XPost: alt.government.employees, alt.society.labor-unions

The Trump administration is telling agencies to ignore any
provisions in their collective bargaining agreements with
federal unions that would impede reductions in force (RIFs), as
agencies take steps toward implementing their initial RIF plans.

In a March 12 memo to agencies, the Office of Personnel
Management argued that collective bargaining with federal unions
on RIFs should be limited only to aspects that do not “run
afoul” of the government’s RIF regulations.

“Federal sector collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) often
contain comprehensive RIF articles that may obviate an agency’s
obligation to further collective bargaining,” OPM Acting
Director Charles Ezell wrote in the guidance last week. “Any CBA
provisions that are inconsistent with OPM regulations or that
excessively interfere with management’s rights to ‘determine the
organization’ and the ‘number of employees’ of the agency, as
well as ‘layoff, and retain employees in the agency’ are
unenforceable.”

OPM’s guidance last week came just ahead of agencies’ deadline
for submitting their initial RIF plans to the Office of
Management and Budget. Agencies’ RIFs are expected to take place
in phases over the coming weeks and months, with a final
deadline of Sept. 30.

Many agencies are already taking steps toward reducing their
headcount. The IRS, for example, has cut approximately 11,000 to
12,000 employees from its workforce, between OPM’s “deferred
resignation” offer and the firing of probationary employees.
Like many agencies, though, the IRS is now required to reinstate
the fired workers following a federal judge’s recent ruling.

But many IRS employees doubt they’ll actually be able to get
their jobs back. After the tax filing season deadline, the IRS
is looking to make further staffing cuts through a RIF beginning
in May.

Ahead of the IRS’ anticipated RIF, the National Treasury
Employees Union is preemptively urging the agency to abide by
its collective bargaining obligations. NTEU pointed to its
collective bargaining agreement, which states that IRS must
notify the union ahead of the coming RIF and give NTEU the
opportunity to negotiate on the RIF procedures.

“Any action by the IRS seeking to comply with the OMB and OPM
guidance … including failing to provide notice to NTEU or
affording it the opportunity to negotiate over any RIF; failing
to offer the mitigation strategies to impacted employees; and
conducting any RIF by Sept. 30 of this year or sooner, would
violate article 19 of the parties’ 2022 national agreement,”
NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald wrote in a March 14
letter to IRS leadership.

The IRS did not immediately respond to Federal News Network’s
request for comment.

Greenwald additionally reminded IRS leaders that the agency
previously agreed to do all it can to mitigate the impacts of a
RIF on employees — for instance, with Voluntary Early Retirement
Authority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay (VSIP)
authorities, as well as relocation opportunities for employees.

“The ‘purpose’ of these provisions was to lessen to the greatest
extent the harm to employees that would otherwise be caused by
the loss of their jobs,” Greenwald wrote.

And any failure by the IRS to comply with its collective
bargaining obligations would constitute an unfair labor practice
charge, Greenwald warned.

At the same time, OPM’s guidance acknowledged there are some
exceptions where agencies “may” have to abide by CBAs in RIF
procedures. That can include, for instance, giving federal
unions advance notice before a RIF begins, giving hiring
preference to qualified employees, and providing training to
employees who end up in a new position, OPM wrote.

But, OPM added, agencies should only provide further information
to federal unions on the RIF if the union “articulates a
particularized need for the requested information.”

“Satisfying this burden requires more than conclusory or bare
assertions. It is not satisfied merely by showing that the
requested information would be relevant or useful,” OPM’s Ezell
wrote. “Rather, the union must articulate its need for all
information requested.”

Last week’s guidance on federal unions’ roles during RIFs aligns
with another recent OPM memo, which told agencies to ignore
provisions of union contracts that would interfere with return-
to-office changes. Those return-to-office requirements have now
taken effect at many agencies.

OPM digging into official time, collective bargaining costs
The Trump administration’s OPM is also taking a deeper look at
federal employees’ use of official time. A memo on Monday
directed agencies to provide addition information on the costs
associated with collective bargaining.

OPM’s memo on Monday created a second deadline for agencies to
submit information on collective bargaining. By April 18,
agencies are now required to report data on various expenses
related to collective bargaining, such as arbitral fees, travel
expenses, the costs of settling disputes, as well as “the fair
market value of agency office space provided to labor unions.”

“Existing evidence suggests these costs may be substantial,”
Ezell wrote in the memo.

Monday’s guidance adds onto OPM’s previous requirements for
agencies to report information on federal employees’ use of
“official time.” A Feb. 27 OPM memo had asked agencies for the
names and job titles of all employees who are spending any of
their work hours on official time. The February memo also told
agencies to report how many bargaining unit employees they
currently have, as well as any expenses or reimbursements made
by agencies for employees who use official time. Agencies were
given until March 14 to respond to OPM’s request for data.

Federal unions such as the American Federation of Government
Employees (AFGE) have criticized the Trump administration’s
targets on official time and other standard collective
bargaining procedures. AFGE has pushed back against what it said
was an attempt to stigmatize official time, “something that is
completely lawful and routine.”

Federal employees typically use official time to negotiate union
contracts, meet with management, file complaints or grievances
against an agency, or represent employees who are dealing with
disciplinary actions or other management disputes. Federal
employees are statutorily prohibited from using official time to
recruit new union members, strike or conduct political
activities.

The amount of official time employees use is negotiated between
agencies and union representatives, with approval from agency
management. Federal employees who have been elected as federal
unions’ representatives are paid their normal salary and given
their normal benefits while working on official time.

When asked whether she was concerned about OPM’s request for the
names and titles of all employees that use official time, NTEU’s
Greenwald said she would “always worry” about union officials
being targeted.

“Official time was granted as part of the law. Federal employees
do not have to belong to a union. But we do have to represent
all federal employees, whether they’re members or not. That was
the give and take with official time — to make sure that we had
the resources to do that,” Greenwald told reporters during a
press conference earlier this month. “In order for the statute
to work, we would want to make sure that there’s never an attack
on people who are stepping up to do that kind of work on behalf
of federal employees, and on behalf of our union.”

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/unions/2025/03/opm-looks-to-limit- federal-unions-role-in-coming-rifs/

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