The Federal Labor Relations Board has reversed an arbitrator’s decision to deny attorney fees to the American Federation of Government Employees in a wage classification dispute in the VA medical center in Richmond, Va., prompting a colorful response from the board’s only Republican member.
The grievance in question has to do with the wage classification of laundry workers. The union wants them classified as WG-5, not WG-2, because they reportedly drive vehicles as part of their duties. The union successfully got the VA to conduct a desk audit to update their classification, but the union was not consulted for input, and the VA kept the workers classified as WG-2. An arbitrator has now ordered the VA to do another desk audit, this time with union input, but the arbitrator did not award the union attorney’s fees. So the FLRA had to weigh in and said the fees could be awarded, setting up another tussle over the amount.
The grievance represents a lot of time and expense on something that’s not directly related to the agency’s mission – or so claims FLRA member Patrick Pizzela. It’s also related to the kind of union work coming under intense scrutiny as part of the widening investigation into treatment wait times at the VA (although most of that scrutiny is focused on conducting union business on official time).
Pizzela, in concurring that attorney’s fees could be awarded, said he was “stunned by the futility of the union’s quest in this case” because OPM has long established laundry workers at the WG-2 level (the union argues their duties exceed the classification).
Pizzela also acknowledges that the union should have been consulted. “The union technically is correct, but it is unfortunate that the American taxpayer gets stuck with the entire bill for this grievance – union official time, agency attorney and labor-relations specialist time, witness time, and, of course, the arbitrator’s bill for his services. And, in addition, the union and the agency’s representatives will use more official time, and on remand pay the arbitrator even more fees, as they argue with each other over the appropriate amount of union attorney fees (which will also be paid by the taxpayer).”