FLRA NEWS


FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY · WASHINGTON, DC · 20424
June 14, 1999 · PR 108-99
Contact: Patty Reilly
202-482-6500

FLRA RECEIVES HAMMER AWARD AT WHITE HOUSE CEREMONY


The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) announced today that it is a recipient of Vice President Al Gore's Government Reinvention award for reinventing the Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) litigation process. The award, an actual hammer in decorative ribbon, was presented to the FLRA by Morley Winograd, Director of the National Partnership for Reinvention Government, at a White House Conference Center ceremony on June 7, 1999.

The reinvented ULP process is the product of thirty FLRA staff who worked in three cross-component teams that analyzed the previous regulations, wrote new regulations and procedures, and trained customers on them. The revised ULP process requires litigating parties -- for the first time in the field of Federal labor law -- to exchange information through mandatory pre-hearing conferences and discovery. The revised ULP process also encourages parties to resolve their differences using collaboration and alternative dispute resolution. Since the new ULP litigation regulations took effect in October 1997, the number of expensive, last minute settlements has fallen dramatically -- from 15% of all settlements in 1997 to just 3% of all settlements in Fiscal Year 1998. Where settlements are not achieved, the reinvented ULP process expedites litigation by narrowing and sharpening the issues in dispute.

FLRA Chair Phyllis N. Segal applauded FLRA staff, noting "The success of FLRA staff in reinventing the ULP litigation process means that Federal workers and agencies will spend less time litigating and more time conducting the business of government. FLRA staff truly has taken the Vice President's message to heart – they have helped to create a government that works better, costs less, and produces results that the American people care about."

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.

For further information regarding the FLRA's Hammer Award contact Patty Reilly at (202)-482-6500.

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