Expert says labor relations can survive without partnership councils

President Bush's recent policy stance on labor management relations may cause an immediate increase in lawsuits, but over the long term it should improve federal sector labor relations, according to a top labor relations official. "The changes that come will not interfere with the federal government," Federal Labor Relations Authority General Counsel Joseph Swerdzewski said about Bush-era labor relations. "In the short term we may see more . . . litigation, but [over the] long term I think it will work fine." Swerdzewski, a political appointee in the Clinton administration and a 20-year labor relations veteran, is stepping down from his post on April 15. His departure follows President Bush's recent dissolution of the National Partnership Council. On Feb. 17, Bush ordered the revocation of Executive Order 12871, which created the National Partnership Council and required agencies to establish individual partnership councils and increase union involvement in agency decision-making. Swerdzewski said Bush's move builds on guidance the labor relations agency issued in 1999. The guidance, "How To Develop a Labor Relations Strategy," emphasizes the importance of both law and human relationships in effective labor-mangement relations. He said Bush's approach to labor relations is in keeping with his collaborative management style, and simply represents a different approach than the compliance method used by President Clinton. "You can conduct [labor-management partnerships] in a collaborative, problem-solving fashion, or a in a compliance fashion," Swerdzewski said. "What makes more sense in labor management relationships is not just partnership and not just compliance, but a combination of the two." Still, Swerdzewski conceded that the Bush labor relations policy has made some people unhappy. "There's going to be a period of change in federal sector labor relations and I think both parties have to adapt to a different environment," he said. "I think it can be fruitful as long as both sides understand the overall reason for labor relations in the federal sector is to accomplish the mission of the federal government." During Swerdzewski's seven-year tenure as general counsel for the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the agency issued 20 new policies and sets of guidance on how to develop labor relations. Now, there are six manuals available on the agency's Web site explaining each of the agency's procedures. "These manuals have had a major impact on opening up our procedures and allowing people to understand what we've done and how we do it," Swerdzewski said. As he prepares to leave his post, Swerdzewski credited his agency for acknowledging that relationships are the most important factor in labor relations. "Labor relations is two things. It's an enforcement of laws, but it's also a relationship among people," he said. "We'll always enforce the law, but maybe at the same time we can work on the relationship."