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 Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, Illinois 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 Rock Island, Illinois Arsenal 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 Rock Island Arsenal is a government owned and operated manufacturing facility located on an island in the Mississippi River between Illinois and Iowa. The arsenals operating funds are generated through the sale of large and small weapons systems; and tool sets, shop sets, kits and outfits for users in the field. Through the Labor-Management Partnership Council, with full participation by the Rock Islands two largest unions, a special improvement team made over 80 suggestions to reduce operating expenses and develop a new organizational structure to streamline work performed at the arsenal. The estimated cost savings from implementation of the teams recommendations are $4.8 million for fiscal year 97 and $5 million for fiscal year 98. In addition to reducing operating expenses, cost savings have been realized by the sharp decline in the number of formal employee complaints over the past five years. Labor and management worked together on the partnership council when faced with the abolishment of approximately 150 positions. The council re-engineered jobs and developed training positions with the result that approximately 80 vacancies were filled by employees who otherwise would have been terminated.

In addition to saluting the Rock Island Arsenal 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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