President Bush’s 2005 budget request promotes the strategic
management of human capital initiative under the President’s
Management Agenda and cites the Department of Defense’s
controversial new personnel system, the National Security
Personnel System, which could at first cover 300,000
employees, as an example of how government bodies can
maximize the value of their workers.
The budget expressed the hope of using the Department of
Homeland Security’s personnel system and the Department of
Defense’s new personnel system to explore the potential to
establish similar systems in other areas of government.
However, flexibility and efficiency for personnel systems
have implications for employees and employee unions, as was
evident in the reaction by the American Federation of
Government Employees and other unions upon receiving from
DoD rule proposals related to labor-management relations.
AFGE said the proposals include the “elimination of
collective bargaining (to be replaced with non-binding
‘consultation’); the probable end of current contracts once
the new system is implemented; a new hoop-jumping system
for employees wanting to have a union; and, rules that
overturn decisions made by federal courts-including the
Supreme Court-that were made in favor of unions and public
employees.” It also said the proposals would prevent work
leaders, attorneys and other professionals from joining
unions.
