WASHINGTON, DC – In response to the issuance
of the Executive Order on Labor-Management
Forums issued today by the White House, AFGE
National President John Gage said, “The
Executive Order clearly demonstrates to the
political and career managers in each agency
that the President wants a real change away from
the confrontational, anti-union labor relations
approach that has been practiced by the managers
and labor relations officials over the last nine
years. It will be up to the White House to hold
agencies accountable for making the 180 degree
turn quickly. We will be holding the Obama
Administration to their promise to work with us
to get America’s work done.
“The success of any government reform effort
depends on pressure not only from the top
officials pushing their ideas down but from the
frontline workers, through their elected
representatives, having meaningful input into
how the people’s work can best be done. The
Executive Order on pre-decisional involvement is
not an end, but a means to an end—the goal is
the transformation of how government services
can be more effectively delivered in an
energized work environment where people feel
they are making a difference.
“The administration’s decision not to make
b(1) bargaining mandatory, is, of course, a
disappointment. But our locals are ready to
develop good relationships with their management
counterparts. AFGE’s focus will be in working
through issues so that the agencies will be
better able to advance their missions. As the
Executive Order illustrates, significant
improvements in the agencies’ performance will
be directly related to how well the managers
engage with the unions which represent
approximately eighty percent of the
non-managerial eligible government workforce.”
