Protecting Collective Bargaining and Official Time for Federal Workers Act

Protecting Collective Bargaining and Official Time for Federal Workers Act

This bill nullifies certain executive orders concerning federal-employee collective bargaining. Specifically, it rescinds orders and a memorandum that

• limit the use of unrestricted grants for union activity,
• specify objectives for agencies to negotiate collective-bargaining agreements and establish the Interagency Labor Relations Working Group,
• establish principles for the removal and discipline of federal employees and other personnel issues, and
• delegate authority to the Secretary of Defense to exclude the Department of Defense from certain labor-relations requirements.
  

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6246 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6246

   To provide that certain Executive orders with respect to Federal 
 employee collective bargaining shall have no force or effect, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 12, 2020

Mr. Kilmer (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Pingree, Ms. Kaptur, and 
  Mr. Vela) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                   Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide that certain Executive orders with respect to Federal 
 employee collective bargaining shall have no force or effect, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Collective Bargaining and 
Official Time for Federal Workers Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Federal unions play a critical role in protecting the 
        rights of Federal workers by allowing members to have a 
        collective voice on the job and in the legislative process, 
        advance issues for working families, ensure equal opportunities 
        for all workers, and raise the standards by which all 
        professional and technical workers are employed.
            (2) Collective bargaining is essential to the union 
        process, because it provides mutual agreement between all 
        parties that fosters harmonious relationships between the 
        Federal Government and its employees and protects the interest 
        of both parties.
            (3) The current administration has acted through Executive 
        orders and official memorandums to dismantle Federal unions and 
        undermine their collective bargaining rights across the Federal 
        workforce and these directives have already negatively impacted 
        labor contracts, both signed and under active negotiation.
            (4) These orders set an aggressive schedule for unions to 
        engage in collective bargaining, while also slashing the unions 
        official time for performing union duties by over 91 percent in 
        some cases. These actions are limiting the ability for unions 
        to prepare for negotiations and perform their legally required 
        employee representational duties.
            (5) Section 7101(a) of title 5, United States Code, states, 
        ``Congress finds that labor organizations and collective 
        bargaining in the civil service are in the public interest.''. 
        Attempting to eliminate the union by eliminating almost all its 
        official time repudiates the statutory position that unions are 
        in the public interest.
            (6) Through these orders, agencies are required to comply 
        with artificial bargaining schedules, which undermine good 
        faith negotiations and divert the decision making to an impasse 
        panel, which has no union representation on it and does not 
        represent both parties.
            (7) Collectively, the administration's actions have 
        violated congressional intent, undermined the ability of unions 
        to engage in collective bargaining, and threatened the rights 
        and benefits of millions of Federal workers.

SEC. 3. NULLIFICATION OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS RELATING TO FEDERAL EMPLOYEE 
              COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.

    Each of the following Executive orders and Presidential memorandum 
are rescinded and shall have no force or effect:
            (1) Executive Order 13837 (relating to the use of official 
        time).
            (2) Executive Order 13836 (relating to Federal collective 
        bargaining).
            (3) Executive Order 13839 (relating to the Merit Systems 
        Protection Board).
            (4) The Presidential Memorandum on the Delegation of 
        Certain Authority under the Federal Service Labor-Management 
        Relations Statute, issued to the Secretary of Defense on 
        January 29, 2020.
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