Volume III, Issue 3 (April 2009)

As the SEC faces what is perhaps the most challenging period in its history, its single most important asset continues to be its human capital – the stock of skills and knowledge embodied by the talented group of individuals who work at the agency and carry out its complex mission every day. For that reason, maintaining a sound strategy to both attract and retain the best possible work force is critical to the agency’s long term success. This is even more the case given that a large majority of the federal work force will be eligible for retirement in the coming decade.

This week, Chapter 293 launched the next generation of its website here at www.secunion.org. The new site has been redesigned for ease of use, and contains a wealth of news and content for SEC employees on benefits, compensation, legislative matters, and more.

Please take a moment to check out the features on this new site, and provide any comments or suggestions that you might have to Chapter 293 President Greg Gilman at gilmang@sec.gov.

As part of this year’s NTEU Legislative Conference in March, union representatives from several financial regulatory agencies represented by NTEU – the SEC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Credit Union Administration – met with the Senior Counsel for the Senate Banking Committee. At the meeting, these union leaders discussed options that the Committee may be considering as it considers possible changes to the structure and authority of the federal financial regulatory agencies.

Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and Chapter 293 Legislative Coordinator Bill Friar

In March, over 350 NTEU members took part in the 2009 NTEU Legislative Conference. Participants attended workshops, heard speeches from key policymakers , met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, and learned about issues of prime importance to NTEU’s 2009 legislative agenda.

The salary adjustments (raises) for SEC employees under the NTEU-negotiated merit pay settlement are scheduled to occur in June 2009. Under the settlement agreement, these salary adjustments are required to happen within ninety days of passage of the FY 2009 budget, which was signed into law by President Obama last month.

Patricia Trujillo, Greg Gilman, Paul Lapinski and Dan Hawke at the PLRO

In March, Chapter 293 President Greg Gilman visited with employees at luncheon events in the Philadelphia Regional Office and in the Office of General Counsel in Washington. During both of these visits, Gilman provided representational updates and answered employee questions on issues ranging from compensation, personnel management and benefits to financial regulatory reform. In Philadelphia, he also met with the local stewards and Regional Office Director Dan Hawke to discuss labor management relations.

In March, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Acting Director Kathie Ann Whipple announced the appointment of NTEU Senior Deputy General Counsel Elaine Kaplan as the agency’s General Counsel.

With Kaplan’s appointment, OPM gains the expertise of an individual with more than 25 years of legal experience in the fields of federal sector labor and employment law who is uniquely qualified to serve OPM in its role as the President’s chief advisor on federal human resources issues.

Last year, the SEC filed with the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals a Petition for Review of NTEU's Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) victory in the 2002 within grade increase (WIGI) case. Briefs have been filed in this appeal, and the Court has scheduled oral argument for May 5. We hope to have a decision this summer.