We Believe in the Power of Solidarity

August 2025

• The Metropolitan Washington Council is hosting a Labor Day Solidarity rally and march next Thursday, August 28th, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM. AFSCME District Council 20 would like members to participate and wear green or AFSCME gear. Please register and contact Chastity McIntosh-Wright at Council 20 via email for AFSCME gear. Supplies are limited.

• Based on additional information the Union recently received, OJP will eliminate all telework by October. Again, OJP intended to eliminate telework by the end of June, due to the possible relocation of COPS, OVW, and now the Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ) to OJP. Senior leadership claims that OJP received a waiver to telework. When the waiver expires, the Agency would have to justify it. Based on OPM guidance, DOJ Policy, and OJP's longstanding policy, telework should remain in place. Again, eliminating telework will minimally violate Article 31 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

• Official Statement Regarding the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Decision: AFSCME Local 2830 expresses profound disappointment in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals' decision to continue the administrative stay regarding the Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs Executive Order. While the stay precludes OJP management from engaging in direct collective bargaining, the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) remains in effect, allowing us to represent OJP Bargaining Unit Employees (BUEs) and file informal and formal actions per the negotiated procedures, as we have done for nearly five decades. 

• Alert: As previously noted, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has granted another administrative stay, prohibiting unions from engaging in collective bargaining for two-thirds of federal Bargaining Unit Employees (BUEs), including agency subcomponents such as OJP. AFSCME Local 2830 will provide updates from AFSCME International as soon as they become available.

July 2025

• Alert: Look out for notices about the new AFSCME Local 2830 Member Action Team (MAT). The MAT's purpose is to provide an ongoing opportunity for dues-paying members to discuss their office's labor-management issues with the Union so that we can address them informally and formally, as per the CBA. Participation on the MAT will also help mobilize employees regarding specific issues affecting OJP, recruit new members, and assist with planning brown bag sessions and other activities. Chief Steward Lindsay Waldrop and Steward Ethan Aaronson will lead the MAT with assistance from other Union officers. More information is forthcoming. 

•  AFSCME Local 2830 submitted a memo to OJP's Office of the Assistant Attorney General (OAAG) regarding adverse working conditions at the Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management (OAAM) per Article 2, Section 3 of the CBA. The memo included the Union's concerns and requested resolutions. If we receive additional information, we will file a Union Grievance per Article 23, Section 8 of the CBA. More information is forthcoming.  

• As previously noted, the United States District Court, Northern District of California, granted a preliminary injunction on June 24th to several Unions, including AFSCME International, ruling that the Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs Executive Order likely violated the law by not collectively bargaining with federal unions. 

• While the Court initially set a case management conference for today, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an administrative stay of the ruling on July 10th, pending its decision on whether to pause the preliminary injunction while the Administration appeals. Therefore, until the Court issues a final decision, agencies do not have to collectively bargain with unions, even though CBAs are still in effect.