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The Government Accountability Office and union representatives have agreed that a union-organizing election would be held Sept. 19. If employees approve the union it would be the first guild in the agency’s 86-year history. GAO management and union officials have been at odds for the last few months over the specifics of the bargaining unit for the election. But at a meeting held before a Personnel Appeals Board (PAB) judge Wednesday, they agreed that all permanent and probationary Band I, Band IIA and Band IIB employees would be included in one group. All voters would respond to one question: “Do you want to be represented by the GAO Employees Organization, IFPTE?” a newsletter for GAO analysts said. GAO employees working in the Washington headquarters will vote by manual ballot, and field-office employees, working nationwide, will vote by mail ballot. Gregory Junemann, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), the union organizing the election, welcomed the agreement. “IFPTE is grateful for the diligent efforts of all the people who had a hand in bringing this agreement about, and we look forward to continued mutual cooperation as we move forward to complete the election process,” Junemann said in a statement. U.S. Comptroller General David Walker, head of the GAO, was also content with the ultimate agreement. “I am very pleased that we have been able to reach an agreement with IFPTE that will result in a timely election,” Walker said in a statement. “As I have consistently said, GAO recognizes and supports the right of GAO employees to organize if they choose to do so.” A GAO employee noted that the agreement “parallels what’s done elsewhere” in the federal government, with probationary employees being included in a union election. “We want a quick election,” the employee said. “And no more delay tactics by management.” In order to establish a union at the agency, a majority of the employees who vote will have to affirm the union — not the majority of the bargaining unit, the employee explained, noting that the distinction would be likely to help the union’s case because most people are supportive of the union. In May, more than half of the agency’s 1,500 analysts signed a petition to hold a union-organizing election. Union officials expected the election to take place sometime this summer, but GAO and IFPTE officials have argued about the eligibility of Band IIB analysts, who the agency has said are ineligible for representation because they are supervisors. Band IIB employees earn more money than those in Band IIA. In connection with the settlement, the parties also agreed to withdraw an unfair-labor-practice charge. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee’s legislative branch panel, had two separate meetings Tuesday with union officials and Walker. |
