Washington, DC - In order to fulfill President Obama's promise to bring Federal labor and management representatives together to share ideas and come to agreement on issues facing the Federal workforce, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) hosted the first meeting of the National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations.

The Council, which is co-chaired by OPM Director John Berry and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Deputy Director for Management Jeffrey Zients, is a Presidential advisory body composed of senior government officials and representatives from Federal employee organizations and Federal management groups. It was established by Executive Order 13522, entitled, "Creating Labor-Management Forums to Improve Delivery of Government Services."

"I know this Council is going to make us proud because of its emphasis on coming up with ideas and innovative ways to improve the delivery of services and products, while cutting costs and advancing Federal employee interests," said Berry. "I look forward to working with the members of the Council to make progress on our common interest: serving the American public."

In addition to exploring options for creating a more responsive government and workforce, the Council will assist in the implementation of Labor-Management Forums throughout the government. It also will allow for a non-adversarial forum for managers, employees, and employees' union representatives to discuss Government operations, promote satisfactory labor relations and improve the productivity and effectiveness of the Federal Government.

For more information on the Council, please go to www.LMRCouncil.gov.

Our mission is to Recruit, Retain and Honor a World-Class Workforce to Serve the American People. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.