Who's the Biggest Union?

The Office of Personnel Management issued a statement Friday saying that the agency's director Linda M. Springer, had "issued a friendly challenge to the largest federal employee union: 'Help us build a contemporary, flexible workplace that will accommodate the 21st century career patterns of a diverse talent pool.' " But Springer issued her challenge to the National Treasury Employees union, which while being the largest independent federal labor union (that is, not affiliated with the AFL-CIO), is not the biggest labor organization overall. That honor belongs to the American Federation of Government Employees, by a fairly wide margin.