American Federation of Government Employees v. Gates

In authorizing the Secretary of Defense to establish a new personnel system, including a temporary labor-management relations subsystem, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004, codified in relevant part at 5 U.S.C. § 9901 et. seq. (Chapter 99), directs — in subsection (b)(4) — that any such system must “ensure that employees may ... bargain collectively as provided for in this chapter.” 5 U.S.C. § 9902(b)(4). According to the court, despite this system requirement, subsection (m), which authorizes the Secretary to create the temporary labor relations subsystem, empowers…