FLRA NEWS

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY · WASHINGTON, DC · 20424

June 4, 1996 · PR 111-96
Contact: Helenann Hirsch
202-482-6500

The Federal Service Impasses Panel today announced a series of steps it is taking to improve the services it provides to federal agencies and unions nationwide. The steps are being implemented in response to a customer survey that was distributed to several hundred parties who filed cases with the Panel over the last two years, asking them for their views on improving the Panel's services.

In announcing the changes, Panel Chair Betty Bolden confirmed the Panel's commitment to putting its customers first: "The Panel's chief priorities are providing high-quality and timely impasse resolution services to federal agencies and unions. This is particularly important during this time of great transition in the federal government. The steps we're announcing today to improve the way the Panel does business will go a long way toward achieving these goals," said Bolden. The steps taken by the Panel include:

• Reviewing and proposing revisions to Panel regulations that are aimed at simplifying filing procedures and speeding up response times;
• Developing a new expedited arbitration procedure to speed up resolution of certain impasses;
• Increasing the use of face-to-face meetings to resolve cases whenever possible;
• Providing more and clearer information to the parties from the outset about the Panel's procedures;
• Clarifying for the parties the reasons for declining jurisdiction;
• Expanding training and education activities; and
• Ensuring broader access to the Panel's request for assistance form.

The Federal Service Impasses Panel, a component within the Federal Labor Relations Authority, is the last step in federal sector collective bargaining -- the substitute for the strike and lockout in the private sector. The Panel is charged with resolving impasses between federal agencies and unions representing federal employees arising from negotiations over conditions of employment. For more information or to receive copies of the Panel's customer survey report or request for assistance form, contact Linda Lafferty at (202) 482-6670.