March 6, 2024
Washington, D.C. – Today, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) praises the Biden Administration for issuing an Executive Order which re-establishes labor management forums. These forums provide a critical opportunity for federal employees to use their knowledge and expertise to work with agency management to improve government services.
“Unionized federal employees deserve a platform to have their voices heard by management beyond just the bargaining table,” said NFFE National President Randy Erwin. “Labor-management forums present a meaningful avenue for our members to contribute to important decisions and policies that affect them. I am confident that satisfaction among employees will improve and the American people will benefit from better services because of this Executive Order.”
In 2017, the previous White House administration rescinded an Executive Order which established a National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations and set up a mechanism for implementing department and agency-level labor-management forums across the federal government. Since then, federal employees have largely not had the option of a non-adversarial forum to discuss agency operations, though there has been improvement in this area under the Biden Administration.
“For our union and all the employees we represent, we look forward to working with agencies right away to build our plans for these forums and get to work,” continued Erwin. “We think these forums are invaluable. Through open dialogue and pre-decisional involvement, we can avoid a lot of disputes and delays.”
“This is yet another action that President Biden has taken to deliver on his intention to be the most pro-worker, pro-union President in our country’s history,” continued Erwin. “NFFE-IAM members care deeply about serving their country. It is critical to have a President that understands federal service and the idea that agencies can better fulfill their missions when experienced employees are able to work collaboratively with agency management towards a common goal. Thank you, President Biden, for restoring a vital aspect of the federal service.”