Although the Federal Service Impasses Panel (the Panel) decisions are not precedent setting, we think it is useful for human resources personnel, particularly those dealing with labor-management relations matters, to know how the panel has decided negotiation impasses in the past and whether there are any identifiable trends in the Panel's treatment of any issues.
Accordingly, the following documents list by category the cases decided by the Panel. For each case we describe the union's position, the agency's position, and the Panel's final disposition of the impasse(s). The documents are intended to provided quick and sufficient information on the Panel's decisions to provide leads for further research into relevant cases. Nothing contained or omitted in these documents should be regarded as an attempt to interpret or evaluate the agency/union proposals or the Panel's actions. These documents are intended solely to provide information.
July
1, 1997 through December 31, 1998 (Releases No.
400 through 415)
January
1, 1999 through December 31, 1999 (Releases
No. 416 through 427)
January
1, 2000 through December 31, 2000 (Releases
No. 428 through 437)
January
1, 2001 through December 31, 2001 (Releases
No. 438 through 445)
The Federal Service Impasses Panel is
the last step in federal sector collective bargaining -- the substitute
for the strike and lockout in the private sector. Many of the negotiation
impasses brought to the Panel are successfully settled with Panel
assistance. If, however, an impasse is not voluntarily settled, the
Panel takes final action which may include directing the parties to
another procedure or imposing settlement terms. These typically occur
through the issuance of a "Decision and Order" if the impasse was
considered by the Panel as a whole, or an "Opinion and Decision",
if a Panel Member or staff person was designated to help resolve the
dispute.