President Joe Biden asked for the resignation of all 10 Federal Service Impasse Panel Members, which became effective by the end of the day Feb. 2 an FSIP spokesperson told Federal Times.
The FSIP is a branch of the Federal Labor Relations Authority responsible for resolving disputes between employee unions and agency negotiators when consensus on a collective bargaining agreement cannot be reached.
The previous members were appointed under the Trump administration, and union officials took frequent issue with the panel’s rulings, which appeared to favor President Donald Trump’s 2018 executive orders mandating significant union restrictions.
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Biden has since rescinded those orders with an executive order of his own, but some union leaders have noted that agency negotiators continue to follow the hard line established under Trump.
“On behalf of the 700,000 government employees we represent, our union extend our heartfelt thanks to President Biden for taking swift action to remove the current panel members and restore basic fairness for federal workers,” said American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley in a statement.
“The outgoing panel, appointed by the previous administration and stacked with transparently biased union-busters, was notorious for ignoring the law to gut workplace rights and further an extreme political agenda. FSIP is a critical component in the federal negotiating process, and we look forward to President Biden’s future picks issuing just decisions, unencumbered by political interference.”
Panel members are appointed by the president, but do not require Senate confirmation, meaning that Biden can seat new members as soon as he determines who he wants on the panel.
Jessie Bur covers federal IT and management.
