Take Action Now to Stop the GAO from Union Busting   by Mike Hall, Jul 11, 2007

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Looks like we may need a watchdog to keep an eye on the government’s “watchdog,” the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

In what mirrors private-sector union-busting tactics—but paid for with our tax dollars—the GAO has hired private counsel to help the agency fight a unionizing drive by more than 1,400 analysts who want to form a union with the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE).

In May, we described how workers at GAO headquarters in Washington, D.C., and in field offices filed for a union election and turned in union-authorization cards signed by a majority of the 1,400 analysts.

Six weeks later, there still is no indication from the GAO if and when an election will be held. Maybe that’s to give more time to the union avoidance hired gun to ready the battle plans. On it’s website, IFPTE says:

Among the many tactics employed by [GAO Comptroller General] David Walker to date is the unprecedented move in the federal sector by hiring “union avoidance” private-sector legal help to block over 1,400 GAO workers from achieving a unionization vote. If you’re wondering how it is that a federal government agency, in the legislative branch no less, is able to use taxpayer funded resources to prevent workers from forming a union, you are not the only one. We at the [IFPTE] and the AFL-CIO have been asking the same question.

The agency also has challenged the union eligibility of 461 employees, claiming they are supervisors, according to IFPTE. Last year, the Republican-led National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) redefined and expanded the category of “supervisor.” Supervisory workers are not eligible to form unions. While the GAO workers fall under the Federal Labor Relations Act (FLRA), the GAO’s claim that those workers are “supervisors” follows the pattern set by private employers trying to stop workers’ drives to join a union.     

Sens. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) are seeking signatures from other senators on a letter to Walker expressing their concerns about the GAO’s tactics, including hiring “union avoidance” legal help

You can help GAO workers in their fight for a voice at work by asking your U.S. senators to join Durbin and Akaka and sign the letter to Walker.

Click here to send message to your senators—and please do it soon. The sign-on deadline is July 13. For more information on the GAO workers’ campaign, click here.

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