NTEU, FDIC Narrowing Down Outstanding Issues

After two, week-long sessions with a mediator, NTEU and the FDIC have resolved several outstanding issues, bringing the number of outstanding articles to six. More than 50 articles were opened when term bargaining began two years ago.

These latest mediation sessions came after NTEU and the agency met with the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP) in January to request that it assert jurisdiction over a term bargaining impasse. The FSIP directed NTEU and the FDIC to resolve the impasse with a private mediator-arbitrator. If an agreement is not reached during the current mediation phase, the dispute will be converted to an arbitration and NTEU and the FDIC will submit last best offers and evidence to support why their respective proposals should be adopted. The arbitrator's decision would be binding.

Among the unresolved issues are merit promotions, details, reassignments and the grievance procedure. In the area of details, the FDIC wants to narrow the criteria for using the current detail solicitation procedure so that it would only be required to solicit for volunteers for details that arise outside the territory where an employee works. NTEU is working to retain the current language, which requires the FDIC to solicit volunteers for all details that arise "away from their official station."

Next Steps
NTEU is currently preparing for the arbitration phase of the proceedings, which will take place Oct. 4-6. Along with preparing for the arbitration, NTEU is continuing to exchange proposals on the outstanding issues in an effort to resolve them before the Oct. 4 deadline.