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Washington, D.C: -- The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) and the Department of Energy (DOE) signed an agreement today on a new, four?step performance appraisal system at DOE headquarters that will use job standards developed with substantial input from employees.

NTEU President Robert M. Tobias, who praised the efforts of Energy Secretary Bill Richardson in helping reach agreement, called the new system "not only fair to employees, but a step forward in the ability of the agency to accomplish its important missions." NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing more than 155,000 employees in 21 agencies and departments, including more than 3,200 in two chapters at DOE facilities in Washington and Germantown, Md.

The headquarters performance appraisal system, under negotiation for some months, was for a considerable time a matter of contention. NTEU did not endorse the recommendations of a workgroup studying problems with the existing system, and traditional collective bargaining did not produce agreement. The agency indicated late last year that it intended to put into place on January 1 a new system, which NTEU criticized as "nothing more than pass?fail Tobias urged Secretary Richardson to delay implementation of that system, since, he argued, it would do nothing to fix problems of the existing system that everyone?agreed had been affecting adversely both employee performance and the agency's mission.

When Richardson agreed, the parties were able to shift their focus to interest?based negotiations, a process in which labor and management start with a common objective and work toward accomplishing it.

The result at DOE headquarters is the new performance system. It not only establishes the framework for the development of elements and standards of each position, but provides for communicating that information to employees; spells out their rights to take part in the process?including steps they can take if they disagree; and provides a mechanism for performance?based employee awards of cash and compensatory time off.

"This agreement is good not just for the agency and its employees, but for the public we both serve," Tobias said, "and is the result of parties of good will working hard toward a common goal." The agreement provides for joint oversight and review of its implementation and additional negotiations as circumstances dictate.