USDA Judge Sues Federal Labor Board Alleging Union Was Unlawfully Elected
Holden v. FLRA
Case Summary
- James Holden, an administrative judge with the USDA in the Office of Hearing and Appeals, believes the union that represents him was put in place unlawfully.
- His lawsuit seeks to end the union’s representation of his bargaining unit and affirm his First Amendment right to free association.
FLRA ALLEGEDLY VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW TO CERTIFY BARGAINING UNIT
Judge Holden alleges that the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) broke federal statute when it certified AFSCME, Council 20 to represent his “mixed” bargaining unit that combines professional and nonprofessional employees.
The Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute is clear: a union cannot represent a bargaining unit of both professional and nonprofessional employees unless a majority of just the professional employees first vote to be included in that unit with nonprofessional employees.
In 1998, an election was held and a union was certified by the FLRA to represent this “mixed” bargaining unit. But when Judge Holden asked to see the election documents, the FLRA could not provide them.
(FLRA emblem. Photo credit: FLRA.)
MISSING DOCUMENTS MAKE VERIFYING “MIXED UNIT” IMPOSSIBLE
Judge Holden alleges that the FLRA either destroyed or failed to preserve key documents. Without election records, there is no evidence that a majority of professional employees voted to join the mixed unit as required by federal statute.
Therefore, Judge Holden believes that the union was unlawfully certified as the representative of the professional employees and has been illegally representing professional employees for decades.
LAWSUIT FILED IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
Judge Holden turned to the Fairness Center to file a federal lawsuit to uphold his right to free association and to initiate an enforcement action with the Attorney General to recover missing employee election records.
“This case is about an unlawful employee election and unwanted union representation. Judge Holden wants the court to acknowledge that the union and the Federal Labor Relations Authority are violating his rights by forcing him to associate with a union that was unlawfully certified to represent him.” – Nathan McGrath, president and general counsel
Case Status & Documents
- Complaint
December 4, 2023
Holden v. FLRA is before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Media
USDA judge wants exit from union, alleges labor law violations in federal lawsuit
News | The Indiana Lawyer
December 18, 2023: “According to his federal lawsuit, Holden, an ALJ with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Hearings and Appeals, seeks to vindicate his right not to be included in a mixed bargaining unit that does not represent his interests without the Federal Labor Relations Authority first holding a proper election that complies with the law.”
