One of the most important NTEU services that your union dues make possible is the union's tireless Congressional lobbying work on your behalf – and in particular its legislative work to obtain better pay and benefits. This critical work is accomplished in conjunction with Chapter 293’s Legislative Committee, which has been headed from the beginning by Chairman Bill Friar at Headquarters. As but one example of this work, please consider how those efforts brought you Pay Parity, greatly increasing your compensation.

In January of 2002 the President signed into law the Investor and Capital Markets Fee Relief Act which included what we know as “Pay Parity.” It is because of this law that SEC employees are no longer on the GS schedule, but are instead on the agency’s own SK schedule with substantially higher pay rates than most government agencies. For example, in D.C., a GS 13 accountant tops out at $100,554 per annum, but an SEC SK 13 accountant tops out at $129,948. The Pay Parity law is also the reason why you pay $1,300 a year less for your health benefits than other government employees pay for the very same benefits. It is also why the SEC provides you and your family with free dental and vision benefits that other government employees do not enjoy. It is also because of Pay Parity that NTEU hopes to expand your retirement benefits soon.

Achieving Pay Parity was a long, arduous task with more than one champion, including Acting SEC Chairman Laura Unger, who was committed to the cause and utilized every opportunity to explain to Congress why it was the right thing to do. But Pay Parity never would have happened without NTEU’s strong leadership and hard work.

SEC employees voted in the union in June 2000. Prior to that, Pay Parity for SEC employees had for many years remained nothing more than an unfulfilled dream. NTEU President Colleen Kelley made the issue a top legislative priority for the union in 2001, and NTEU’s Department of Legislation, which has a team of full time, professional lobbyists, utilized every resource at its disposal to make the legislation a reality. In particular, NTEU Legislative Representative Kurt Vorndran worked nearly full time that year on the Pay Parity issue. Kurt was a consummate professional on this project and every SEC employee owes him a debt of gratitude for his diligence and effectiveness – as well as for the inordinately long hours that he put in to achieve Pay Parity. Several members of Chapter 293 also worked hard to make Pay Parity a reality, including, among others, Bill Friar, Mike Clampitt, Yolanda Gonzalez, Bob Gulach, Barry McCarty, Susan McDonald, Tim Nealon and Angelia Stewart.

The Pay Parity law began its legislative journey in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. For years, the SEC had been collecting fees far in excess of our costs. In early 2001, Senator Phil Gramm, chairman of the committee, decided to propose a bill that would reduce the fees to more closely match our costs. In the same bill he was persuaded to include Pay Parity provisions that would give the SEC the same pay flexibility as other financial regulators. While Senator Gramm was an advocate for limited government regulation, he also believed in hiring and retaining smart and competent regulators. He recognized that, to do that, those employees needed to be paid fairly. The bill for fee reduction and Pay Parity ultimately passed in the Senate with broad support.

When the proposal moved over to the House, however, difficulties soon developed. Congressman Oxley, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, was in favor of fee reduction but not Pay Parity. In his committee, he was initially inclined to bifurcate the two issues. Most believed that if this were to happen, Pay Parity would be defeated. A coalition, with NTEU acting as one of the principal partners, successfully worked to keep fee reduction and Pay Parity linked. Industry was persuaded that eliminating Pay Parity would reduce the likelihood of fee reduction passing. A bill with both elements ultimately was passed by the committee.

However, before the bill was sent to the full House for a vote, Dan Burton, chairman of the Government Reform Committee, asserted jurisdiction over it. That committee is responsible for matters affecting government employees, and the chairman strongly opposed Pay Parity. At this stage, NTEU was the principal lobbyist for the bill, working with the members of the committee, with whom it had substantial prior experience. A majority on the committee were in favor of the bill, but the chairman nevertheless refused to bring it to a vote until, through lobbying, he was forced to do so.

The committee passed the bill and, in June of 2001, it was brought to the full House of Representatives, where it passed overwhelmingly, but not without drama. On the morning of the vote, the White House came out in favor of fee reduction but against Pay Parity – a last minute move that did not affect the final vote.

Because the House and Senate versions of the Pay Parity bill were similar but not identical, it was decided that the Senate would vote on the House version. On the return trip to the Senate, the bill hit a roadblock. Senator Jeffords of Vermont switched parties, shifting control of the Senate from the Republicans to the Democrats. For technical reasons, Senate Majority Leader Daschle did not want to bring the Pay Parity bill to a vote. As the weeks turned into months, it appeared that the bill might never be passed. Hope dawned, however when NTEU President Colleen Kelley received public assurances from Senators Sarbanes and Daschle that the Senate would vote on the House bill that session. Left unsaid was when. The answer came on December 16, 2001, when the Senate finally passed the bill. The President signed the bill into law on January 20, 2002.

NTEU’s tireless efforts with respect to Pay Parity provide a revealing glimpse at one of the many ways that the dues paid by members make it possible for the union to fight successfully for SEC employees and their families every day. Please look for additional articles about NTEU’s legislative efforts in future issues of Chapter 293 Works.

“This afternoon the President signed pay parity legislation into law. This represents a significant milestone in our efforts to obtain pay parity for the hardworking employees of the Commission and is a cause for celebration. It is also a cause for recognizing the wonderful efforts of Commissioner Unger, the NTEU, and so many others who made this a reality.”

– SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt, January 16, 2002