FDA goes union

Review times should not be affected by the decision of FDA's non-supervisory employees in April to form two collective bargaining units, Susan Alpert, director of the agency's Office of Device Evaluation, says at a recent Food and Drug Law Institute meeting in Washington, D.C. As a result of the vote, FDA has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the National Treasury Employees Union. In addition to supervisors and administrative employees who handle personnel issues, the agreement excludes Public Health Service officers, of which 112 of FDA's 350 officers work in the Center for Devices and Radiological Health. A contract between FDA and NTEU has yet to be negotiated, according to agency staffers