December 07, 1999
Mayor Williams' Labor Summit Sets New Course For City's Workforce
(Washington, DC) Seeking to extend his new partnership with Labor, Mayor Anthony A. Williams today hosted his first summit meeting with the leaders of the city's major labor unions to discuss ways of improving the productivity of the workforce and the delivery of services to the public.
The Mayor called on the labor leaders to join with him to "embark on a new way of doing business - changing the way we run our agencies, the way we manage our workforce, and the way our workforce does its work."
"From now on, it's no more business as usual," declared Mayor Williams.
The Mayor, continuing his effort to reorganize the structure and operation of city government, is reaching out to labor and other key constituencies for help in increasing the efficiency and performance of the city's workforce.
"We need to invest in our workforce by providing them with training and the tools they need to improve their performance. For example, we should give our city workers the opportunity to bid for certain projects. With the right training and tools, we know that they can compete and win," the Mayor added.
The Mayor emphasized the need to increase pay for the city's workforce through gainsharing. This process ties pay with improved city services. As services improve, the workforce would share in the benefits. The Mayor also repeatedly emphasized the importance of partnerships in modernizing and improving the city's services.
One of the goals of the District Government is to build strong public/private partnerships. The Mayor listed four areas where public/private partnerships can work to improve services and increase performance including job training, transportation, housing, and finance.
"The world is changing rapidly. We can no longer rely on a 20th Century system to address 21st Century problems," declared Mayor Williams. "We believe that together we can devise new ways for union workers to do their jobs better and more efficiently while sharing in the gains that are made. Enhancing skills, improving performance, increasing pay, and better results - that's what we believe our partnership will achieve."
The summit was held at One Judiciary Square.
