Federal Labor Council Update
By Bob Gilson
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
More than a week after its first meeting, the National Council on Federal Labor Management Relations (NCFMLR or Council), its website doesn't list the members or provide the handouts from its first meeting.
At least so far, it's not a testament to transparency. The White House announcement appointing them lists the appointees but only with limited information
Council Membership
Here is the Council roster and links (that we could find) to who these folks' bios.
John Berry, OPM Director, Co-Chair
Jeffrey Zients, Dep. Dir. of Management OMB, Co-Chair
Carol Waller Pope, ex-officio member, Chair FLRA
Note: Wikipedia defines an ex officio member as, "a member of a body (a board, committee, council, etc.) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office."
W. Scott Gould, Member, Dep. Sec. Department of Veterans Affairs
Seth Harris, Dep. Sec. Department of Labor (NYU Bio)
Jane Holl Lute, Dep. Sec. Department of Homeland Security
William J. Lynn, III, Dep. Sec.Department of Defense
Neal Wolin, Dep. Sec. Department of Treasury.
Carol A. Bonosaro, Member, President, Senior Executives Association
Darryl Perkinson, Member, President Federal Managers Association
Couldn't find a bio but here's what's on FMA's website:
William Dougan, Member, President of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE)
Michael B. Filler, Member, Director of the Public Services Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Only Bio available is in announcement on White House Site.
John Gage, Member, President, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)
David Holway, Member, President, National Association of Government Employees (NAGE) See White House Announcement for bio.
Gregory Junemann, Member, President, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE)
Colleen M. Kelley, Member, President, National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU)
H.T. Nguyen, Member, Executive Director/General Counsel, Federal Education Association (FEA) See White House Announcement for bio.
Meeting Slides
Last week we published a set of slides from the first council meeting. Here's the original prettier version.
NTEU President Sends Her Take on the Meeting to NTEU Chapter Presidents Pushing Pre-Decisional Involvement
NTEU President Colleen Kelly's letter to Chapter Presidents talked about her expansive view of pre-decisional involvement.
"A key issue for me in the discussions was that the concept of predecisional input be viewed from the perspective of employees. I stressed that the concept should be very broad to ensure that employees and their representatives are in conversations before decisions are made. As you know, too often, standard operating procedures in most agencies are just the opposite. I made the point that NTEU wants to be in the conversation from the beginning, not at the end when the decision is already made and handed to us. And the EO makes clear that should not happen."
Lots of concern exists in Agencies over the subject matter of the forums and the levels at which they'll be established. Some Agencies are expecting union proposals on the whole ball of wax. That raises an interesting question. If they can't agree with the Impasses Panel impose a forum? Stay tuned.
Other News
We are hearing from a number of sources that there are squabbles starting over the composition of Agency forums between various unions. Some want exclusive Forums with an Agency.
Others want proportional representation. AFGE has a number of national councils as does NTEU. But in many of those Agencies, other unions represent employees. This infighting had an effect on Partnership Councils in the Clinton Administration. You know, one would think if the unions were going to write an executive order (as many claim authorship of this one), they'd have addressed this issue.
If you have a Forum agreement, draft plan or other interesting document, please send it to me at bgilson@fedsmith.com. We're trying to keep the community informed.
As always, any opinion expressed is mine and mine alone.
© 2010 Robert J. Gilson. All rights reserved. This article may not be reproduced without express written consent from Robert J. Gilson.
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