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GAO comptroller general encourages colleagues to vote on unionization |
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By Karissa Marcum
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Posted: 09/07/07 07:27 PM [ET] |
Government Accountability Office (GAO) Comptroller General David Walker vowed Thursday to remain neutral in the agency’s unionization efforts and encouraged his employees to vote in Sept. 19 elections.
In a 15-minute “CG chat” broadcast to employees, Walker said he hoped each of the 1,800 employees eligible to vote would do so.
“I support the right of employees to organize … if they conclude it’s in their best interest,” Walker said, noting he is not opposed to the idea of unions.
“Make no mistake about it — every vote counts,” he said. “We hope that you will decide for yourself what you believe.”
If elected, the union would be the first to serve the GAO in its 86-year history. Employees working in the agency’s D.C. office will vote inside the GAO via secret ballot. Employees in satellite offices will vote by mail.
The union would give GAO analysts a binding employment contract, a voice in Congress on pay, benefit and retirement issues and qualified legal representation, according to pro-unionization organizers.
Union representatives have cited changes to the pay-for-performance system and the employees’ classification as reasons for launching a union-organizing campaign.
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