The Federal Managers Association has said ground-level employee and managerial involvement is noticeably absent from the labor-management forum proposals agencies have submitted to the National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations established under an executive order issued in December.
While nearly all of the 45 departments and agencies required to come up with plans on establishing the forums submitted them by the April 7 deadline, 21 were found insufficient, 14 of those due to a lack of union involvement.
The forums so far appear to be picking up where labor-management "partnerships" established under the Clinton administration left off – with agencies being unwilling to expand their bargaining boundaries despite memos and executive orders calling on them to do so.
According to FMA, agencies have been reluctant to accept bargaining pilot programs whereby unions would be allowed to bargain over so-called permissive subjects such as staffing requirements.
It said several agencies explained that they omitted plans for these pilots — despite OPM pushing for their inclusion – because of a lack of direct guidance, which was characterized by some on the council as tactical resistance.
FMA also reiterated an argument it made when the executive order was first announced – that these forums would be ineffective without all levels of management represented.
"First and second line managers are shouldered with immense responsibility in terms of carrying out the forums’ initiatives, and the failure to include these stakeholders along with the employees they supervise deviates from the intent of the executive order," said FMA immediate past president Darryl Perkinson, who represents FMA on the council.
Agencies whose plans were rejected are required to resubmit them for a second review.
