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11 Things OPM Says It Will Do to Promote Worker Organizing at Federal Agencies
February 22, 2022
Categories:
The Insider
A task force established last year by President Biden to promote workers’ rights has issued a report with nearly 70 recommendations on what the federal government can do to promote unionization and workers’ rights in both the public and private sector.
The Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris, looked at available tools and determined how to remove barriers to worker organizing and collective bargaining. To come up with the recommendations, it consulted with stakeholders, including unions, agencies, and businesses.
AFGE submitted dozens of recommendations and many were included.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is taking the lead on many of the recommendations.
“OPM is pleased to be leading the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to promote worker empowerment within the federal workforce,” said OPM Director Kiran Ahuja. “As the nation’s largest employer, the federal government can and should lead by example in encouraging worker organizing and collective bargaining.”
OPM is working with agencies to implement many of the task force’s recommendations to empower workers and remove obstacles to organizing.
It’s also planning to implement these 11 initiatives to achieve the goal:
- Increase unions’ access to new hires.
- Encourage agencies to inform bargaining unit employees of their union rights under the laws and provide union contact information.
- Increase unions’ ability to communicate with bargaining unit employees.
- Streamline the process to become a dues-paying member.
- Develop guidance for agencies to use in training managers and supervisors about organizing campaigns and unfair labor practices.
- Increase governmentwide data on union membership rates to assess progress and identify opportunities for improvement.
- Launch a campaign to promote the task force’s efforts to empower employees and inform them of their workers’ rights. The Education Department, for example, should be directed to issue an annual statement to reinforce the agency’s commitment to collective bargaining and worker organizing.
- Share best practices on how to implement the strategies.
- Remove obstacles that impede unions from expanding bargaining unit coverage. Develop guidance on how eligible employees can join unions.
- Work with agencies to review whether non-bargaining unit positions are incorrectly excluded from the bargaining unit.
- Expand collective bargaining at TSA.
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