WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- The annual joint national labor management meeting was held on Nov. 1, 2016 as Air Force Materiel Command leaders and American Federation of Government Employees union officials came together to discuss the way ahead for the command's civilian workforce.
AFMC Commander, Gen. Ellen M. Pawlikowski joined J. David Cox, national president of AFGE, along with other command and union officials, met to discuss workforce issues and their expectations of the labor management partnership for 2017.
"I have become more familiar with this organization in the last year since my arrival," Pawlikowski said. "And I have been impressed by the collaborative working relationships between management and the union."
The meeting began with a tag-team presentation of the Partnership Council’s annual report by council co-chairs Patricia Young, AFMC executive director, and Troy Tingey, AFGE Council 214 president, who represents the consolidated bargaining unit across multiple AFMC bases.
Young and Tingey provided highlights of each of the three council meetings held in 2016. Meetings rotate between centers, when feasible. The Sept. 15 meeting at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, focused on diversity and inclusion and the Employee Assistance Program. The focus at the Eglin meeting in January was the Acquisition Workforce Personnel
Demonstration Project pay system conversion. Long-term disability took precedence during the May16 meeting.
Some 12,500 AFMC employees moved to AcqDemo in June. The new pay system retains, recognizes and rewards employees for their contribution rather than performance.
Debra Warner, Air Force Director of Civilian Force Management, Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services, provided an update to the Department of Defense Civilian Performance Management and Appraisal Program. DPMAP establishes a culture that embraces and supports a high-performing workforce, emphasizing the importance of employee engagement, and acknowledges the critical role of supervisors in an effective program.
Officials said revisions are being made to the original DPMAP training.
Warner said, “This is a massive muscle movement and we want to get it right.”
With regard to AcqDemo, Warner said, “We are coming to the end of the first performance cycle, looking to see what we can do better. Next year will provide new challenges and opportunities.”
"Reductions in the civilian workforce continues to be a challenge for AFMC. We have taken huge personnel reductions in AFMC over the last few years," Pawlikowski said. "The command’s success relies on the entire workforce, and the workforce in this command has a large percentage of civilian representation. We appreciate the role of the civilian workforce. Council 214 is our partner in this fight."