A coalition of federal unions will pursue a series of legal motions that could have the effect of further delaying certain provisions of DoD’s national security personnel system. Those actions come in the wake of an appeals court’s denial of a request from the Defense Workers Coalition to review its 2 — 1 decision issued in May upholding provisions of the National Security Personnel System pertaining to labor-management relations, collective bargaining, adverse actions and a proposed internal labor relations panel.
The American Federation of Government Employees, one of over 30 groups in the coalition, has announced its intention file a motion with the appeals court to stay the court’s mandate and within 90 days, petition the Supreme Court. The process of making motions and replies before the high court could consume months after that, and a decision—if the court agrees to hear the case—still more time.
AFGE said it had hoped for a reversal with its petition because of previous court rulings — it won earlier in district court, prompting DoD’s appeal — and a strong dissenting opinion in the decision.
The fiscal 2008 Defense spending bills making their way through Congress strike portions of NSPS. The House version of an authorization bill would repeal the adverse action and appeals provisions, as well as changes in labor relations policy, and require bargaining on other issues where pertinent.
The Senate version would repeal the existing authority of DoD to establish a new labor relations system under NSPS.
The White House issued a policy statement stating its opposition to repealing any authority to "implement a mission-focused labor management relations system," but said the Senate’s version was somewhat more acceptable.
Afterward, the House version of an appropriations bill, approved shortly before Congress’s August recess, carries an amendment offered by Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., that would block funding for significant parts of the system.
In May DoD completed performance-based payouts for the first group of employees — in spiral 1.1 — to enroll in NSPS. So far the data do not support union arguments that performance ratings would be used to target large segments of the workforce as underperforming and deny pay increases. Fewer than 1 percent of those in the first round received a rating so low that they got no raises, and only 3 percent did not get performance-based raises.
