A recent report by the Cato Institute claims that federal employees make 26% more than private sector employees, and calls for a freeze or cut in federal wages. Some have seized on this issue, seeking an immediate federal pay freeze....
News Archive - All Stories
During the years prior to 2010, the relationship between the front line staff and senior management at the Miami Regional Office had become strained. At MIRO, many of the staff believe that for too long, they were managed through intimidation and...
Raymond Titus, a staff accountant in the SEC’s Boston Regional Office, recently returned from an outreach program to help Haitian families who work in the sugarcane industry in the Dominican Republic. This was his fourth trip to help...
New Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations Director Carlo di Florio recently took some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions for Chapter 293 Works:
Chapter 293 Works: Now that you...
Since his appointment as the new Director of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, Carlo di Florio has embarked upon an ambitious agenda to review the examination program from top to bottom, with an eye towards proposing...
The SEC launched its new pay for performance system on July 1, 2010 in the Division of Enforcement and the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations. At the same time, SEC management also announced its intention to implement this new...
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recently released the results of its 2010 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), which was previously known as the Federal Human Capital Survey. According to OPM, the FEVS has been updated to...
6/16/10: House and Senate conferees on the financial regulatory reform legislation voted today to permit the SEC to fund itself through the fees that it collects. This provision was originally included in the Senate bill, but not in the...
6/15/10: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on June 14, 2010, issued final regulations to modify definitions related to "family member" and "immediate relative" in the context of its rules governing absences and...
6/15/10: NTEU National President Colleen Kelley today took sharp issue with a proposed amendment to Senate tax legislation that would freeze the pay of federal salaries and cap the number of federal employees.
In ...
6/10/10: On June 9, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) attempted to offer his bill (S. 3341) as an amendment to the Senate’s “tax extenders” and unemployment compensation bill (H.R. 4213), to allow an early 2010 implementation of FEHB...
6/2/10: At the end of last week, the Senate defeated an amendment by Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and John McCain (R-AZ) to freeze federal pay next year and to cap the numbers of federal employees in federal agencies, by a vote of 53-...
6/2/10: As expected by NTEU, the Chicago Regional Director of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) last week dismissed petitions filed by NTEU and another union seeking a union representation election among employees of...
Over the holiday weekend, Vincent Michael Tennant's soccer team took 1st place in the Boys Under 9 Division at the Disney Memorial Day Soccer Shootout. Vincent is the son of Chapter 293 steward Terry Tennant from the Miami Regional Office....
5/12/10: NTEU said today it strongly supports a Senate bill, introduced by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), to provide the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) with authority to have health insurance carriers extend coverage to young adult dependents...
5/12/10: In a bipartisan action, a key House committee today approved a resolution commending federal employees for their contributions to the nation and supporting the goals of protecting and improving their safety and security.
The...
5/12/10: Late last week, HR 1722, the Telework Improvements Act, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Representatives John Sarbanes (D-MD), Frank Wolf (R-VA), and Gerry Connolly (D-VA), was blocked from passage on the House floor due to...
5/5/10: It is time for the federal government to make family leave a real benefit for federal employees, and not a mirage they cannot afford to use, NTEU National President Colleen Kelley told a Senate subcommittee yesterday. ...
5/5/10: Legislation introduced yesterday by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) providing the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) with authority to cover young adults up to age 26 on their parents’ health care plans in 2010 has strong support...
President's Perspective, Winter/Spring 2010: When a huge storm dumped massive quantities of snow on Washington in February, it caused actual, rather than just figurative, gridlock in our nation’s capital. The federal...
The Union and the SEC entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) settling a national grievance that Chapter 293 filed last year in response to the imposition of an attire policy by Lori Richards, the erstwhile Director of the Office of...
On April 13, 2010, Chapter 293 held its spring Member Benefits Fair at the SEC’s Headquarters in Washington, D.C. This event was hosted by Almera Carroll, our Member Benefits Coordinator. Participating vendors included Liberty Mutual...
As you know, the SEC is currently developing a new performance-based pay system at the agency. This work will have a profound impact upon the culture of the agency. At this point, the Union has serious reservations and concerns regarding the...
Early last month, hundreds of NTEU members from around the country, representing more than two dozen federal agencies, gathered for the Union’s 2010 Legislative Conference. Representing the SEC at this year’s conference were Chapter...
4/17/10: On April 15, in a joint press conference call with four former SEC Chairmen and Senator Chuck Schumer (D. NY), SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro pushed for self-funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission. Senator...
4/16/10: NTEU has submitted comments to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on proposed regulations clarifying the meaning of a defense in...
4/15/10: This week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved two bipartisan measures increasing telework opportunities for federal employees and potentially boosting their Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) accounts....
4/2/10: NTEU applauded a victory for federal workers it has been pursuing for seven years—a return to the definition of ‘inherently governmental’ work contained in federal law that clearly identifies the work of the public...
3/30/10: In signing H.R. 4872 into law, the FEHBP provisions that NTEU advocated, are now final. Importantly, the integrity of FEHBP has been preserved. As you will recall from earlier Union reports, there were amendments proposed early in...
3/30/10: If you left government service as a FERS participant and received a refund of your money, and are now back in government, a law passed last fall at NTEU’s urging will give you the opportunity to redeposit the amount refunded,...
3/30/10: On March 22, the House of Representatives passed a broad health care reform bill, H.R. 3590, that had previously passed the Senate last December. The President signed that legislation into law last week. In addition, the...
3/15/10: Last week, NTEU Chapter 293 and the SEC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) reflecting an agreement on certain aspects of the Enforcement Division’s ongoing reorganization effort. The principal features of this agreement...
3/3/10: A congressional resolution condemning the recent suicide attack on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees in Austin, Texas, and praising agency employees for their dedicated service to their country drew the strong support of the...
2/23/2010: In an interview with Fox News, Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.) commented on the plane that was deliberately flown into IRS offices in Austin last week saying that he understood the mindset of the man whose actions cost the life of...
2/23/10: NTEU National President Colleen Kelley testified before a key House subcommittee today in favor of legislation that would take steps to address rising health insurance costs under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (...
2/23/10: Yesterday, President Obama announced his health care reform proposals that include improvements over the Senate-passed excise tax provisions that are proposed to offset some of the cost of the health care reform package. NTEU...
2/23/10: NTEU applauds the proposal in the White House fiscal 2011 budget blueprint for a return to parity in pay raises for the government’s civilian workforce and members of the military.
“Parity in pay raises...
2/23/10: Last week, NTEU submitted these comments in response to the request of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which has proposed changes...
2/8/10: This afternoon, the Union filed a national grievance against the SEC seeking to compel the agency to provide documents and information regarding the employee focus group process that was conducted over the summer in response to...
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will be conducting the 2010 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) at the SEC from February 8, 2010 through March 19, 2010. I strongly encourage you to take a few minutes to complete this survey. The...
2/3/10: During an appearance on “This Week” on ABC, Senator-elect Scott Brown (R-MA) said federal employees earn twice as much as those who work in the private sector.
...2/1/10: In keeping his commitment to NTEU and congressional leaders, President Obama requested pay parity in his budget recommendation for 2011 for both the military and federal civilian personnel. NTEU has long supported pay parity between...
1/12/10: More than half of the eight million-plus active federal employees and retirees covered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) eventually could face the effects of taxes of thousands of dollars a year if an excise tax...
12/30/09: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued proposed regulations that would require agencies to conduct periodic reinvestigations (PRIs) of all “public trust” employees at least once every five years. NTEU has...
12/17/09: The General Services Administration (GSA) has informed NTEU that they are proposing a decrease in the privately-owned vehicles mileage reimbursement rates for federal employees effective January 1, 2010, to match the rate cap...
12/17/09: On December 16, 2009, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs marked up S 1102, the Domestic Partner Benefits and Obligations Act. This legislation, introduced by Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and...
12/15/09: The Union and the SEC have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) settling a national grievance that Chapter 293 filed last year in response to the imposition of an attire policy by Lori Richards, the ...
12/9/09: Last night, on December 8, the House Appropriations Committee announced agreement among conferees on the major spending package for Fiscal Year 2010, including the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill, which...
12/9/09: NTEU National President Colleen Kelley today welcomed a White House executive order setting the stage for the meaningful pre-decisional involvement of frontline federal employees in the operations of their agencies and...
12/9/09: Chapter 293 is pleased to inform you that House and Senate conferees have produced a FY 2010 omnibus appropriations measure that provides for an SEC budget with an additional $85 million beyond the agency's original...