Posts tagged National Treasury Employees Union
Federal Trade Commission employees vote to unionize
October 2, 2024 // Federal Trade Commission (FTC) employees voted overwhelmingly to unionize, joining the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). The 415 to 25 vote paves the way for more than 800 employees in Washington, D.C., and eight regional offices across the country to have representation. FTC began the process to unionize back in 2023, raising concerns about their access to telework, potential politicization of the civil service and other issues. With FTC, NTEU now represents 36 agencies. NTEU President Doreen Greenwald called it a “historic day” for frontline workers seeking a stronger voice in the workplace.
DOJ Civil Rights Lawyers Try to Unionize Amid Uncertain Future
August 5, 2024 // The employee organizing committee is aiming to hold a representation election by October 2024—a secret ballot process requiring majority approval for certification. Although that’s a compressed schedule compared to typical union drives, the committee said that in their first week after launching, they’ve already collected signatures of support from more than 30% of the 365 lawyers they estimate are eligible for the bargaining unit. That would meet the minimum legal threshold to apply for a representation election, but organizers are waiting to do so until they reach 50% support.
Unions applaud ‘most pro-union president in history’ following Biden’s decision to end campaign
July 24, 2024 // As president, Biden instituted reforms aimed at rebuilding the federal workforce, both increasing recruitment at federal agencies and restoring rights taken away during Trump’s first term in office. Shortly after taking office, he rescinded Schedule F, an abortive—though not abandoned—effort to reclassify tens of thousands of federal employees in policy-related jobs into the government’s excepted service, effectively making them at-will employees.
Union calls for FDIC to ‘follow the law’ after pivot on return-to-office plans
June 28, 2024 // When hammering out return-to-office plans, like many other federal agencies, FDIC had initially planned to require employees to report to the office three days per week beginning later this summer. But late last week, FDIC instead pivoted and announced that employees will have to come into the office just two days per week starting on July 15, FDIC confirmed to Federal News Network. Once implemented, the new telework arrangements will remain in effect until further notice. Although the in-office requirements are lower than initially expected, the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents FDIC employees, is pushing the agency’s leadership to return to the drawing board. Vivian Hwa, president of NTEU Chapter 207, is calling for the agency to continue working to resolve the already monthslong bargaining dispute over telework, rather than move forward with the announced changes. Months prior to making its return-to-office announcement, FDIC had opened negotiations over the telework provision included in its collective bargaining agreement with NTEU. During those negotiations, FDIC proposed its initial three-days-per-week policy.
This group says it keeps federal unions accountable to their members
August 14, 2023 //
Unions push back on Biden plan to bring federal workers back
August 9, 2023 // Biden has directed Cabinet officials to “aggressively execute” plans to reinstate in-person work for federal workers this fall, more than three years after the administration maximized telework policies amid the COVID pandemic. Axios first reported the stepped-up callback Friday, citing a memo from White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients. Biden pledged in his State of the Union address that “the vast majority of federal workers will once again work in person,” and the adminisration has followed followed by slowly transitioning to more in-person work. In April, instructions for agencies to end maximum telework and create plans to bring people back to the office were sent out by the Office of Management and Budget. A report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that out of the 24 federal agencies, 17 of them estimated that they used 25 percent or less of their headquarters buildings capacity.
COMMENTARY: White House Swells Federal Union Ranks – But at What Cost
May 18, 2023 // Using the estimated dues of the largest federal employee union as an example, the new union members for which the Biden administration is taking credit could represent between $37 million and $46 million in annual dues revenue. And as these employees are ushered through the union door, union officials and government agencies appear determined to slam it behind them. For employees who feel this arrangement violates their rights, litigation may be the only way out. In the past year, the Fairness Center, the public interest law firm of which I am president, has filed 36 matters on behalf of federal employees involving 16 unions and eight federal agencies.
After OMB’s updated telework guidance, federal unions emphasize role of collective bargaining
May 12, 2023 // To try to get more feedback from employees on engagement and satisfaction, HUD created a small-scale “stay survey” for employees leaving the agency. It received 65% positive ratings from respondents. The pilot was primarily a way to assess the value of the questions and make changes before rolling out the survey on a larger scale, HUD Deputy Press Secretary De’Marcus Finnell said in an email to Federal News Network. HUD plans to use upcoming focus groups on the survey to make additional changes to the final version. But Viola took issue with the way the survey was conducted, saying that the lack of questions about attrition, and asking why employees were choosing to leave, made the survey a limited resource to understand the root of the problem.
The biggest federal employee union expands its international presence
April 20, 2023 // Some 10,000 federal employees working in Europe will soon be eligible for the American Federation of Government Employees. AFGE has launched a new local, as it expands coverage. Tom Temin And what are the timelines and schedules here? When does this election take place? When does it get certified? And how long will this all take? Peter Winch Well, we would hope to file for an election Defense Health Agency continent-wide. And we have a new logo, which is based on our U.S. logo with the map of Europe. And we have a new card for people to fill out if they want to have an election at their workplace. And if they contact AFGE, and we’re getting a lot of contacts, they can join by what we call E-dues. So I work for District 14, we have Local 14 and the dues are $14. If you’re an at large member, and if we succeed in these elections, it’ll be $20 and you get all the benefits of membership then.
White House tells agencies to strike a balance between telework, in-office work
April 14, 2023 // “Today, the public is often dissatisfied with government services when compared against the private sector,” OMB said. “Agencies must ensure that all services, including public facing services, continue to meet and exceed customer expectations and needs.” Federal telework policy is up to each agency and based on individual situations. Agencies have the discretion to allow telework depending on their mission and business needs. The new guidance from the White House gained some early pushback. Federal unions and agency chief human capital officers were reportedly left out of the process of putting together the OMB memo.