Washington, D.C.- Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) and Congressman Danny K. Davis (D-Illinois) today introduced the Federal Labor-Management Partnership Act of 2007 in the Senate and House, to improve the working relationships between labor unions and federal agencies. The legislation reestablishes the National Labor-Management Partnership Council established by former President Bill Clinton in 1993 with Executive Order 12871.
The bill would establish a Labor-Management Partnership Council, consisting of federal agency officials and employee representatives, to advise the President on matters involving labor-management relations in the executive branch. Its activities would include supporting the creation of local labor-management partnership councils and promoting partnership efforts in the executive branch, disseminating information and providing guidance on partnership efforts, utilizing the expertise of individuals within and outside the Federal Government to foster partnership arrangements, and working together to improve the civil service.
Senator Akaka said: "It is essential that both management and labor work together to address issues facing the federal civil service. This partnership will help workplace changes earn employee acceptance and be more effective."
Congressman Davis said: "Collaborative efforts involving labor and management are essential to the prosperity and growth of the civil service."
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is a cosponsor of the Senate legislation; Representatives Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Albert Wynn (D-MD), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), James Moran (D-VA), William Jefferson (D-LA), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), and Bruce Braley (D-IA) are cosponsors of the House bill.
Senator Akaka is the Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Representative Davis is the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, the Postal Service, and the District of Columbia in the Committee on Oversight of Government Reform.
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