Unions were effectively frozen out of the NSPS implementation process and their input on the development of the system was limited, the report concluded. Unions successfully sued DoD over NSPS provisions giving management discretion to disregard labor-agreements at their discretion. That decision was later overturned on appeal but Congress still later acted to rescind many of the restrictions on labor.
Those provisions damaged a sense of partnership and commitment that had been established between labor and management in the 1990s, the report said.
It called on DoD to establish new labor-management partnerships at the senior level to solve issues and promote programs within it, citing the prerequisite need of establishing trust and communication with employees and their unions.
It also recommends creating a collaborative process for DoD managers and employees in the general schedule system to design and implement a performance management system that ties individual performance goals to organizational goals – and to explore the replacement of the GS classification system.
The task group acknowledged that bargaining nationally for an entire department could be daunting but said partnerships can lead to successful outcomes. It cited a master labor agreement brokered through a partnership including DoD, the Air Force Materiel Command and the American Federation of Government Employees covering, for example, performance management, time and attendance and staffing.
