NTL Conservative Blog: Labor Management Relations 1-29-25

President John F. Kennedy authorized federal employees to unionize in 1962 when he signed Executive Order 10988, which granted them the right to collectively bargain with their agencies.

In 2025, more than a million federal civilian workers are represented by unions. The biggest are the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents some 800,000 workers in the federal and D.C. governments, and the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents another 150,000 workers.

Agency labor relations specialists support agency leadership to help mitigate the risk of committing violations of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute) or a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). They may provide advisory and consultation services to management to address areas such as grievances, negotiated agreements, and policy analysis and interpretation in union matters or serve as the agency representative for third-party matters such as arbitration, unfair labor practice, and impasse hearings. On this page, you can find tools and resources developed by OPM to assist agency specialists in performing these functions.

List of Unions that Consult with OPM

The following unions have a national consultation relationship with OPM. Learn more about how these unions support the federal workforce.

· Association of Civilian Technicians

· American Federation of Government Employee (AFGE)

· American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

· Federal Education Association

· International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)

· International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE)

· Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA)

· Metal Trades Department

· National Association of Government Employees - Service Employees International Union (NAGE SEIU)

· National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA)