IFPTE Local 777

We are going to share here the updates relevant to our members as we learn them. [Note from 29-Jan-2025: I am working to catch up on posting contents of emails I’m sending to members and bargaining unit employees here. Please check back for more info.]

OPM’s “Fork in the Road” Deferred Resignation Program

• On January 29, 2025, IFPTE Local 777 filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the FLRA against OPM regarding this email; as it is clearly “direct dealing” with bargaining unit employees. 
  Federal sector labor law is clear that when a group of employees has a certified “exclusive representative” that the government cannot directly bargain with any of those employees in the unit. They must go through the union. In this case, OPM offered bargaining unit employees something in exchange for an agreement; with a short deadline to respond. It is a blatant attempt to pressure workers using used-car-sales tactics that wouldn’t work if collective bargaining had been respected.
• This scheme is unlike any legal “buyout” such as the VERA or VSIP programs that are well-established in law and policy. Instead, it appears this is a work-around to avoid all of the process required by those regulations to try to pressure employees to make a quick decision with limited information.