guide has been widely used in the field, and it has been crucial to the parties' goals of reducing workplace disputes.

     Similar in purpose and scope to the JCAM, the Postal Service and the NPMHU completed a Contract Interpretation Manual (CIM) in July 2003. The parties are conducting joint training on the CIM for management and union officials nationwide. In addition, for the sixth consecutive year the parties co-hosted the annual Quality of Work Life Conference.

     In accordance with 39 U.S.C. 1004, a program of consultations was conducted throughout the year with each of the management organizations representing postmasters, managers, supervisors, and other nonbargaining employees. These sessions provided an opportunity to participate directly in the planning, development, and implementation of programs and policies affecting the more than 80,000 managerial employees in the field. The resident officers of the National Association of Postal Supervisors, the National Association of Postmasters of the United States, and the National League of Postmasters of the United States collaborated with senior management in support of this effort. In addition to regular program consultation, EAS pay consultations were conducted in 2003, resulting in a new pay-for-performance system for all EAS employees starting with 2004. This process, utilizing the National Performance Assessment program, combines elements of the former merit pay program and the variable pay program into one system. As with previous pay consultations, the Postal Service partnered with the management associations to formulate a fair and equitable compensation package that balances individual and corporate needs with the Postal Service's mandate to provide pay comparable with the private sector. Each management association will continue to take an active role in the development of new programs and policies at the Headquarters and field level as members

of work teams and national task forces that will recommend necessary improvements to make the Postal Service successful.

     The Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and the REDRESS (Resolve Employment Disputes, Reach Equitable Solutions Swiftly) program experienced another successful year in 2003. The number of EEO pre-complaint counselings continued to decline, as did the number of formal complaints. Counselings decreased by 8 percent. The 2003 decrease in formal complaints, as of August, was more than 15 percent fewer than the same period the year before.

     The use of the REDRESS mediation program, which incorporates non-Postal Service contractors as mediators, contributed to increased dispute resolution, further diminishing the need for elevation of complaints to the formal level. Although the REDRESS program has proven highly effective, traditional EEO counseling is still being offered as an alternative to individuals seeking pre-complaint counseling. Both forms of EEO assistance offer individuals recognition and an opportunity to express their views and differences.

     In 2003, the participation rates in the REDRESS program during the pre-complaint counseling process rose to more than 82 percent nationally, a significant increase over the 77 percent participation rate reached in 2002. When mediation is used, disputes are resolved at more than twice the rate of the traditional counseling process. During 2003, more than 74 percent of the approximately 11,000 complaints mediated through the REDRESS program were successfully closed.

     REDRESS ll, where mediation is offered at the formal stage of the complaint process, was implemented during 2002. Also implemented was "mandatory mediation," a joint pilot program with the EEOC where all complaints pending a hearing were scheduled for pre-litigation mediation. More than 1,300 mandatory mediations were