Jan 09, 2023

WorkPartners Update

Thank you for continuing to let us know about your experiences with Workpartners. We are writing today to bring you up to date on the work that NAGE has been doing.
 

As you may recall, we were the first union to file an unfair labor practice charge on the implementation of Workpartners. Today, the Department of Labor Relations (DLR) issued a “Complaint of Prohibited Practice” in response to our charge (linked below). In a nutshell, this means that the DLR found probable cause to believe that the Baker administration violated the law when they unilaterally contracted out leave administration work to Workpartners without negotiating in good faith with NAGE. This is the exact same type of charge that the Baker administration was found guilty of in the PFMLA case that we won several years ago, and ended up costing the state an estimated $30,000,000. If the DLR upholds this charge, it will be the fifth time in a period of just a couple of years that the Baker administration will have been found guilty of labor law violations in cases brought by NAGE.
 

While this is an important step, it is not the only step. There is still much work for the legal staff at NAGE to do and there is no guarantee of victory. It is great news, however, and we wanted to let you know about this development. 

In addition to pursuing this matter legally, we will also be asking the Healey Administration to re-examine the previous administration's decision to contract out the management of the intensely personal subject of employee medical and family leaves to an out of state, anti-union company at the needless costs of millions of dollars per year.
 

We will continue to keep you posted as things move forward. Our previous updates on Workpartners can be found linked below.

DOL Complaint of Prohibited Practice

Workpartners Update - January 26, 2023