Impact on Federal Employees
Homeland Security and Collective Bargaining
President Bush’s proposal for a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would incorporate agencies/offices/functions from 22 existing departments and independent agencies, as well as approximately 170,000 employees, into its structure. In effect the creation of a DHS is a major reorganization within the Federal Government. Most of the realigned agencies in the President’s proposal are covered under the provisions of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, and many of their employees are represented by unions that have negotiated collective bargaining agreements with the agencies. However, the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 includes a provision authorizing the President to exclude…
