Nov. 30—Federal employees and their unions scored recent victories in their efforts to challenge new Bush administration personnel rules that would take collective bargaining rights from 650,000 civilian Defense Department workers and 160,000 Homeland Security employees.
A coalition of 10 labor organizations filed suit to stop the Defense Department rules that would end long-standing civil service personnel procedures. As a result, Defense Department officials agreed to delay implementing the new rules until February 2006, after a hearing the judge has scheduled for January 2006.
“What’s at stake is not only the freedom of these workers to join and form unions, but the undermining of pay scales that reward commitment and dedication with a pay for performance system that rewards favoritism and politics,” says AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka.
New personnel rules also are on hold at the Department of Homeland Security. After U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer rejected the Bush administration’s latest attempt to implement the rules, Homeland Security officials announced in October 2005 they would delay the start of the new performance management, pay and classification rules, which are similar to those proposed by the Bush Defense Department. In an August decision, Collyer found the Homeland Security personnel rules illegally took away employees’ bargaining process. Homeland Security is appealing the decision.
Imposed on Homeland Security employees and proposed for Defense Department employees in January 2005, the new personnel rules (National Security Personnel System, NSPS) would scrap decades of federal civil service laws. The rules would replace civil service pay grades and promotion rules with so-called performance-based job evaluations that would limit the issues that can be discussed in contract bargaining by taking pay and work rules off the table.
Addressing the court's decision to hold a hearing in January on the Defense Department rules, AFGE President John Gage says, “We are very pleased that the court has agreed to hear this case in a timely manner. The NSPS could have grave implications for the safety of America’s fighting men and women and for safeguarding the public coffers.” AFGE is among federal employee unions taking part in the suit.
Bush Personnel Rules Would Revoke Due Process
AFGE says the new regulations for Defense Department workers revoke due process rights, allow supervisors to punish employees through their paychecks, create a so-called “pay-for-performance” system that pits employees against each other for pay increases and undermine meaningful collective bargaining.
On Dec. 8 thousands of federal workers and other union members will march to the White House to demand that the government honor their freedom to form unions and bargain collectively. The protest is part of a week of global actions in conjunction with International Human Rights Day, Dec. 10, that will shine a light on employers’ efforts to thwart workers’ freedom to form unions and the failure of current government leaders to protect this basic right.
The groups filing suit include AFGE; AFL-CIO Metal Trades Department; Fire Fighters; Laborers; International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers; National Federation of Federal Employees, an affiliate of the Machinists; and the unaffiliated Association of Civilian Technicians; National Association of Government Employees; Teamsters; and United Power Trades Organization.
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