Merit Promotions (RESUMIX)

Summary of the situation

Since becoming a separate agency under DoD, DCMA has steadily moved away from full compliance with Article 13 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement it has with AFGE.  DCMA has gone through the motions of notifying the union for bargaining purposes, but AFGE was under no obligation to negotiate an issue that was already in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.  DCMA proceeded with a proposed "test" of RESUMIX and then when the test expired, it was extended.  Once DCAM wrote a new Onebook chapter on Merit Promotions, with a multitude of additional changes, DCMA Headquarters again notified the union as if the union were under an obligation to negotiate changes to their Collective Bargaining Agreement.  DCMA unilaterally implemented all of their proposed Merit Promotion changes.  AFGE Council 170 filed a Union Grievance to protest DCMA's unilateral and contraction violating actions.  The day before arbitration was scheduled to take place, DCMA Headquarters and AFGE Council 170 entered into a Grievance Settlement Agreement.  More than four months later, DCMA Headquarters has yet to keep their word and implement any of the agreed to settlement terms.  DCMA employees continue to be adversely impacted with respect to Merit Promotions and other position changes.

The Details

The Defense Contract Management Command (DCMC) was formerly under the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) until March 2000 when it was split off and became the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), an independent agency under the Department of Defense.  AFGE represented a nation wide consolidated bargaining unit at that time and this recognition and the union's existing Collective Bargaining Agreements continued under DCMA pending the Federal Labor Relations Authority certification of a new bargaining unit specific to DCMA.

Almost immediately, DCMA began to make changes.  One of the most significant changes involved Merit Promotion procedures.  DCMA notified AFGE that they were going to implement RESUMIX as a "test" program to see how it operated.  AFGE objected to this and reminded DCMA of the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement.  DCMA ignored AFGE and their Collective Bargaining Agreements related to Merit Promotion Procedures and DCMA pressed on anyway.  AFGE attempted to negotiate, filed a Unfair Labor Practice charge, but nothing stopped DCMA from implementing their changes.  After the time for the RESUMIX test had expired, DCMA notified AFGE that they were going to extend the test another six months, all the while implementing more changes.  After the second extension of the test expired, DCMA just kept on using RESUMIX and ignoring its obligations under the Collective Bargaining Agreement. As a direct result of these unilateral agency changes, many employees have suffered missed promotion opportunities. Once DCMA had competed writing a new Merit Promotion Chapter for the DCMA Onebook, DCMA notified AFGE that they were going to permanently implement RESUMIX along with all the other changes to the Onebook concerning Merit Promotions.  DCMA not only failed to maintain the status quo required by the pending FLRA representational certification, DCMA actually engaged in making unilateral ongoing changes, deviations and violations to the negotiated Merit Promotion Procedures.  AFGE Council 170 then filed a Union Grievance with DCMA Headquarters addressing the ongoing agency collective bargaining agreement violations.  Violations of the parties Master Agreement, Article 13, Merit Promotion Procedures and violation of the FLRA's status quo directive.

DCMA Headquarters refused to remedy the union's grievance and AFGE Council 170 invoked arbitration.  At the 11th hour with arbitration scheduled to start the next morning, DCMA Headquarters and AFGE Council 170 entered into a Grievance Settlement Agreement.  In this agreement DCMA Headquarters agreed to implement changes to the Merit Promotion Program that would bring the agency into compliance with the Master Agreement. In exchange, AFGE Council 170 agreed to drop its grievance and request for arbitration.  AFGE complied with their part of the Settlement Agreement that very night when the union's representative called the arbitrator in his hotel room to cancel the arbitration hearing the next day. 

It has now been five (5) months since this settlement agreement was signed and guess what?  DCMA Headquarters has yet to implement any of its agreed to settlement terms.  This is the second Union Grievance (see Incentive Awards) that DCMA Headquarters has negotiated and signed a Grievance Settlement Agreement on and this is yet another instance where DCMA Headquarters has failed to keep their word.  AFGE Council 170 has now had to file another Union Grievance and invoke arbitration on Merit Promotions again because DCMA Headquarters simply won't keep their word.

Return to The Employer of Choice???  page

Return to AFGE Local 2128 Home Page.