Democratic administrations typically push agencies to implement labor-management forums while Republican administrations discouraged them. Image: Pressmaster/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffIn another sign of the change in direction at the FLRA now that Democrats hold the majority of seats on its governing board, the agency as reinstated a labor-management forum with the union representing its own employees, including recommitting to involving the union with decisions on certain policies apart from the bargaining setting.
That “will benefit the FLRA and its employees, and that it is consistent with both the FLRA’s statutory role in providing leadership in federal-sector labor relations” as well as the Biden administration’s main executive order on the federal workplace, an announcement said.
Labor-management forums and “pre-decisional involvement” (PDI), have an up and down record in the federal government. Democratic administrations starting with the Clinton White House have ordered or urged agencies to implement them, and intervening Republican administrations strongly discouraged them.
The Biden administration has not explicitly ordered agencies to reestablish them although it has reminded agencies that they may use them—DHS for example has started reestablishing some at both the department and component levels—and the administration’s Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment earlier this year recommended formally reinstating them.
Even when in effect, there have been questions regarding exactly what topics would be covered, exactly what such policies obligate management to do, and how to measure the results.
As the FLRA put it, PDI “represents activities where employees, through their union (their elected exclusive representative), are given the opportunity to help shape decisions in the workplace that affect their work before an agency decides how it will respond. It does not expand the topics mandatorily negotiable under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute).
“It does, however, suggest that management should be willing to discuss all issues regardless of whether they are considered management rights, where practicable. PDI does not waive management’s statutory right to make decisions under section 7106 of the Statute, nor does it waive a labor organization’s right to engage in bargaining before implementation to the extent required by the Statute,” it said.
The FLRA added that it offers training for both agencies and unions on creating labor-management forums, available at flra.gov/cadro.
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