Howard Friedman

FSIP Member

Federal Service Impasses Panel, FLRA

Howard Friedman is a Panel member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP) upon his appointment in September 2021.  The Panel resolves impasses between federal agencies and unions representing federal employees. 

Previously, Mr. Friedman served 25 years in the federal government as an attorney and 23 years as President of the National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 245, at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). A former chief spokesperson and negotiator for the Trademark attorneys at the USPTO, Mr. Friedman is experienced in federal labor law, negotiating collective bargaining agreements, labor-management and employee relations, government operations, and mediating and resolving workplace disputes. Mr. Friedman played an integral role in creating and growing the USPTO’s well-known telework program, which started in 1997 with 18 Trademark examining attorneys and now has over 11,000 employees able to work from home. He was the labor chair of the USPTO and Department of Commerce labor-management forum.

A former President of the Society of Federal Labor & Employee Relations Professionals (SFLERP), Mr. Friedman teaches federal labor relations to human resource professionals, agency managers, mediators and arbitrators, and union officials.