Protecting Federal Workers Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 249 To provide that certain Executive orders with respect to Federal employee collective bargaining and workplace rights shall have no force or effect, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 11, 2021 Mr. KILMER (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Ms. KAPTUR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Re- form, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide that certain Executive orders with respect to Federal employee collective bargaining and workplace rights shall have no force or effect, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Federal 4 Workers Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H249.IH H249 2 •HR 249 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) Federal unions play a critical role in pro- 3 tecting the rights of Federal workers by allowing 4 members to have a collective voice on the job and in 5 the legislative process, advance issues for working 6 families, ensure equal opportunities for all workers, 7 and raise the standards by which all professional 8 and technical workers are employed. 9 (2) Collective bargaining is essential to the 10 union process, because it provides mutual agreement 11 between all parties that fosters harmonious relation- 12 ships between the Federal Government and its em- 13 ployees and protects the interest of both parties. 14 (3) The current administration has acted 15 through Executive orders and official memorandums 16 to dismantle Federal unions and undermine their 17 collective bargaining rights across the Federal work- 18 force and these directives have already negatively 19 impacted labor contracts, both signed and under ac- 20 tive negotiation. 21 (4) These orders set an aggressive schedule for 22 unions to engage in collective bargaining, while also 23 slashing the unions official time for performing 24 union duties by over 91 percent in some cases. 25 These actions are limiting the ability for unions to 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H249.IH H249 3 •HR 249 IH prepare for negotiations and perform their legally re- 1 quired employee representational duties. 2 (5) Section 7101(a) of title 5, United States 3 Code, states, ‘‘Congress finds that labor organiza- 4 tions and collective bargaining in the civil service are 5 in the public interest.’’. Attempting to eliminate the 6 union by eliminating almost all its official time repu- 7 diates the statutory position that unions are in the 8 public interest. 9 (6) Through these orders, agencies are required 10 to comply with artificial bargaining schedules, which 11 undermine good faith negotiations and divert the de- 12 cision making to an impasse panel, which has no 13 union representation on it and does not represent 14 both parties. 15 (7) Collectively, the administration’s actions 16 have violated Congressional intent, undermined the 17 ability of unions to engage in collective bargaining, 18 blocked successful diversity and inclusion training 19 programs, and threatened the rights and benefits of 20 millions of Federal workers. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:06 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H249.IH H249 4 •HR 249 IH SEC. 3. NULLIFICATION OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS RELATING 1 TO FEDERAL EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE BAR- 2 GAINING. 3 Each of the following Executive orders and presi- 4 dential memorandum are rescinded and shall have no force 5 or effect: 6 (1) Executive Order 13837 (relating to the use 7 of official time). 8 (2) Executive Order 13836 (relating to Federal 9 collective bargaining). 10 (3) Executive Order 13839 (relating to the 11 Merit Systems Protection Board). 12 (4) Executive Order 13950 (relating to race 13 and sex stereotyping). 14 (5) Executive Order 13957 (relating to schedule 15 F in the excepted service). 16 (6) The Presidential Memorandum on the Dele- 17 gation of Certain Authority under the Federal Serv- 18 ice Labor-Management Relations Statute, issued to 19 the Secretary of Defense on January 29, 2020. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H249.IH H249