 Yesterday, a record number of Americans exercised one of their most fundamental rights and selected the leader of our great nation. Thank you for taking the time to understand the issues, for being engaged in one of the most defining presidential elections in a generation, and for participating in the political process. President-elect Obama’s presidency offers us an opportunity to look forward, to rethink the priorities of federal agencies and to participate more fully in achieving the missions of our agencies. As federal employees, each of you is integral to the success of our nation in the days ahead. Every one of you has a role to play to get our economy back on track, to restore faith in government and to deliver the essential services that the American people rely on. America needs a smart, committed, highly-skilled workforce and we are fortunate to have one. Yesterday, we may have been Democrats, Republicans or Independents, but today we come together as Americans and federal employees and start to think about what each of us can do to move our country forward. The need for unity, for working together to solve our common problems, has never been more urgent. For our part, NTEU has already been hard at work on transition issues and will be submitting information to the new administration. We will be asking the Obama Administration and the new Congress to find savings and increase accountability by ending inefficient government contracts and bringing work back into agencies. We will press for adequate resources for agencies, including sufficient staffing levels, and the necessary authority to achieve agency missions, so critical during this economic crisis. We will also seek to increase productivity at our agencies through the use of partnership and other collaborative efforts. We believe agencies need to be refocused on mission critical efforts, and put aside distractions that have stymied progress in the past several years. Any civil service changes should be linked to increasing the potential for reaching agency missions. Finally, we believe that collective bargaining and giving employees a voice in their work lives is in the public interest and will allow government to attract and retain the very best employees and we will press for the expansion of those rights in the federal sector. President John F. Kennedy once said, “I think too often government work has been caricatured, rather than honored as it should be.” I believe that President-elect Obama understands the importance of the federal workforce and will work with us to ensure dignity and respect for all federal employees. And, he will support our agencies with the appropriate tools and resources. Under his leadership, I believe we can look forward to the day when the American people take pride in the quality and accomplishments of our federal workforce and serving the public becomes respected again. When you made the decision to enter public service, it was because you believed that you could make a difference. Today, each of us has the opportunity to do our part to restore the public’s faith in the great promise of our country by doing what we do best—the work of America. Thank you for being a part of NTEU and for
all you do for our country.
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