NWSEO sends three delegates to the White House conference on civil service and Federal sector labor relations organized by NWSEO’s General Counsel.

Pictured above from left to right: Executive Vice President Brandon Dunstan, Grand Rapids, MI Steward Nathan Jeruzal, and Eastern Region Chair Alicia Miller

(June 24, 2024) On June 20, NWSEO Executive Vice President Brandon Dunstan (WFO Raleigh), Eastern Region Chair Alicia Miller (WFO Pittsburgh), and Steward Nathan Jeruzal (WFO Grand Rapids) toured the White House and attended an afternoon-long conference and roundtable discussions with senior Administration Officials on federal sector labor relations and issues facing the civil service. This event was sponsored by the Administration with the Federal Workers Alliance, a consortium of over 30 unions representing federal employees, to which NWSEO belongs. Sixteen of these unions sent representatives to the June 20th conference. Among the administration participants were Acting OPM Director Rob Shriver, OMB Deputy Director Jason Miller, White House Political Director Emmy Ruiz, 

Pictured above: Grand Rapids, MI Steward Nathan Jeruzal and Eastern Region Chair Alicia Miller on the White House steps

Erika Dinkel-Smith, Special Assistant to the President for Labor, and Josh Orton, Senior Labor Advisor to the Vice President. This conference was organized for the Federal Workers Alliance by NWSEO’s General Counsel Richard Hirn, who serves as the Co-Chair of the FWA’s Legal Committee.

Among the issues raised by the union representatives at this meeting were telework, employee retention, and the widespread understaffing across virtually all federal agencies. Brandon cited our continued problems with BAS and how our Agency struggles with a flat-lined budget that does not incorporate an adjustment to base. In addition, Nathan brought to the attention of the Acting Director of OPM concerns regarding rules and regulations that are focused on regular Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm workers. 

Pictured above: NWSEO General Counsel Richard Hirn, Easter Region Chair Alicia Miller and Executive Vice President Brandon Dunstan along with representatives of 15 other unions representatives attending conference

He noted that many of the rules and regulations do not consider the situations of shift workers who work nights, weekends, and holidays. Participants in the conference also reviewed the unprecedented initiatives implemented by President Biden to support and enhance collective bargaining in the Federal sector, such as the Executive Orders, which direct agencies to bargain over permissive matters with their unions and to facilitate the ability of unions to recruit new members. Of special note were the recent OPM regulations, which would limit the ability of future Administrations to politicize the civil service and deprive employees of due process rights by converting their positions to the notorious “Schedule F” of the Excepted Service.