Agency, union and congressional officials still are working to sort out the impact of an executive order issued by President Bush barring union representation of employees deemed to be in national security related positions in certain parts of five departments—Energy, DHS, Justice, Transportation and Treasury. The order technically covers about 8,600 employees, although the majority of them are unionized in any event; the White House argues that fewer than 1,000 employees will lose existing representation, while NTEU says the number is more like 1,500. Some Democratic members of Congress have said the might take action to overturn the order. In addition, the order could be reversed by the incoming Obama administration, although the transition team has refused to comment on it. Bush took the action under an authority that has been exercised by Presidents about a dozen times dating back to the Carter administration.
