Union suggests timetable for GAO organizing effort

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Union suggests timetable for GAO organizing effort
By Brittany R. Ballenstedt bballenstedt@govexec.com July 9, 2007

The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers last week recommended a schedule for resolving disputes surrounding a union election at the Government Accountability Office. If the agency accepts the schedule and the issues are resolved, an election could take place as early as late October.

At a pre-hearing meeting, IFPTE submitted a proposal to the GAO Personnel Appeals Board's administrative judge outlining a schedule for the preliminary meetings and hearings the union and the agency must conduct to resolve disputes on the eligibility of certain employees to unionize.

At the meeting, the union and GAO agreed that the principal issue in the dispute is the status of employees in Band IIB of the agency's paybanding system. GAO contends that 461 Band IIB employees who filed petition cards are "nonspecialist supervisors," which would make them ineligible for union representation as defined by labor law.

"Having recurring responsibilities for leading audit engagements, including supervision of staff, was one of the basic criteria for placing GAO non-specialist analysts into Band IIB," Comptroller General David M. Walker said Monday. "GAO looks forward to presenting the evidence supporting the supervisory status of its Band IIB employees as part of the PAB's normal proceedings."

GAO's challenge has delayed the election proceedings, IFPTE General Counsel Julie Clark said Friday. An IFPTE memo states that while a hearing was scheduled for July 17, GAO management has failed to supply the union or the PAB with adequate information on the employees it is seeking to exclude.

At the pre-hearing meeting, IFPTE issued a list of information GAO must provide, such as documentation of the actual duties of all employees and supervisors, and all documents related to the pay systems the agency uses to compensate employees. The judge ordered the agency to share the requested documents with the union on or before July 16, and requested that the parties submit any disputes over the documents by July 17.

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