After years of contention between unions and government appointees over work rules and pay standards governing federal workers, President Barack Obama, in March, appointed the top federal personnel job to a friend of the labor movement.

Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry was recommended for the new position by the American Federation of Government Employees. He is a former legislative director to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) with extensive experience in federal employee management and was a key participant in development and passage of the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

On June 30, representatives of the IBEW and other unions in the government sector met with Berry at the IBEW International Office. Labor organizations represented at the meeting included the machinists, mail handlers, laborers and firefighters.

Dennis Phelps, International Representative, IBEW Government Employees Department, welcomed Berry, recalling their experience working together when Berry served in Hoyer's office. While AFGE represents the majority of federal workers, Phelps told Berry, "We want you to think of us as federal unions, too, and to include us in discussions of policy."

Berry outlined short- and long-term goals for the OPM, including increasing diversity in hiring, reducing health care costs, recruiting and promoting more veterans, revamping pay schedules to be more competitive with the private sector and improving performance evaluation and disciplinary procedures. He called for a partnership with all unions representing government employees to take initiative on personnel policies.

"We have a two-year window to make significant progress together," said Berry, who pledged to move beyond the bitter conflict that erupted when the prior administration proposed the National Security Personnel System.

A large coalition of unions challenged the NSPS in court and in Congress, winning judicial and legislative support for their contention that the proposed personnel system unlawfully obstructed the collective bargaining rights of federal workers.

Before the parties engaged in a frank discussion of issues facing federal unions, Roger Blacklow, representing the mail handlers and laborers told Berry, "It's great to finally hear an OPM director say the word 'union' without prefacing it with the word 'damn.'"

"Our meeting with John Berry was a significant and hopeful first step in improving the relationship between all government workers and their managers," says Director Chico McGill, IBEW Government Employees Department.