Union president knocks Bush’s choice to head labor panel

President Bush's pick to head a labor-management relations panel lacks the experience for the job, according to the leader of one of the largest federal employee unions. "President Bush has nominated an expert as chairperson to the Federal Service Impasses Panel, but the appointee's expertise appears to be in fields unrelated to federal labor-management relations," said Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the second-largest union representing federal employees. On Friday, Bush nominated Becky Norton Dunlop, vice president of external relations at the Heritage Foundation, to serve as chairperson of the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP), according to Joe Dougherty, a spokesman at Heritage, a conservative think tank. Dunlop served in the Reagan administration and has a background in environmental and personnel issues. Dougherty said Dunlop would comment on her nomination after the official paperwork has been approved. Other FSIP nominees include Andrea Fischer Newman, senior vice president of Northwest Airlines; Richard Ainsworth; and Joseph Whitaker, according to a Washington Post report. The White House did not provide background information on any of the nominees. Last week, Bush dismissed all seven members of the FSIP, a board that handles disputes between the government and federal employees. The seven members, who served on a part-time basis at the pleasure of the President, were Clinton appointees. The move surprised federal employee unions, including NTEU and the American Federation of Government Employees. "It is unusual for a President to dismiss everyone at once; that has not happened before," Kelley said. AFGE President Bobby Harnage called Bush's actions "unprecedented and irresponsible." Although AFGE was dismayed by Bush's decision to dismiss the entire panel in one fell swoop, the union has decided to adopt a wait-and-see approach with regard to the nominees' credentials. "It doesn't do our organization any good to comment on a lack of credentials we haven't seen on paper," said AFGE spokeswoman Magda Lynn Seymour. "We would like to acknowledge our excellent working relations with the former board members, who were very fair and impartial, and we look forward to more of the same with the new board," she said. While NTEU is pleased that the administration has announced four FSIP nominees, "a long learning curve could delay the work of the panel," Kelley said. "I hope the new members will get up to speed as quickly as possible."