The union is pursuing two tracks to regain collective bargaining rights.

The union is pursuing two tracks to regain collective bargaining rights. seksan Mongkhonkhamsao / Getty Images

An Immigration Judges Union That Was Busted by the Trump Administration Is Seeking A New Election

The National Association of Immigration Judges is pursuing two tracks to becoming recertified as a federal employee union and recognized by management at the Justice Department.

An erstwhile union representing immigration judges is hoping recent changes in the leadership at the Federal Labor Relations Authority will enable it to return to the bargaining table with the Justice Department.

In November 2020, the FRLA voted 2-1 to overrule the findings of the agency’s regional director and conclude that the nation’s corps of immigration judges are management officials within the Executive Office of Immigration Review, stripping them of their collective bargaining rights and effectively busting the union.

Shortly thereafter, the union requested that the FLRA reconsider its decision, and the order decertifying the union was stayed for those proceedings. In the meantime, President Biden was sworn into office, and by December 2021, the Justice Department began voluntarily recognizing the labor organization and tried to withdraw the petition to decertify the union.

But in January the FLRA, still under Republican control as Biden’s nominees to the agency board languished in the Senate, took the unprecedented step of reiterating its decision and decertified the union, despite all parties involved requesting the decertification petition be withdrawn. National Association of Immigration Judges President Mimi Tsankov said it was as if the FLRA had simply flipped a switch.

“It took [the Justice Department] time to get things moving, but we had bargaining scheduled through April,” she said. “We were in the middle of bargaining new performance metrics when the decision decertifying us came out . . . We were in the middle of bargaining performance metrics and it was looking good, and we were on a lunch break, but then the decision came out and we never had another meeting. That was it.”

Tsankov said that since that decision, the union has started to pursue two tracks to regain collective bargaining rights: challenge the FLRA’s decision in a federal appeals court, and stage a new organization drive, hoping that with Democrat Susan Tsui Grundmann’s confirmation to the FLRA in May, the agency will again reconsider its decision.

“We’re going to continue with the appeal, but at the same time we decided, let’s not take any chances,” she said. “Let’s refile a new petition like we did 51 years ago when we initially got certification.”

The union obtained 300 signatures from the around 550 immigration judges across the country and last week filed a new petition seeking union representation. That is well over the 30% required to send the organization drive to a vote by the whole potential bargaining unit and more than the 50% required to win a union election.

Matt Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Employees, whose federation includes the judges union, said his union never stopped supporting the immigration judges, despite the government no longer recognizing them.

“The FLRA, with these two rogue members appointed by the former president, took it upon themselves to push through this decision, and it makes it even worse that it was [implemented] during the Biden administration,” he said. “[If they win their election, it would be as if a newly formed union was being formed. And for our part, they never left IFPTE. They were always with IFPTE, regardless of what a rogue FLRA did.”

Although labor officials said they were optimistic that the union can be reconstituted through a new union election, Tsankov stressed the importance of the union winning its appeal in court. She said that if the FLRA’s decision to decertify the judges’ union isn’t thrown out, it could open the door to future Republican administrations using similar tactics to reduce or eliminate bargaining units at other agencies.

“[The decision] is problematic for us, because we [may] have to argue against what was decided there, but it’s problematic for all federal employee unions,” she said. “All federal employee unions could be subject to the same broad, sweeping decision making that doesn’t go into the analytic requirements needed for such a decision. It’s a politicization of the process to overturn 51 years of a union being in place.”

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.