An independent arbitrator last week declined to dismiss a grievance between the Defense Department and a U.S. Air Force union, adding a new wrinkle to the months-long legal war between the Trump administration and federal employees. In a Dec. 30 decision, independent arbitrator Marvin Hill declined to cede his jurisdiction over a grievance between the National Association of Independent Labor and Scott Air Force Base in southern Illinois, and described the Defense Department’s effort to cease participating in proceedings as “unlawful.” The Trump administration had requested that Hill either dismiss the matter for lack of jurisdiction, or to hold the case in abeyance until a federal appellate court issues its decision on a trio of union lawsuits seeking to block the two executive orders. “My obligation is to the parties’ collective bargaining agreement and I refuse to adhere to a rule permitting an agency to unilaterally decide that their collective bargaining agreement is a nullity just because an executive order permits the agency to unilaterally impose its agenda, rather than the union and the agency, as Congress intended,” he wrote.
Author: Erich Wagner
Published at: 2026-01-07 21:54:00
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