GSA organization, labor unions resolve differences

Disagreements between a federal labor union and officials at a recently created contracting division of the General Services Administration have been resolved, officials said Thursday.

Barney Brasseux, acting deputy commissioner at the Federal Acquisition Service, said the agreement clears the final hurdle in combining the old Federal Supply Service and Federal Technology Service.

Representatives from both sides said the negotiations were difficult, but resulted in a stronger relationship. Last month, officials from the National Federation of Federal Employees said they did not oppose the reorganization, but wanted to make sure employees were not hurt in the merger process.

The other union representing the new acquisition branch's 4,100 employees -- the American Federation of Government Employees -- finished bargaining earlier.

NFFE and GSA had been at odds since the negotiations began in mid-January. The parties sought assistance from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, an independent agency that promotes labor-management cooperation.

Ed O'Hare, assistant FAS commissioner in charge of its Office of Strategic Business Planning and Process Improvement, said there was no one major sticking point -- rather, the challenge was bringing together two large organizations.

"It's not every year that you create a whole new service," O'Hare said.

"You have two different cultures, training programs … things that affect employees' day-to-day lives," O'Hare said. "The union represented the employees' interests very well. I'm very pleased with the results."

About half of FAS employees are represented by labor unions and about half of the union members belong to NFFE.

John Hanley, president of the NFFE GSA National Council, said the agreement protects employees in terms of transfers, evaluations and position descriptions. Union members also have some guarantees regarding rights to appeal personnel actions such as transfers. They have been promised that no employees will be downgraded in pay grade or status as a result of the merger.

Hanley said the agreement also will provide for specialized training programs in an effort to avoid procurement problems that have plagued the Federal Technology Service in the past.

"It was probably the toughest negotiation we've had," Hanley said. "But we have a better relationship. … We can better take care of the employees as they go through this transition, which is probably the biggest in GSA's history."