Union Rights Amendment Defeated

During floor voting, the House defeated a proposed amendment that would have kept current union rights of employees who transfer and keep the same job responsibilities. That language was similar to a provision adopted earlier in the House Government Reform Committee but later dropped by a special House committee that was established to pull together the plans of the various panels with authority over the measure. Instead, the House adopted an amendment that allows the President to exempt positions from representation where there would be a substantial adverse impact on the Department’s ability to protect homeland security. It also passed an amendment requiring collaboration with employee representatives in the planning, development, and implementation of the human resources management system for the new agency. But it voted down an amendment that would have guaranteed that employees transferring to the new agency not suffer decreases in salary.