DC administrative law judges vote to unionize
Washington, D.C.-government administrative law judges voted Thursday to unionize, capping a two-year battle to do so that largely stemmed from their complaints about mistreatment by their now-former boss, the Washington Post reports.
Judges in the Office of Administrative hearings voted 19-5 to join the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which also represents nearly 2,000 federal administrative law judges. The move came a week after former chief judge Mary Oates Walker settled an ethics complaint against her for creating the appearance of a conflict of interest and “preferential treatment” of one subordinate by paying a $20,000 fine.
Walker was fired earlier this year by Mayor Vincent C. Gray after the ethics charges were filed. Her lawyer said she was undermined by disgruntled judges and that she is fighting the dismissal. The lawyer, Anthony Conti, told the Post after the matter was settled last week that it was about technical violations.
