Abiel Garcia and Majed Dakak, Partners with Kesselman Brantly Stockinger, are currently representing the National Association of Immigration Judges in their ongoing litigation with the Federal Labor Relations Authority. The case, currently before a federal appeals court, involves a controversial 2020 decision by the FLRA that dissolved the union representing the nation’s corps of immigration judges.
The case was recently highlighted in Government Executive, which included Garcia’s statements during oral arguments citing now-FLRA Chairman Ernest DuBester’s dissent in the case, which accused the Republican majority of “the antithesis of reasoned decision-making” and suggested one of his dissents in the case was improperly rushed by his GOP colleagues, who were anxious to bust the union before President Biden could nominate a new Democratic member to shift the authority’s ideological balance.
“Acting in haste to deprive immigration judges of their right to a union, the majority cobbled together a decision that ignores authority and precedent covering both the review of [bargaining] unit certifications and the scope of the management official exclusion,” Garcia said.
The Government Executive article can be found here: https://www.govexec.com/ workforce/ 2022/11/ appeals-court- seems- skeptical- both- sides-immigration- judges- union- case/ 379891/
The arguments were also covered by the Daily Journal (subscription required): https://www.dailyjournal.com /articles /370000-la -county- attorneys- argue- for- immigration- judges- union