National Policy Negotiations - Staff Search

During last week's policy session for Staff Entrance and Search Procedures, LMR Chief, Paul Layer, delivered a declaration of non-negotiability to the Union.  The Agency declared 54 of our original proposals and 10 of our responses to Agency proposal inserts to be non-negotiable.  They also declared that the Staff Entrance Search Procedures negotiations are now closed and that we will be moving forward with the next policy in the queue, Employee Health. 

We have a signed agreement with the Agency stating that "The parties agree that any instructions or guidance provided to the field locations regarding the negotiated policy for Electronic Search procedures for Staff which changes conditions of employment for bargaining unit staff at the local level, will be negotiated with the union prior to issuance and implementation"

The Council of Prison Locals believes that the Agency's declaration constitutes a repudiation of an agreement between the parties and bad faith bargaining.

This action by the agency also repudiate a settlement agreement on the sequence of policy negotiations; the signed settlement stated, "The parties agree that the recently negotiated policy on Employee Health will not be implemented and remain in abeyance. The Agency agrees that all remaining proposals in this policy that were declared non-negotiable by the Agency arc being reconsidered by this Agency. The parties agree to continue Employee Health Care proposal negotiations in accordance to the parties ground rules form policy negotiations immediately after the completion of negotiations on the Electronic Search policies."

This action, combined with the Agency's implementation of PREA related policies without negotiations with the Union, and the elimination of Bargaining Unit positions at the regional offices without notifying the Union in advance, is all leading to a pretty bad relationship between the Union and the BOP.

We (the CPL Board) are traveling in to DC for Master Agreement negotiations this week.  I'm sure some interesting things will be happening.