National President Dougan Praises Achievements of Labor Management Partnership Forums Before Senate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cory Bythrow, Communications Director
Phone: (202) 255-9950

Washington, D.C. – William R. Dougan, National President the National Federation of Federal Employees, a national union representing 110,000 federal employees in 40 separate departments and agencies government-wide, testified today on the successes of Labor Management Forums before the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia. The following are excerpts from his oral testimony:

“If you are serious about trimming budgets and finding ways to make government run more efficiently, you should make certain that agencies are working with employees to find solutions.  It is employees that do the work every day, and they know better than anyone how to get the work done better, faster, and more economically.  In order for the know-how of federal workers to be leveraged into government efficiency, they need a legitimate voice in the process.  It is through labor-management forums, an extension of the collective bargaining relationship, that federal workers are provided that essential voice.”

“The reestablishment of labor-management forums has been a breath of fresh air in a majority of agencies where forums are established.  In these agencies, forums are being used to facilitate smarter, leaner, and more efficient government by including some of the most important stakeholders of all – the employees who actually carry out the missions of the agencies.”

“I can say from my 30-year career as a federal employee that labor-management forums do improve agency performance.  Regardless of what an agency’s objective is – be it cost savings, faster processing, better workplace safety, etc. – employees are often the best source of information for how to make the agency work better.  Through forums, employees have a real voice in offering alternatives and ideas on how to better accomplish the work.  There is no more fertile ground for improved agency performance than listening to the ideas and concerns of workers.”

“You’ve heard the saying, ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’  The same concept applies to labor-management relations.  Labor-management forums are very effective at preventing far greater costs that agencies might incur by not involving employees.”

Written Testimony: http://www.nffe.org/ht/a/GetDocumentAction/i/33976     

Oral Testimony: http://www.nffe.org/ht/a/GetDocumentAction/i/33974