Agencies move ahead to create labor partnership councils

The National Credit Union Administration and National Treasury Employees Union became the first to fulfill one requirement in a December 2009 executive order on Tuesday by establishing the NCUA/NTEU Partnership Council.

The executive order called for agencies to create forums for labor-management collaboration and also re-established a national partnership council. A number of federal agencies are working out agreements with unions, but NTEU and NCUA are moving at a faster pace. The pact was made ahead of the March 9 deadline for submitting proposals to the national council.

"We were asked to create a partnership from NCUA leadership," NTEU President Colleen Kelley said. "It was going to happen with or without an executive order."

NCUA Chairwoman Debbie Matz helped spearhead the project and approached NTEU. "I had been involved in partnerships before, and I wanted to facilitate one with NTEU," she said. "We feel including employees in the decision-making process is just something good to do."

Tuesday's agreement marks the beginning of a long-term commitment. The partnership council will have six NTEU members and six NCUA management officials. The team will help improve workplace conditions by addressing challenges, managing conflicts, and creating a cooperative relationship between NTEU and NCUA. "These individuals will attend monthly meetings, and will be together from the onset of the council," Matz said. "They are going through training together."

The council also will help facilitate discussion between rank-and-file employees and leadership. "Front-line employees have a lot of good ideas about agencies," Kelley said. "We are committed to including these ideas."

The executive order did not grant unions additional bargaining power, but Kelley noted that creating an open dialogue was her main concern. "It will be a slow start, and it will take a lot of discussion among the NTEU and NCUA [staffs]," she said. "It's not just about bargaining; it's about what everyone wants to talk about."

Kelley said the NTEU/NCUA agreement was the first in a number of similar programs NTEU is facilitating. "This is definitely a work in progress," she noted. "You can't just flip on a light switch and expect immediate changes. We felt this decision was good for NCUA as well as employees. Now we are working with 30 other organizations to help facilitate similar arrangements."

Each relationship will be unique, according to Kelley. "We realize that there is not one template that will work in every agency," she said.