FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 5, 1997

CONTACT: Mary Ann Maloney (202) 606-1800 mamalone@opm.gov

Washington, D.C.--Members of the labor-management team at the Pharr, Texas, U.S. Customs Hidalgo/Pharr Port of Entry are being honored by the National Partnership Council for their efforts in creating a team that has improved customer service and saved tax dollars. The members of the Hidalgo/Pharr Port of Entry partnership will receive the award at the National Partnership Award ceremony on:

The National Partnership Council was created on October 1, 1993, by President Clinton to forge labor-management relations throughout the Executive Branch and encourage agencies and unions to work together to create a government that works better and costs less. The Council is comprised of federal cabinet and agency officials, the presidents of the American Federation of Government Employees, National Treasury Employees Union, the National Federation of Federal Employees, a representative of the Public Employees Department of the AFL-CIO, and representatives from the Senior Executive Association and the Federal Managers Association.

The single greatest achievement of the U.S. Customs Service Hidalgo/Pharr Port of Entry/National Treasury Employees Union partnership has been a dramatic increase in the level and spirit of cooperation between labor and management. The partnership conceived and implemented specialized enforcement teams which have been instrumental in bringing about a 40 percent increase in narcotics seizures at the Hidalgo and Pharr facilities. Overtime expenditures, a matter of great importance to the Customs Service, have been reduced by approximately 35 percent (approximately $627,000), meeting the budgetary requirements of the Customs Service. The improvement in communication that partnership fosters resulted in a 100 percent decrease in employee grievances. It also eased the negotiation of fiscal year 96 emergency overtime reductions, the implementation of dispute-resolution procedures, and the negotiation and implementation of improved employee schedules.

In addition to saluting the Hidalgo/Pharr Port of Entry partnership, the National Partnership Council will present awards to six other partnerships that have improved service and saved money.

Each of the partnerships we recognize today is a model for managers and unions as they work together to deliver the highest quality services to the American people, said Vice President Al Gore, who has spearheaded the Reinventing Government effort.

Janice R. Lachance, Acting OPM Director and Chair of the NPC, added, Todays honorees have proven that federal labor-management partnerships provide real results for the American people by saving taxpayer money and delivering better services.

Members of the media wishing to attend the ceremony should contact OPMs Mary Ann Maloney at 202-606-1800 or at mamalone@opm.gov. A live satellite broadcast can be downlinked using the following coordinates:

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