the bargaining table within 30 days, voiding that provision. Union officials, conversely, say the ground rules negotiations they engaged in throughout this 30-day window meet the clause’s requirements. U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose agreed and again stayed the contract termination, but a three-judge panel found the ruling improperly changed the scope of her initial injunction, allowing the department to proceed.
In a message to employees Tuesday, obtained by Government ExecutiveVA leadership presented the elimination of AFGE as an opportunity to improve communication within the department.
“Employees and managers can more freely engage in open communications to improve the organization,” the message said. “You may also see changes to certain processes and procedures that were previously contained in the now-expired AFGE collective bargaining agreement. Managers have been directed to follow VA policy exclusively for all matters, including but not limited to promotions, alternative work schedules, details, work hours, teleworking, and use of leave… You are encouraged to discuss all workplace-related matters directly with your supervisor.”
And under guidance from the department’s Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, the department said it would maintain parts of the expired collective bargaining agreement, but only for its police officers, firefighters and security guards, jobs exempt from Trump’s executive order. Specifically, management said it would preserve only contract articles relating to terms of employment and ignore provisions governing non-mandatory negotiation topics.
Most VA workers will also lose their Weingarten right to have a union representative present during disciplinary proceedings or other formal discussions, which the service’s first responders will retain.
Likewise, the Department will continue to provide union offices at facilities with exempt employees, primarily VA medical facilities. But employees barred from collective bargaining can only enter union offices outside of their work hours.
Management also stated that while it was terminating its participation in any grievance proceedings or cases before the Federal Labor Relations Authority involving “non-exempt employees,” it would continue to participate in cases involving exempt workers and would seek to exclude non-first responders from all cases involving a mixture of employees.
“If the underlying grievance covers or appears to cover both exempt and non-exempt employees, VA should continue to participate in the grievance and arbitration process only to the extent that it covers exempt employees, but continue to raise EO 14251, CBA expiration, and all related arguments/positions)…at each stage of the grievance and arbitration process,” VA wrote. “Furthermore, if the case involves both exempt and non-exempt employees, VA should request that the case be left in abeyance until litigation related to EO 14251 and VA’s implementation thereof is resolved.”
In a blog post this week, AFGE said it will continue to fight for contract reinstatement for all VA bargaining unit employees and is reviewing potential next steps.
“Notably, the First Circuit (Court of Appeals) did not sanction the VA’s interpretation of the term of agreement section, nor did it give the VA permission to terminate the CBA,” the union wrote. “(Our) fight is far from over. We will take every step possible to defend our contract and the rule of law. The court has not ruled on the underlying question in this case, whether VA Secretary Doug Collins has the right to deprive more than 300,000 VA employees of their voice on the job.”
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