Federal Union Accuses VA Official of Illegal Taping of Deliberations

A federal employee union on Wednesday accused the management negotiating team at the Veterans Affairs Department of surreptitiously recording the union negotiators’ private conversations. Last week, National Federation of Federal Employees officials met with VA's management representatives in Atlanta for discussions over which parts of an existing collective bargaining agreement would be reopened for revision. During the morning session, the union asked for five minutes alone to go over a VA counterproposal, which management granted, said NFFE associate general counsel Suzanne Summerlin.