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In an important federal appeals court victory, unions representing government workers have again thwarted the Bush administration's attempt to undermine collective bargaining at the Department of Homeland Security. The decision sets critical precedent for efforts to knock down similar administration efforts at other government agencies, including the Department of Defense, which employs hundreds of IBEW members.

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld and broadened a lower court decision which determined new personnel rules at DHS illegal, violating the intent of Congress.

The court stated: "We know of no contemporary system of collective bargaining that limits the scope of bargaining to employee-specific personnel matters, as does the (DHS) system." The court said that DHS's argument that the new rules were part of the "flexible" human resources system, approved by Congress, was "specious."

The suit which triggered the decision was filed by the National Treasury Employees Union. NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley said: "It's high time the administration abandoned this losing proposition," adding that the appeals court decision "clearly has significant implications" for the administration's effort to remake civil service rules throughout the government. The vehicle for that effort--the Working for America Act (WFAA)--is stalled, not even attracting a congressional sponsor.

Read the decision:

DHS Decision