FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2013
September 30, 2013
AFGE Named Exclusive Representative for Former Walter Reed Employees
WASHINGTON – The American Federation of Government Employees has been named the exclusive representative for nearly 3,700 healthcare employees at the Department of Defense who were part of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
The employees voted to be represented by AFGE during an election held this month by the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Voting ended Sept. 25 and the FLRA announced the results the following day.
Walter Reed was shut down in 2011 under the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process. Functions were transferred to two new healthcare centers – Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Fort Belvoir, Va. – as well as several other regional facilities.
Together, the employees are under DoD’s Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical (JTF CapMed).
About half of the JTF CapMed employees belonged to one of three AFGE locals, while the rest had not been covered under any collective bargaining agreement. A new AFGE local now will be created to represent all of the employees.
“Federal employees understand the value of having a voice in the workplace, which is why more and more employees are choosing to join AFGE,” AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said. “We are excited to welcome these dedicated healthcare workers to the AFGE family and look forward to negotiating a strong collective bargaining agreement to improve their working conditions.”
AFGE Membership and Organization Director Bill Lyons thanked all of the organizers, volunteers and employees who were involved in making this a successful election.
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