GAO Analysts ‘Band Together’ for a Union   by Mike Hall, May 8, 2007

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Looking for accountability from management following recent sweeping changes in personnel policy, analysts at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) filed union authorization cards today, calling for the first union election ever at the investigative arm of Congress.

The cards, signed by a majority of the 1,500 analysts at the agency’s Washington, D.C., and field offices, say the workers want to gain a voice on the job with the Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) union. Says IFPTE president Greg Junemann:

Analysts at the agency devote their careers to speaking out about improving government, yet at their own agency their voices have been muted. In recent months, problems with a reclassification system have hurt the team mentality that has made the agency successful in the past. Morale has suffered, and the agency’s management has unfairly eliminated cost-of-living increases for many GAO employees and frozen the salaries of others.

Two years ago, GAO made several drastic and unilateral changes in personnel policy, including dividing workers into salary “bands,” eliminating cost-of-living increases for many and labeling some workers as “over market” and reducing their salaries.

Many of the unilateral changes made at GAO, says the union, are similar to personnel policies that have been challenged at the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security by unions at those workplaces. (Click here and here for more information.)

Coming together under the slogan “Band Together,” GAO workers have gathered authorization cards from hundreds of their colleagues, held regular meetings and used personal vacation time to visit with colleagues employed at field offices in preparation for today’s card filing with the agency’s Personnel Appeals Board.

Senior analyst John Vocino says:

In its advice to other agencies, GAO encourages meaningful employee involvement as a critical element of successful personnel management change. It is time we led by example here at GAO. There is no question that many of management’s recent missteps could have been avoided had employees been union-represented during the planning, adoption and implementation of personnel management changes.

GAO is an independent agency, but members of Congress have urged the agency to deal with its workers in a fair manner without intimidation or interference. Says Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Md.):

I believe that it will be important for Congress to serve as a watchdog in coming weeks to make sure that GAO’s management does not interfere in this unprecedented vote in any way nor try to delay the election process.

The election is expected to be held within 90 days. 

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