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D.C. LABOR-MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIP COUNCILAGREEMENTJune 1997STATEMENT OF PURPOSEThe D.C. Labor-Management Partnership Council1 will be a forum for communication and cooperation in support of our joint mission to deliver high quality, cost effective service to the residents of and visitors to the District of Columbia, while maintaining a high quality work environment for employees of the District government. The members of the LMPC acknowledge that both labor and management bring value, talent, and resources necessary to provide excellent public service to our customers. The LMPC will promote a joint understanding of the unique problems, challenges, and opportunities facing the District of Columbia, its unions and management, and will seek ways to jointly and responsibly address these issues. The LMPC possesses the will and the authority to make decisions and solve problems that arise in the course of its work. This agreement is consistent with the following mutual interests:
As we strive to achieve our mutual interests, make progress and institute changes, the form and substance of this document may change over time. PRINCIPLES OF THE RELATIONSHIPThe LMPC members shall provide the leadership necessary to create a city-wide labor-management relationship based on mutual interests, respect, and trust. Toward that end, we will strive to:
FUNCTIONS OF THE LMPCThe main functions of the LMPC are to:
The LMPC will be selective in focusing our efforts and choose wisely among issues that will benefit from the attention of the LMPC. On a practical level, this means we will jointly define goals, set priorities, and develop a workplan on a periodic basis. We will identify a select number of Agencies and Departments for "priority focus," and designate appropriate timelines, responsibilities and resources to achieve a prompt response. We will also develop a more long-term agenda and workplan, while continuing to be responsive to emerging issues. MEMBERSHIP OF THE LMPCThe members of the LMPC will consist of representatives of management, including the office of the Mayor, office of the City Administrator, the Council of the District of Columbia, the DC Financial Authority, an Agency Administrator, one middle manager, and the management co-chair of the State/Local Government Labor-Management Committee. Labor will be represented by Leadership from four unions, specifically AFSCME, AFGE, SEIU, the Nurses Association, the President of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL- CIO, and the labor co-chair of the State/Local Government Labor-Management Committee. Eileen Hoffman, General Counsel of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) and Chuck Richards, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Labor-Management Programs at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will facilitate our meetings. The LMPC will have two co-chairs, one from labor and one from management, who will chair our meetings on an alternating basis. No alternates or substitutes for permanent members will be allowed, unless the co-chairs make an exception to this rule prior to a scheduled meeting. A periodic changing of designated members may also be considered by the LMPC. Additional resource people may be invited to attend meetings for informational purposes, but will not participate in decision-making by the members of the LMPC. STAFFINGThe work of the LMPC will be supported by staff from management and labor who shall work under the direction of the co-chairs, and from FMCS and the DOL who shall work under the direction of the facilitators. Labor/management support staff will be responsible for the production and distribution of meeting agendas and materials, and for logistical facilitation for meetings. Support staff provided by FMCS and the DOL shall be responsible for training and ensuring that we, as well as Agency labor-management partnership councils that will be created, have the shared knowledge, tools, and skills to carry out the functions outlined in this agreement. SUBCOMMITTEESThe LMPC may create sub-committees or working groups to review issues, conduct research, draft reports and conduct other such business as determined by the LMPC. AGENCY/DEPARTMENT LABOR-MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIP COUNCILSOn a priority basis, as determined by the LMPC, employee participation and labor management partnership councils shall be introduced at the most appropriate levels as a way to improve the cost, quality, and delivery of customer services. Attention will first be given to some of our more immediate and challenging areas. Once identified by the LMPC, the area selected shall be assigned support staff from either the DOL or the FMCS and shall, from that point forward, choose their own co-chairs and create their own solutions to problems, free, to a large extent, from any oversight restrictions. Both creativity and appropriate risk-taking will be encouraged. Outputs, timelines, and outcomes will need to be specifically identified. GROUND RULES AND DECISION MAKINGFor both the city-wide LMPC and the Agency/Department Councils, decisions will be made by consensus. Consensus means agreement among both labor AND management members of the committee. The position of individual members may reflect varying degrees of enthusiasm for the team decision, but all Council members shall agree to support Council decisions. CONFLICT RESOLUTIONThe LMPC will establish a conflict resolution process. MEETING AGENDAAny member of the LMPC may suggest an agenda item to either of the co-chairs. The co-chairs will confer prior to any full meeting of the LMPC to jointly determine the agenda for the upcoming meeting. Other items may be added to the agenda by consensus at the beginning of a meeting, as circumstances require. MEETINGSNo less than one meeting per month will be scheduled. It is anticipated that, during the early stages of this project, it will be necessary to meet more frequently. To the extent possible, the meetings will be held during normal working hours. Employees will not be charged leave for time spent on LMPC activities. MEDIAThe co-chairs of the LMPC will serve as official spokespersons and will agree on statements to the media on the joint work of the LMPC. It is understood and agreed that any other representative of either management or labor will confer with the co-chairs prior to any media release which concerns the work of the LMPC. RESOURCESDOL and FMCS staffing resources, as outlined above, will be committed at no cost to the parties. Should the parties agree to seek other specialized services for which payment is required, joint payment will be negotiated on a case by case basis. PARTICIPATIONParticipation in this Agency/Department labor-management partnership councils does not constitute a waiver, by any party, of collective bargaining and arbitration rights. However, any information or proposal not in the public domain, shared in the work of this committee will not be used in any arbitration proceeding, unless mutually agreed. Agreed to this 23 day of June , 1997 by the undersigned.
AMENDMENTS TO THE DC LABOR-MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL AGREEMENT OF JUNE, 1997 At its February 24, 1998 meeting, the DC Labor-Management Partnership Council amended its Agreement as follows: MEMBERSHIP OF THE LMPC (Top of page #3). Insert on line three, after the word Authority, the phrase ... during the control years. MEMBERSHIP OF THE LMPC (Second paragraph, Page #3) shall now read ... The LMPC will have three chairpersons, one from labor, one appointed by the Mayor, and the Chief Management Officer (CMO) of the DC Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority (DC Financial Authority). They, or their designee, will chair the meetings of the LMPC on an alternating basis. PARTICIPATION on the LMPC (Page #6). Participation on the LMPC has changed due to the departure of some members and the addition of others. Ron Nielly of AFSCME replaces Tish Taylor as a member of the LMPC. Michael Rogers, former City Administrator has departed. Francis Smith, of the DC Financial Authority, will be replaced by the CMO Camille Barnett. James Baxter has been appointed by the Mayor to serve as a Management Chairperson of the LMPC. Camille Barnett will also serve as a Management Chairperson and represent the DC Financial Authority. Joslyn Williams, of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO will continue in the capacity of labor chairperson.
1. The D.C. Labor-Management Partnership Council will be referred to as LMPC throughout this document. |
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