The bill follows a recent Biden administration executive order reestablishing the forums. Image: 4kclips/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffA bill (HR-7787 and S-4039) has been offered to put agency labor-management cooperative forums in law, so that they could not be disbanded by only an executive order in the future.
The bill follows a recent Biden administration executive order reestablishing the forums, which are to give unions a greater role in advance of agency decisions on matters beyond those that are negotiable. That order requires agencies to make plans within six months addressing issues such as what topics will be covered, how results are to be measured, and what resources agencies will direct toward carrying them out, among other things.
That was the latest in a series of changes in direction in which Democratic administrations starting with the Clinton administration created such partnerships by executive order and succeeding Republican administrations revoked those orders.
The newly offered bill “would ensure that these labor-management forums are codified into law so a future president cannot disband them . . . The workplace works best when workers have a seat at the table, and this legislation makes certain that no future president can take that away,” said House sponsor Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the Oversight and Accountability Committee.
It would create a National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations to advise the President on labor-management relations in the executive branch; direct the Council to help agencies collect and disseminate guidance and best practices based on their own, individual labor-management partnerships; and require each agency, including legislative branch agencies, to create labor-management forums to allow employees and employee representatives to have pre-decisional involvement in workplace matters.
Meanwhile, the House has passed HR-6610, to require the Department of State to streamline and further automate its passport processing operations; create an electronic platform for customers to file applications, track their status, and get notice about upcoming expiration dates; enable congressional offices to monitor the status of applications by their constituents; and evaluate its process using metrics that measure security, reliability, affordability and efficiency.
Key Bills Advancing, but No Path to Avoid Shutdown Apparent
TSP Adds Detail to Upcoming Roth Conversion Feature
White House to Issue Rules on RIF, Disciplinary Policy Changes
DoD Announces Civilian Volunteer Detail in Support of Immigration Enforcement
See also,
How Do Age and Years of Service Impact My Federal Retirement
The Best Ages for Federal Employees to Retire
How to Challenge a Federal Reduction in Force (RIF) in 2025
Should I be Shooting for a $1M TSP Balance? Depends…
