A federal appeals court delivered a major blow to the Homeland Security Department on Tuesday, unanimously striking down a system of regulations proposed last year that would have given the agency the power to override collective bargaining agreements, removed a number of work rules issues from bargaining discussions, and created an internal labor dispute board. The rules, justified by the Bush Administration as granting the HSD necessary flexibility, were unambiguously rejected by the opinion, which upheld previous court rulings and generally expanded the protection granted to unions in the bargaining process.
See "Court: Homeland Improperly Limited Workers", Will Lester, The Washington Post, June 27, 2006