Union News Archive

01/15/2009
1/15/09: In the first legislative victory for working Americans in the 111th Congress, last week the House of Representatives passed HR 11, the NTEU-endorsed “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.”
Prior to last week’s vote, NTEU contacted each member of the House, asking for support of the Lilly Ledbetter bill. This bill is named for an Alabama woman employed by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. While she was being paid 40% less than her male colleagues doing the same or similar work, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision ruled that she not did file her complaint in time, namely 180 days after her... Read more ...
01/14/2009
President's Perspective, January 2009: In 2008, Chapter 293 enjoyed a string of successes in its continuing efforts to represent your interests. As we embark upon a new year and a new administration, I thought that it would be appropriate to review a few of the union’s important accomplishments last year:
The union won an unprecedented settlement of its five national Merit Pay arbitrations with the agency, securing $2.7 million in damage payments and salary increases for affected employees, as well as important agreements on diversity initiatives at the agency.
The union caused the SEC to... Read more ...
01/14/2009
Over the past seven years, some SEC managers and employees have suffered from a fundamental misconception regarding how it was that Congress passed Pay Parity, leading to substantially higher compensation levels for SEC employees. According to their version of events, although NTEU provided some small assistance in the process, the “heavy lifting” was done by SEC management. This is revisionist history. It is important to understand what really happened so that you will appreciate the union’s vital role at the SEC.
Beginning in the late 1980s, SEC management tried, unsuccessfully, to get... Read more ...
01/14/2009
The first round of settlement payments to SEC employees under the NTEU-negotiated merit pay settlement are scheduled to occur by February 18, 2009. African-American bargaining unit employees in grades 8 and above, and all bargaining unit employees aged 40 or older, who worked at the SEC during the period from 2003 to 2007, will receive these distributions under the settlement. To be eligible, an employee must have been a member of the bargaining unit in October of 2008, when the settlement agreement was signed. In a second round later this year, the same participating employees will also... Read more ...
01/14/2009
In NTEU's latest national victory for SEC employees, in December a federal Arbitrator ruled that all Securities Compliance Examiners in grades 11, 12 and 13 are now eligible to receive higher pay rates for their overtime work. Under the Arbitrator's decision, these employees are also eligible for back pay and damages. The SEC has elected not to appeal this decision to the Federal Labor Relations Authority. The agency has commenced the process of re-classifying affected employees to FLSA non-exempt status, but is not yet certain when this process will be completed.
This case began on November... Read more ...
01/14/2009
Early this month, NTEU National President Colleen Kelley welcomed recognition by key House members that structural issues involving both the SEC and more broadly the nation’s financial regulatory system played a major role in the proliferation of a long-running financial scheme.
President Kelley pointed in particular to the view expressed by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who, in speaking about SEC employees, said in the face of structural problems at the agency, that “no one should infer from this terrible situation that the working personnel... Read more ...
01/14/2009
The current economic crisis has led to increasing calls for fundamental changes to the financial regulatory structure of our nation. Such changes could have a profound impact upon the Securities and Exchange Commission and how it operates. NTEU leadership is currently working to ensure that SEC employee rights and benefits will be protected as these plans unfold in Washington. Union leaders have reached out to incoming SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro, House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, and members of the Obama transition team to... Read more ...
01/14/2009
This month, President-Elect Barack Obama nominated Mary Schapiro to serve as the next Chairman of the SEC. Schapiro currently serves as the CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). She has previously served as Chairman and CEO of the NASD, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and as an SEC Commissioner.
Schapiro faces the tough challenge of leading a demoralized agency that recently has been beset by criticism in the wake of the current financial crisis. She is widely viewed as a veteran Wall Street regulator who will provide strong leadership and... Read more ...
01/05/2009
1/5/09: NTEU National President Colleen Kelley today welcomed recognition by key House members that structural issues involving both the SEC and more broadly the nation’s financial regulatory system played a major role in the proliferation of a long-running financial scheme.
President Kelley pointed in particular to the view expressed by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who, in speaking about SEC employees, said in the face of structural problems at the agency, that “no one should blame SEC employees” for the financial activities of Bernard... Read more ...
12/19/2008
12/19/08: NTEU National President Colleen Kelley today expressed approval of the White House decision to allocate one percentage point of the average 3.9 percent federal civilian employee pay raise in 2009 to locality pay. The White House decision was announced in an executive order implementing the pay raise. Click here, OPM Locality Rates, to review the actual increase percentages by city.
“This action is an important step in helping close the gap between public and private sector pay in some areas of the country, and I am hopeful it will assist federal agencies in their ongoing recruiting... Read more ...
12/17/2008
12/17/08: Late yesterday, OPM announced the approval of changes to the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Standard Option plan under FEHBP for out-of-network nonemergency surgeries. Under the new agreement, BC/BS’s coverage will be similar to last year’s plan when enrollees use out of network physicians.
Under the new agreement, Blue Cross/Blue Shield Standard Option enrollees will be responsible for 30 percent of the plan's payment allowance for surgeries (including maternity) by out-of-network physicians, plus the difference between the plan's allowance and the amount billed by the surgeon. Last year,... Read more ...
12/17/2008
12/17/08: To show our appreciation for your continued support, NTEU Chapter 293 is hosting an Ice Cream Social for union members in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, December 18, in the Headquarters Lower Level Multi-Purpose Room. Please drop by between 12:00 and 2:30 for some ice cream on us. Happy Holidays from Your Friends at Chapter 293
12/17/2008
12/17/08: NTEU National President Colleen Kelley today sharply criticized the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission for abdicating responsibility and blaming agency employees for the recent Madoff financial scandal.
“Responsibility starts at the top and I am outraged that Chairman Cox immediately points the finger at frontline employees even before he begins the internal investigation he announced yesterday,” said President Kelley.
Kelley was reacting to media statements published today in the Washington Post and other outlets in which SEC Chairman Christopher Cox criticized agency... Read more ...
12/10/2008
12/10/08: A group of five senators has written to President Bush asking him to withdraw his late-November executive order stripping collective bargaining rights from Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) employees represented by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).
The senators said they “reject the view that union membership undermines a worker’s ability to effectively perform his or her job functions, particularly in regard to national security issues.”
The signers are Sens. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), who organized the letter; Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Edward... Read more ...
12/09/2008
12/9/08: The ongoing efforts of NTEU to increase awareness about the important contributions federal workers make to our nation were recognized December 4 by PR News, which awarded the union with an honorable mention in its 2008 Nonprofit PR Awards competition for NTEU’s “Federal Employees…They Work For U.S.,” national public service campaign. Click the eagle to see the public service announcement.
Launched in July, the union’s first-ever public service campaign utilizes media relations, grassroots efforts and television and radio public service announcements (PSAs) that feature actual... Read more ...
12/08/2008
12/8/08: Late in the day on December 5, 2008, OPM announced that it will allow federal employees to submit belated enrollments or changes in FEHBP, FEDVIP and FSAFEDS through January 2009. The prior deadline for the open season period was today, December 8. However, after it became apparent that numerous changes in insurance coverage in the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Standard Option plan for nonnetwork elective surgeries were confusing and unclear, OPM extended the period.
NTEU believes this was the right decision. A few weeks ago, NTEU urged enrollees to read the fine print in their insurance... Read more ...
12/05/2008
12/8/08: In NTEU's latest national victory for SEC employees, a federal Arbitrator has ruled that all Securities Compliance Examiners in grades 11, 12 and 13 are now eligible to receive higher pay rates for their overtime work. Under the Arbitrator's decision, these employees are also eligible for back pay and damages. The SEC has not yet indicated if it will attempt to appeal this decision to the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
"The Union hopes that the SEC will opt to rectify its improper FLSA classification of these employees, rather than pursuing an appeal, so that they may earn the... Read more ...
12/04/2008
12/4/08: Even as key congressional leaders expressed their outrage — one called it “a power grab by the executive branch,” — employees of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were being notified by their agency the White House stripped from them workplace rights they have enjoyed for more than 30 years without incident or negative impact on the public.
NTEU National President Colleen Kelley called the issuance at this late stage of the administration of an executive order revoking long-held collective bargaining rights, “a gratuitous slap in the face that makes these... Read more ...
12/03/2008
12/3/08: NTEU learned yesterday that President Bush issued an Executive Order (EO) pursuant to Section 7103(b)(1) of Title V that excludes thousands of federal employees in various agencies from the collective bargaining provisions of the FSLMRS. That section of the labor statute authorizes the President to exclude agencies or agency subdivisions from coverage of the statute if the President determines that the agencies or subdivisions are primarily engaged in intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative or national security work and the collective bargaining provisions in statute cannot... Read more ...
11/20/2008
11/20/08: In very strong terms, NTEU National President Colleen Kelley has taken sharp issue with a proposed Office of Personnel Management (OPM) rules change which she said would represent an extraordinary and completely unwarranted expansion of agency authority to indefinitely suspend federal employees without pay.
In detailed comments submitted to OPM, President Kelley argued that OPM's proposal “would permit agencies to suspend an employee indefinitely for a myriad of alleged offenses, while investigating — at the agency’s leisure — whether removal is appropriate.” She added: “The impact... Read more ...
11/19/2008
11/19/08: NTEU has provided the incoming Obama administration transition team with a variety of recommendations aimed at significantly improving the delivery of government services to the American people. The document, entitled "Refocusing Federal Agencies on Mission-Critical Issues: The Federal Employees’ View," offers NTEU’s recommendations for both administrative and legislative actions impacting a wide array of challenges facing the nation—from reviving the economy to strengthening security and, perhaps most importantly, restoring the faith of the American people in their government. “... Read more ...
11/07/2008

11/7/08: Beginning on Monday, November 10, NTEU members will again have access to Consumers' Checkbook’s Online Guide to Health Insurance Plans for Federal Employees. All NTEU members who are currently participating, or are planning to participate, in the Federal Employees Health Benefit (FEHB) plans are eligible to use this online guide.
The guide is available through NTEU’s web site, NTEU National's Website, in the “Member Benefits” section throughout Open Season (November 10 – December 8, 2008). The online guide was developed by Consumers’ Checkbook, a nonprofit organization that has... Read more ...
11/05/2008
11/5/08: NTEU views the Obama presidency as a major opportunity to turn the public conversation toward a much-needed discussion of how federal agencies may best serve the public, NTEU National President Colleen Kelley said today.
“Federal agencies have been understaffed and underfunded and federal employees have been marginalized by the current administration,” said Kelley. “As our new president prepares to lead our country, NTEU stands ready to work with him and the congressional leadership on ways to strengthen federal agencies to help them better meet their critical missions and serve the... Read more ...
10/14/2008
President's Perspective, October 2008: The recent national merit pay arbitration settlement between NTEU and the SEC is the latest milestone in the union’s continuing efforts to resolve fundamental problems with the agency’s pay for performance system. While we still have considerable ground left to cover, it is important to recognize the positive changes that have occurred at the agency as a result of the union’s efforts.
The settlement provides salary increases and $2.7 million in monetary relief to all employees aged 40 and over and to all African-American employees in grades 8 and above... Read more ...
10/14/2008
On October 29th, at the SEC Disability Employment Awareness Month Celebration, the SEC will announce the formation of a Veterans Committee. The Veterans Committee principal founder is Susan Schneider, veteran and union steward in OCIE, HQ. Veterans are recognized by the EEO office as an affinity group, and the committee formation has been supported by Chairman Cox and Human Resources and is being sponsored by Commissioner Casey. (Note - the Veterans Committee is not a special emphasis program, which are designated solely by the President through an Executive Order and supported by the EEO... Read more ...

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