Union Corner: Spotlight Falls on Exclusive Representation, Collective Bargaining

The Civil Service Reform Act includes two interrelated provisions, exclusive representation and collective bargaining, to assist in securing achievement of its stated goal: “the effective conduct of public business.”

• Section 7111 states: “An agency shall accord exclusive recognition to a labor organization . . . selected as the representative . . . by a majority of the employees . . . who cast valid ballots . . . ”
• Section 7114(a)(1) states: “A labor organization which has been accorded exclusive recognition is the exclusive representative of the employees . . . and is entitled to act for, and negotiate collective bargaining agreements covering all employees . . . ”
• Finally, Section 7114(a)(4) provides: “Any agency and any exclusive representative . . . shall meet and negotiate in good faith for the purposes of arriving at a collective bargaining agreement.”

Collective bargaining agreements are the raison d’ętre of unions. Although civil service employees have many rights granted by the Constitution and various statutes including the CSRA, the bargaining agreement-the contract-is the principal embodiment of their rights in the work place. Like any other contract it is a series of mutual promises which are proscriptive and legally enforceable and are appropriately contrasted to vain hopes, empty promises and gifts.

So long as the rules regulate and relate to personnel policies and practices that affect working conditions, there is no limit save exhaustion to the workplace matters that can be addressed and regulated in the contract. Standard subjects include compensation issues such as overtime, as well as time of work, place of work, performance appraisal, awards, discipline, details, promotions, assignment of work, assignment of offices, training, professional development, discrimination and occupational safety.

The statute in Section 7114(b)(1) requires that bargaining be in good faith, that the agency and the union must “approach the negotiations with a sincere resolve to reach a[n] . . . .agreement.” Bargaining is termed collective because all employees in the bargaining unit are together represented and the contract binds all employees in the unit.

Exclusivity is the pragmatic statutory tool given to the majority representative to assist it in bargaining with the agency. Exclusivity, according to Section 7111, restricts the agency to dealing solely with the majority representative in personnel matters related to working conditions and the workplace. Exclusivity curtails the ability of an agency to weaken the employee majority by dividing it. Having only one spokesman, albeit a democratically chosen one, amplifies and focuses employee voices. The employees act in concert, in unison, in union. Partly by sheer mass they become a force that cannot be ignored. This is not attainable by unorganized and uncoordinated individuals.

The National Treasury Employees Union was certified as the exclusive representative of all FDA bargaining unit employees nationwide. CDER employees are included in the FDA Headquarters, Washington, D.C., area chapter. Contract negotiations are scheduled to begin in September. FDA employees have suggested a wide range of issues to be addressed.

Robert Young, M.D., Ph.D., is interim president of Chapter 282, NTEU.