GovernmentExecutive.com

Two major federal employee unions have agreed on a set of rules for an election to determine which will gain exclusive rights to represent a large group of Homeland Security Department employees.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority will mail ballots to the homes of roughly 21,000 eligible employees at DHS' Customs and Border Protection bureau starting May 9. Recipients will be given a choice of the American Federation of Government Employees, the National Treasury Employees Union or no union.

Ballots will be due back by June 22, and will be counted beginning June 27. Employees who are eligible for but don't receive ballots must request them by May 30. The FLRA will oversee the voting process.

The face-off was prompted by a CBP petition to consolidate non-Border Patrol employees under a single bargaining group. The FLRA upheld that request, calling for an election.

"The importance of the FLRA's decision . . . cannot be overstated. It promotes unity and strengthens our ability to . . . [keep] terrorists and their weapons out of the country," said Kristi Clemens, the bureau's assistant commissioner for public affairs. "CBP managers want to ensure neutrality during this historic election and support this effort to create a unified labor-management organization."

But the election pits two unions that are working side-by-side in a lawsuit over DHS personnel reforms against one another. NTEU says it has taken the lead on that case, though AFGE boasts substantial contributions to securing an August ruling that the reforms would illegally infringe upon collective bargaining rights.

Both sides appealed unfavorable parts of the ruling, and oral arguments are scheduled for April 6. AFGE and NTEU officials said that despite the CBP showdown, they can work together effectively on the upcoming appeal.

They have, however, started an intense campaign to win over customs and border employees.

NTEU already represents nearly 14,000 employees in CBP, mostly from the former Customs Service side of the agency. "Our reputation and our record of representation of these employees I think is well-known," NTEU president Colleen M. Kelley said. She pointed to victories negotiating over the bureau's dress code, and awards and language skills programs.

AFGE, which has 6,500 members from CBP, primarily from the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, also points to various achievements. For instance, the union secured back pay for employees who attended the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center six days a week but were only compensated for five, said Charles Showalter, president of AFGE's National Homeland Security Council.

Both unions also claim structural advantages.

NTEU's setup is geared toward "on-the-ground presence," with local chapters supported by staff attorneys, Kelley said. "The idea of compromising that structure is one that I thought was not in [the members'] best interest," she said in explaining why NTEU eventually favored the elections over an operating arrangement that would have allowed the unions to share CBP employees and still meet the bureau's request for a single bargaining group.

The Treasury union doesn't represent any other large groups of Homeland Security employees. AFGE's members from CBP, in contrast, are part of a much larger organization within the department. The AFL-CIO affiliate represents more than 60,000 DHS employees.

The bigger operation brings the benefit of a broad resource pool, including a sizable staff of professional attorneys and lobbyists, Showalter said. He and AFGE national organizer Peter Winch emphasized, however, that local groups still have a strong voice in this structure.

Locals decide which issues to arbitrate, they said. When possible, rank-and-file officers, rather than outside attorneys lacking direct knowledge of the jobs involved, do the bargaining, Winch added.

"[We were] talking today about wraparound sunglasses and our guys at the table could actually talk about how wraparound sunglasses could add to [officers'] presence," Winch said.

Showalter also noted that AFGE has a stronger presence in law enforcement, with 60,000 to 75,000 members in that community. "That magnifies our ability to get the word out," he said.

But Kelley remained confident that her union would not only retain support from its current members in CBP, but gain votes from employees represented by AFGE. "[We are] the only union challenging [the agency] on many issues, including grooming standards, the right to wear cargo shorts in really hot areas of the country, the process for giving awards . . . and that's just a short list," she said.