Article 36
Bargaining History
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Section 1 provides for negotiations at the Agency level. Such negotiations shall occur over organizational or space changes affecting only that Agency. This change was made in keeping with the philosophy of this Agreement that, to the extent practical, we want to have matters dealt with at the lowest level, and by the parties immediately involved. This relates also to changes in Articles 35 and 29, where consultations will occur prior to any resort to negotiations. There was considerable discussion about the size of the teams. While the Statute only provides that the Union have an equal number of members on official time with Management, at the urging of the Union it was agreed to settle on a fixed number to govern most negotiations. The size of the teams may be increased by mutual agreement, but it was expected that this would be rare. However, where the circumstances warrant it, and where an increase in size would be conducive to conducting fruitful negotiations, any requests would be viewed favorably.

Section 2 reflects the parties' desire to have some ground rules to ensure an orderly and effective process for negotiations at the Departmental level. Neither side wanted to be in constant negotiations, so the Agreement calls for negotiations four (4) times a year. And it was agreed to finalize the agenda based on items submitted at least thirty (30) calendar days in advance. The meeting five (5) days before the start of negotiations is to facilitate the process by clarifying the issues so that both sides may be prepared when they come to the table. All relevant information should be provided to the Union prior to this meeting. The parties also agreed that once negotiations begin, the parties should bargain continuously until an agreement, or impasse, is reached. Hopefully, this will not take as long as five (5) days. The five-day limit expresses the goal that all negotiations be completed in five (5) days or less, and is not an absolute limit. Obviously, the number of bargaining days could be extended as necessary.

Section 3 sets out procedures for dealing with negotiations at the Agency level. The negotiations follow discussions and consultations at the Agency level as prescribed in Articles 35 and 29. The Section provides that negotiations shall begin no sooner than fifteen (15) workdays after the request is sent forward. This reflected Management's concern that these changes be handled in an expeditious manner, while addressing the Union's concern that it have enough time to prepare for the negotiations. The parties may agree to meet sooner. A quarterly bargaining schedule did not make sense if these negotiations were taking place in different Agencies, basically on an as-needed basis.Section 4 provides that all time frames may be extended by mutual consent.

Section 5 provides that negotiations at either level will use the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP) to deal with any impasse in negotiations.

Section 6 promotes the use of interest-based bargaining techniques at mid-term bargaining, but recognizes that this may not always be possible or desirable.