By Mike Hall
AFL-CIO Senior Writer
Local, state and federal public employees and their unions are often targeted by lawmakers trying to score political points and corporate interests looking for profits in privatized public services. But a new report shows how public employees and their unions are working with management to improve the way government runs and provide better services.
The report, Improving Government Through Labor–Management Collaboration and Employee Ingenuity, from the Jobs With Justice Education Fund, shows how workers, their unions and management are tackling a wide range of issues, from reducing health care costs and implementing complex new technologies to addressing policy shifts in mental health care. Says Erin Johansson, the report’s author:
Through joint efforts, these teams are getting results—saving taxpayer money, improving the delivery of government services and expanding training opportunities for employees.
Some of the examples cited include:
- The Federal Aviation Administration and National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) worked together to successfully roll out new technology at 17 of 20 air traffic control centers, saving millions of dollars in software development costs.
- The city of Phoenix worked with a coalition of unions to create an Innovation and Efficiency Task Force, which has saved the city nearly $60 million annually since it began in 2009.
- The Naval Sea Systems Command and AFL-CIO Metal Trades Department implemented a system for improving productivity that proved successful enough at reducing inefficiencies that it was expanded to all four shipyards.
- The state of Michigan and the UAW employed “lean techniques” to reduce lobby wait times, from three hours to 30 minutes, for social services clients.
- The Ohio State University partnered with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) to encourage employee participation in a wellness program, which led to a quadrupling of union member participation.
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This has been reposted from the AFL-CIO.
