Improvements Needed in Some Department of the Interior Labor Management Agreements

Executive Order 11491 sets forth the framework for the Federal labor-management relations program and contains a savings clause which permits the renewal or continuation of lawful, negotiated agreements in effect at the time of the original Executive Order in 1962. Public Law 92-392, which established the Federal prevailing rate pay system, nullifies the effect of various provisions in instances where there were negotiated agreements or understandings in effect as of August 1972. Provisions of several agreements in the Seattle Region of the Department of the Interior warrant management attention. Because supervisors generally share responsibility for interpreting, applying, and enforcing Federal collective bargaining agreements, Executive Order 11491 precludes supervisors' inclusion in labor organizations' bargaining units. However, supervisory personnel may be members of the union bargaining unit at the Grand Coulee Dam and Central Snake/Minidoka Area, and agreements at the Grand Coulee Dam and ship "North Star III" contain provisions that somewhat restrict the assignment of certain work to categories of employees. The law states that holiday pay will be paid at twice the base rate of pay, but certain agreements provide for holiday pay at either two and a half times or three times base pay. Other agreements contain overtime provisions which have been ruled illegal. Holiday pay covered under another law is not a negotiable issue under the savings clause of P.L. 92-392, and all negotiated holiday pay provisions should be amended.