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Washington, D.C.-President Bush's reported decision to revoke a standing executive order on partnership is a step back for meaningful labor relations in the federal government, and risks a return to a more adversarial-based relationship between labor and management that is costly and unproductive, said the head of the largest independent union for federal employees.

"The president's decision is extremely disappointing given the success NTEU has had with its agency partners in improving service to taxpayers throughout the federal government," said NTEU National President Colleen M. Kelley. "Working in partnership allows agency management and federal employees to work together to solve problems that hinder effective delivery of federal services."

Over the years, there has been a recognition, both in the public and private sectors, that the involvement of front-line employees is critical to an organization's success in carrying out its mission, Kelley said. "This is what is at the heart of partnership."

In 1991, the General Accounting Office (GAO) reported that federal labor-management relations were "too adversarial, and bogged down by litigation over procedural issues and minutiae." After seven years of partnership, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) concluded that there "has been a sizable shift toward labor-management cooperation and away from the mutually destructive, adversarial relationships common in the past."

"The elimination of the executive order puts federal workers and managers on a potential path toward a return to the times of hostile relationships between labor and management that the GAO identified in 1991," Kelley said. "The president's decision further ignores the accomplishments of the last seven years that are directly tied to the pre-decisional involvement of front-line employees."

A shining example of a partnership success story is the reorganization and modernization of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Since Congress, in 1998, called for the agency to undergo the largest reorganization of a federal agency in our nation's history, the ability for all employees to have pre-decisional involvement in reorganization decisions has led to the smoothest transition on record. In the midst of this massive reorganization, American taxpayers have experienced increased customer service throughout two filing seasons.

"The benefits of employees having pre-decisional involvement are well-documented at the IRS," Kelley said. "It is shortsighted for President Bush to ignore the evidence and turn back the clock on employee-management relations."

NTEU represents some 150,000 employees in 25 federal agencies and departments.