Labor-management partnerships have affected the relationship between unions and management in widely varying ways in different agencies, two university professors told the National Partnership Council Wednesday.
University of Pittsburgh Professor Marick Masters and U.S. Coast Guard Academy Professor Robert Albright presented the findings of a year-long survey on the climate of federal sector labor relations at the NPC's first meeting of 1998.
After collecting data from 700 federal union and management representatives, Masters and Albright compared two agencies with a similar number of union and management respondents. (They did not name the agencies in their presentation.)
Respondents from both agencies were asked to answer the following question: "To what extent has the labor-management relationship improved since President Clinton's executive order that created partnerships?" In each agency about 90 percent of the bargaining units who responded had established partnerships.
At the first agency, 73 percent of respondents said the relationship had improved, while only 17 percent said it had deteriorated. Ten percent said it had not changed. At the second agency, only 36 percent said the relationship had improved, while 42 percent said it had deteriorated. Twenty-two percent said it had not changed.
Albright said future research is necessary to determine what factors affect the success or failure of partnership programs. He suggested that political pressure, budget cuts, organizational commitment and increased workloads could be factors that place stress on partnerships.
The study also found that managers, to a greater degree than union representatives, are satisfied with the labor-management relations programs practiced in their organizations.
Finally, the study linked increased productivity and product or service quality with labor relationship improvement.
The study's results will be included in the NPC's report to President Clinton, which was approved at the meeting.
Despite American Federation of Government Employees President Bobby Harnage's concern that the language in the report was too "fluffy," the council will present the report to Clinton for his approval later this month.
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