Last Thursday, the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) agreed to a July request from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) to disclaim interest in representing AFGE Council 118. The local union represents officers at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The decision comes after a history of conflicting political endorsements between the national and local organizations. In June, Council 118 filed a complaint with the Labor Department seeking autonomy from AFGE.
AFGE Council 118 President Chris Cane told the Washington Times, “AFGE and the AFL-CIO became far-left organizations a long time ago. They don’t care about workers. They only care about their far-left agendas and politics.”
Because AFGE disdained interest, the local will not automatically become independent. Instead, the union will be totally disbanded and all collective bargaining agreements voided. Should they choose to unionize, the unit will have to start from scratch with an entirely new union organization effort, election process, and contract negotiation.