Support Needed for Civil Service and Federal Unions

Federal Agency Unions and The Civil Service

Labor Day is an opportunity to celebrate workers and the unions that represent them. This celebration should include the unions that represent employees of federal executive branch agencies—unions that the Trump regime is now attacking.

The federal government collectively is one of the largest employers in the country, and unionized Federal agencies have been a pathway to professional careers and the middle class for members of minority demographic groups, helping, along with private-sector unions, to increase income equity along race and ethnicity variables. And, to the extent that Federal employee unions demonstrate what unions generally can do for their members, they provide an example for workers in the private sector to follow.

What Can Unions Do For Federal Employees?

At the local level, federal union chapters can bargain over working conditions.

Their Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) with federal agencies had codified schedule and workplace flexibilities for work-life balance, even before the COVID-19 epidemic, as well as health and safety provisions including air flow, masking, and spacing requirement to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Local chapters’ CBAs also codify disciplinary processes that allow a chance for training and performance improvement, while chapter stewards apply their knowledge of personnel practices and regulations to staff-management conflicts.

At the national level, the unions have Congressional liaison functions to advocate for pay parity with defense agencies, and legal staff to pursue grievances in front of federal dispute adjudication bodies. The unions have also been vocal proponents of scientific integrity over politically tainted decision-making.

What Can’t Unions Do for Federal Employees?

By law, federal employees cannot strike, and their unions cannot bargain over compensation. 

This is why federal careers are typically seen as a tradeoff—lower salary than for-profit employers (the “private sector”) in exchange for health and retirement benefits, job security, and opportunities to apply scientific and administrative skills to the greater good of society. Regarding compensation in 2024, the advisory Federal Salary Council reported federal government compensation lagging the private sector by almost 25% while the Congressional Budget Office reported public sector compensation to be lagging for those with advanced degrees.

And, lately, unions have been unable to protect their members from layoffs that may cripple the valuable services they deliver.

How Unions Make Life Better for Workers

Unions enhance job security and satisfaction, making it easier for federal agencies to attract well-qualified applicants and to retain experienced professionals, so that the agencies can provide better service to the public. 

Unions also provide societal benefits beyond their specific membership. While service sector union membership has been growing, declining union membership overall has strongly correlated with income inequality between union and non-union workers. The post-World-War-II period of higher union membership shows a much more equal distribution of income than today.

Unsurprisingly, The Trump Regime is Trying to Take These Benefits Away

All of the benefits of union membership to federal workers are now under attack. The recently-passed budget bill demonstrates that the current administration is facilitating even greater concentration of wealth. And the Office of Personnel Management Director does not want federal employees to have job security or satisfaction, nor the federal government to serve the public efficiently and effectively with evidence-based grant funding, regulation, and enforcement.

The Right-Wing Answer to Everything: Privatization

You might wonder how we could possibly have public services without public service providers. The broader goal seems to be privatization of federal assets, like DOJ and HUD office buildings and national forests, and functions, like weather forecasting and mail delivery.

The efficiency and effectiveness that the right ascribes as natural benefits of the private sector only arise when there is competition among firms. Privatizing public agencies into automatic monopolies, presumably to be owned by favored cronies, is manifest corruption.

Let’s Have the Backs of Federal Workers

Now the Trump regime is rolling back many of the advances of the last half-century. To the extent that federal law establishes, and federal employee unions support, a professional and apolitical Civil Service, they are anathema to the current regime.

Small wonder the regime is ignoring and attacking them. The Civil Service and its unions could use our support.

A Bill To Watch for When the House Returns

In April, Representative Jared Golden of Maine introduced the Protect America’s Workforce Act (H.R. 2550). It now has 222 co-sponsors including enough Republicans to pass it on the floor, but it is stuck in the Rules Committee.

In June, Golden introduced a motion to discharge the bill from committee for a vote on the House floor. His discharge petition had almost enough signatories to pass when the House went into recess last week. All Bay Area Dems (except Jared Huffman at last check) have signed on, as well as those in the Central Valley that Bay Area advocacy groups have supported in past elections. When Congress reconvenes, this discharge petition might be grounds for a call for Indivisible action.

In the meantime, we can celebrate federal Civil Service workers and their unions this Labor Day.