Union Seeks Bargaining over Management Proposed Changes to Student Loan Program

06/06/2013

6/6/13: This week, NTEU Chapter 293 requested a briefing and an opportunity to bargain over changes that the SEC is proposing to make to the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP). The changes primarily would impact the application process, and it is unclear at this time whether they would lead to a decrease in agency approvals of student loan repayment applications.

Although the Union and the SEC have not yet agreed upon the agency’s proposed changes to the SLRP application process, they have agreed on some improvements to the SLRP. These improvements include a new waiver process that will allow the SEC to grant a waiver of the one-year service requirement, allowing employees who have been here less than one year to apply for the program. They also include converting the application process from an annual one with everyone applying during one open period each year, to a rolling one allowing new employees to apply during one of three open seasons during the year.

NTEU successfully lobbied for the statute that allows for Student Loan Repayment Programs, and then NTEU negotiated the SLRP at the SEC as soon as the Union was established at the agency in 2002. Our negotiated program may be found in Article 25 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. If you would like to learn more about the history of this important recruitment and retention program at the SEC, and how the Union has worked to defend it from cutbacks by the SEC over the years, please read this article on the Union’s website.