American Prospect Reports on SSA "Double Breasting" Non-Union and Union Administrative Law Judges

This week, the American Prospect reported on the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) anti-union arrangement where non-union administrative law judges (ALJs) who the same work and are hired off of identical position descriptions as their union counterparts, but are excluded from the Association of Administrative Law Judges-IFPTE Judicial Council 1 (AALJ) bargaining unit.

AALJ President Som Ramrup was interviewed for the article and noted that, “Not letting these judges have a voice with respect to working conditions is disrespectful and demoralizing.” SSA has been using this “double breasting” arrangement, where employees who are excluded from the bargaining unit work in parallel to unionized employees, since 2007. The non-union ALJ positions were introduced in 2007 when the agency created National Hearing Centers to address a case backlog under then-SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue.

However, the anti-union arrangement has gone unaddressed by successive Presidential administrations and SSA Commissioners, despite AALJ seeking to resolve the issue with the agency over the years.

With the current Biden-Harris Administration’s clear commitment to making the federal government a “model employer,” and the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment’s report including a recommendation on “Addressing whether non-bargaining unit positions are correctly excluded from bargaining unit coverage,” AALJ and IFPTE are asking SSA to work with the union to resolve this union-busting arrangement.

A Congressional letter to SSA led by Senator Sherrod Brown is also requesting the agency to provide information on including non-union ALJs in the AALJ bargaining unit.

Read the American Prospect article, “Non-Union Social Security Judges Doing Same Work as Their Union Counterparts.”

Read the Senate letter to SSA Acting Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi here.