FLRA NEWS

February 10, 1999 · PR 103-99
Contact: Patty Reilly
202-482-6500

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) announced today that it will hold two national training conferences to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the passage of the Federal Service Labor Management Relations Statute (Statute).

The conferences will be held in Denver, Colorado on May 4 and 5, 1999 and in Washington, D.C. on June 14 and 15. Both conferences will feature programs to train parties in the following areas: their rights and obligations under the Statute; skills for resolving their disputes through interest based problem-solving; and the FLRA's regulatory initiatives undertaken in the past few years.

Announcing the conferences, FLRA Chair Phyllis Segal explained, "These conferences will commemorate the two decades since Congress recognized that collective bargaining in the federal workplace contributes to effectively conducting public business and resolving disputes over conditions of employment." She further noted, "The FLRA is celebrating this anniversary by hosting training programs because we recognize that constructive labor management relations depend on the knowledge and skills of the individual participants. The conferences will expand this knowledge and foster interest based problem-solving by labor and management, in order to strengthen federal sector collective bargaining and assure that the public interest is served."

The FLRA is an independent agency that administers the labor-management relations program for 1.9 million non-Postal Service Federal employees worldwide, approximately 1.1 million of whom are exclusively represented in 2,200 bargaining units. It is charged with providing leadership in establishing policies and guidance related to Federal sector labor-management relations and with resolving disputes under and ensuring compliance with the Statute.

Information regarding the conferences will be mailed in March, 1999, and will be available at that time on the FLRA's web site at www.flra.gov. For further information regarding the conferences contact Patty Reilly at (202)-482-6500.