Title: Protecting Collective Bargaining and Official Time for Federal Workers Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Protecting Collective Bargaining and Official Time for Federal Workers ActThis bill nullifies certain executive orders concerning federal-employee collective bargaining. Specifically, it rescinds orders and a memorandum that

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3583 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3583

 To provide that certain Executive orders and Presidential memorandum 
 with respect to Federal employee collective bargaining shall have no 
                force or effect, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 25, 2020

 Mr. Cardin (for himself, Mr. Brown, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Sanders, Mr. 
Durbin, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Casey, Mr. Warner, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Hirono, 
 Mr. Schatz, Mr. Booker, Ms. Klobuchar, and Mr. Peters) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
               Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide that certain Executive orders and Presidential memorandum 
 with respect to Federal employee collective bargaining shall have no 
                force or effect, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Collective Bargaining and 
Official Time for Federal Workers Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Federal unions play a critical role in protecting the 
        rights of Federal workers by allowing members to have a 
        collective voice on the job and in the legislative process, 
        advance issues for working families, ensure equal opportunities 
        for all workers, and raise the standards by which all 
        professional and technical workers are employed.
            (2) Collective bargaining is essential to the union 
        process, because it provides mutual agreement between all 
        parties that fosters harmonious relationships between the 
        Federal Government and its employees and protects the interest 
        of both parties.
            (3) The current administration has acted through Executive 
        orders and official memorandums to dismantle Federal unions and 
        undermine their collective bargaining rights across the Federal 
        workforce and these directives have already negatively impacted 
        labor contracts, both signed and under active negotiation.
            (4) These orders set an aggressive schedule for unions to 
        engage in collective bargaining, while also slashing the unions 
        official time for performing union duties by over 91 percent in 
        some cases. These actions are limiting the ability for unions 
        to prepare for negotiations and perform their legally required 
        employee representational duties.
            (5) Section 7101(a) of title 5, United States Code, states 
        that Congress finds that ``labor organizations and collective 
        bargaining in the civil service are in the public interest.''. 
        Attempting to eliminate the union by eliminating almost all its 
        official time repudiates the statutory position that unions are 
        in the public interest.
            (6) Through these orders, agencies are required to comply 
        with artificial bargaining schedules, which undermine good 
        faith negotiations and divert the decision making to an impasse 
        panel, which has no union representation on it and does not 
        represent both parties.
            (7) Collectively, the administration's actions have 
        violated congressional intent, undermined the ability of unions 
        to engage in collective bargaining, and threatened the rights 
        and benefits of millions of Federal workers.

SEC. 3. NULLIFICATION OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS AND PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM 
              RELATING TO FEDERAL EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.

    Each of the following Executive orders and Presidential memorandum 
are rescinded and shall have no force or effect:
            (1) Executive Order 13837 (83 Fed. Reg. 25335; relating to 
        the use of official time).
            (2) Executive Order 13836 (83 Fed. Reg. 25329; relating to 
        Federal collective bargaining).
            (3) Executive Order 13839 (83 Fed. Reg. 25343; relating to 
        the Merit Systems Protection Board).
            (4) The Presidential Memorandum on the Delegation of 
        Certain Authority under the Federal Service Labor-Management 
        Relations Statute, issued to the Secretary of Defense on 
        January 29, 2020.
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