[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4039 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4039

To establish the Federal Labor-Management Partnership Council, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 21, 2024

 Mr. Schatz (for himself, Mr. Fetterman, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Stabenow, 
and Ms. Warren) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish the Federal Labor-Management Partnership Council, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Labor-Management Partnership 
Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL LABOR-MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 71 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 7107. Federal Labor-Management Partnership Council
    ``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the executive branch 
a council to be known as the `Federal Labor-Management Partnership 
Council' (referred to in this section as the `Council').
    ``(b) Membership.--The Council shall be composed of--
            ``(1) the Director of the Office of Personnel Management;
            ``(2) the Deputy Director for Management of the Office of 
        Management and Budget;
            ``(3) a deputy secretary (or other officer with agency-wide 
        authority) from each of 2 agencies not otherwise represented on 
        the Council, who shall be appointed by the President;
            ``(4) the Chairman of the Federal Labor Relations 
        Authority;
            ``(5) the Director of the Federal Mediation and 
        Conciliation Service;
            ``(6) 2 members who shall be appointed by the President to 
        represent the respective labor organizations representing (as 
        exclusive representatives) the first and second largest numbers 
        of employees subject to this chapter or any other authority 
        permitting employees to select an exclusive representative;
            ``(7) 4 members who shall be appointed by the President to 
        represent labor organizations representing (as exclusive 
        representatives) substantial numbers of employees subject to 
        this chapter or any other authority permitting employees to 
        select an exclusive representative--
                    ``(A) each of whom shall be selected giving due 
                consideration to such factors as the relative numbers 
                of employees represented by the various organizations; 
                and
                    ``(B) not more than 2 of whom may, at any time, be 
                representatives of the same labor organization or 
                council, federation, alliance, association, or 
                affiliation of labor organizations;
            ``(8) 1 member who shall be appointed by the President to 
        represent the organization representing the largest number of 
        senior executives (as that term is defined in section 
        3132(a)(3)); and
            ``(9) 1 member who shall be appointed by the President to 
        represent the organization representing the largest number of 
        management officials.
    ``(c) Responsibilities and Functions.--The Council shall--
            ``(1) advise the President on matters involving labor-
        management relations in the executive branch;
            ``(2) support the creation of local labor-management 
        partnership councils that promote partnership efforts in the 
        executive branch;
            ``(3) collect and disseminate information about and provide 
        guidance on partnership efforts in the executive branch, 
        including the results of those efforts; and
            ``(4) use the expertise of individuals, both inside and 
        outside the Federal Government, to foster partnership 
        arrangements in the executive branch.
    ``(d) Administration.--
            ``(1) Co-chairs.--The Director of the Office of Personnel 
        Management and the Deputy Director for Management of the Office 
        of Management and Budget shall serve as co-chairs of the 
        Council.
            ``(2) Meetings.--The Council shall meet quarterly and at 
        the call of the co-chairs or a majority of the members of the 
        Council.
            ``(3) Outside input.--The Council--
                    ``(A) shall seek input from agencies not 
                represented on the Council, particularly smaller 
                agencies;
                    ``(B) may from time to time, in the discretion of 
                the Council, invite experts from the private and public 
                sectors to submit information; and
                    ``(C) shall seek input from companies, nonprofit 
                organizations, State and local governments, employees, 
                and customers of Federal services, as needed.
            ``(4) Assistance of the office of personnel management.--
        Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Director of 
        the Office of Personnel Management shall, upon request, provide 
        such staff, facilities, support, and administrative services to 
        the Council as the Director considers appropriate.
            ``(5) No compensation.--Members of the Council shall serve 
        without compensation for their work on the Council.
            ``(6) Cooperation of other agencies.--Each agency shall, to 
        the extent permitted by law, provide to the Council such 
        assistance, information, and advice as the Council may request.
    ``(e) General Provisions.--
            ``(1) Reporting to congress.--Any reporting to or 
        appearances before Congress that may be requested or required 
        of the Council shall be made by a co-chair of the Council.
            ``(2) Terms of membership.--A member appointed under 
        paragraph (3), (6), (7), (8), or (9) of subsection (b) shall be 
        appointed for a term of 3 years, except that any individual 
        chosen to fill a vacancy under any of those paragraphs shall 
        be--
                    ``(A) appointed for the unexpired term of the 
                member replaced; and
                    ``(B) chosen subject to the same conditions as 
                applied with respect to the original appointment.
            ``(3) Service after expiration of term.--A member appointed 
        under paragraph (3), (6), (7), (8), or (9) of subsection (b) 
        may serve after the expiration of that member's term until a 
        successor has taken office, but for not more than 60 days after 
        the term expires.
            ``(4) Not special government employees.--A member who is 
        not otherwise an employee shall not be considered a special 
        Government employee for any purpose.
            ``(5) No termination.--Section 1013(a)(2) shall not apply 
        to the Council.
``Sec. 7108. Implementation of labor-management partnerships throughout 
              the executive branch
    ``The head of each agency that is subject to this chapter or any 
other authority permitting employees of the agency to select an 
exclusive representative shall take the following actions:
            ``(1) Create labor-management partnerships by establishing 
        labor-management committees or councils at appropriate levels 
        or, if applicable, adapting existing committees or councils.
            ``(2) Involve employees and employee representatives as 
        full partners with management representatives to improve the 
        civil service to better serve the public and carry out the 
        mission of the agency.
            ``(3) Provide systemic training of appropriate agency 
        employees (including line managers, first-line supervisors, and 
        labor organization representatives) in consensual methods of 
        dispute resolution, such as alternative dispute resolution 
        techniques and interest-based bargaining approaches.
            ``(4)(A) Allow employees and employee representatives to 
        have pre-decisional involvement in all workplace matters to the 
        fullest extent practicable, without regard to whether those 
        matters are negotiable subjects of bargaining under section 
        7106.
            ``(B) Provide adequate information on the matters described 
        in subparagraph (A) expeditiously to employee representatives 
        where not prohibited by law.
            ``(C) Make a good-faith attempt to resolve issues 
        concerning proposed changes in conditions of employment, 
        including changes involving the subjects set forth in section 
        7106(b)(1), through discussions in the labor-management 
        committees or councils established or adapted by the agency 
        under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
            ``(5) Evaluate progress and improvements in organizational 
        performance resulting from the labor-management partnerships 
        described in paragraph (1).''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 7106 the following:

``7107. Federal Labor-Management Partnership Council.
``7108. Implementation of labor-management partnerships throughout the 
                            executive branch.''.

SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION OF LABOR-MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIPS IN THE 
              LEGISLATIVE BRANCH.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``covered legislative 
branch agency'' means--
            (1) the Office of the Architect of the Capitol;
            (2) the Government Accountability Office; and
            (3) the United States Capitol Police.
    (b) Labor-Management Partnerships.--The head of each covered 
legislative branch agency shall take the following actions:
            (1) Create labor-management partnerships by establishing 
        labor-management committees or councils at appropriate levels 
        or, if applicable, adapting existing committees or councils.
            (2) Involve employees and employee representatives as full 
        partners with management representatives to improve the civil 
        service to better serve the public and carry out the mission of 
        the covered legislative branch agency.
            (3) Provide systemic training of appropriate employees of 
        the covered legislative branch agency (including line managers, 
        first-line supervisors, and labor organization representatives) 
        in consensual methods of dispute resolution, such as 
        alternative dispute resolution techniques and interest-based 
        bargaining approaches.
            (4)(A) Allow employees and employee representatives to have 
        pre-decisional involvement in all workplace matters to the 
        fullest extent practicable, without regard to whether those 
        matters are negotiable subjects of bargaining with respect to 
        the covered legislative branch agency.
            (B) Provide adequate information on the matters described 
        in subparagraph (A) expeditiously to employee representatives 
        where not prohibited by law.
            (C) Make a good-faith attempt to resolve issues concerning 
        proposed changes in conditions of employment, including changes 
        involving the subjects described in section 7106(b)(1) of title 
        5, United States Code, through discussions in the labor-
        management committees or councils established or adapted by the 
        covered legislative branch agency under paragraph (1) of this 
        subsection.
            (5) Evaluate progress and improvements in organizational 
        performance resulting from the labor-management partnerships 
        described in paragraph (1).
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