To take just two examples, the Philadelphia Mints partnership teams have saved nearly a million dollars a year by increasing the longevity of the dies used to make pennies, and the U.S. Department of Education's Collection Service has quadrupled its collection of overdue student loans. We have seen disputes resolved that previously had dragged on for years. Partnerships are increasingly handling the tough issues, such as budgets and staffing. Clearly no issue is tougher than downsizing, and recently we saw that the Department of Housing and Urban Developments downsizing plan was worked out in partnership with its employees. These are encouraging signs, but I am not saying that partnership is a total success.
Some challenges are ahead.
First, partnerships have not been established everywhere, and not all established partnerships have been effective. Clearly, some participants are more committed than others, and some partnerships have achieved more than others. Second, we must always keep in mind that partnership is a tool, not a goal. We cannot expect that partnership will make all labor-management differences disappear. Serious and legitimate issues may divide unions and management, and when they cannot be solved in partnership we can use traditional methods while we continue to build partnerships.