OPM has added bargaining unit status to its public FedScope database of federal employees. Image: Jirsak/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffOPM’s addition of bargaining unit status to its main public database on federal employees will assist unions in their efforts to organize new units among unrepresented employees who are eligible for union representation, the NFFE union has said.
OPM recently added to the FedScope database (fedscope.opm.gov) a feature allowing users to break down data by represented vs. non-represented status—and for the latter, whether employees are eligible or not eligible for representation. The database does not include information about individuals but it can be segmented by numerous factors—including agency subcomponent, pay system, occupation and state—which could be used in identifying potential prospects for organizing a bargaining unit.
The latest data, through March of this year, for example showed 2,155,624 employees (outside the Postal Service) of whom 1,216,8710 were in bargaining units. Of the rest, 638,002 are not eligible for union representation but 299,195 are eligible but not represented.
This upgraded resource will be an excellent tool for our union to locate non-union employees across the federal government who are rightfully entitled to representation and a voice in their workplace,” said NFFE, which said it had “specifically requested assistance in identifying the hundreds of thousands of unrepresented government workers.”
The union also said the action was consistent with recommendations early this year from the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, which listed a number of initiatives in the federal workforce encouraging agencies to include information about whether a position is in a bargaining unit and the relevant union in job opportunity announcements; offering unions more opportunities to communicate with new hires during onboarding; and regularly reminding current employees of their legal rights under federal labor law.
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