Collective Bargaining in the Federal Public Sector: Disclosing Employee Names and Addresses Under Exemption 6 of the Freedom of Information Act

This Note examines the application of FOIA and the Privacy Act to union requests for employee names and addresses under the Fed. LM Statute. Part I briefly explores the importance of employee names and addresses to collective bargaining. This Part also examines the increasingly significant role of public sector unions due to the growth in federal public sector employment and the decline of private sector unionization. Part II analyzes the various circuit court decisions supporting disclosure in the federal public sector. Part III examines Reporters Committee and Department of the Treasury and discusses the potential policy implications resulting from the D.C. Circuit’s application of Reporters Committee in the collective bargaining context. Finally, Part IV proposes an alternative reading of FOIA that removes the barrier of Reporters Committee and better serves the goals of both the Privacy Act and the Fed. L-M Statute.