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Washington D.C. — In a letter to the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), two senior members of the House have expressed what they described as their “shock” at revelations the agency plans to cut 196 microbiologists, chemists and engineers—some 37 percent of the laboratory analysts in its Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA)—in a proposed ...

Washington D.C. — In the wake of record gas prices that show signs of even further increases, the leader of the nation’s largest independent union of federal employees today called on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to make a mid-year upward adjustment in the mileage reimbursement rate for business travel. High gas prices are placing “an especially high ...

Washington D.C. — The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) today offered its strong support for pending legislation in both the House and Senate that would restore the rights of federal employees to be protected from workplace discrimination because of their sexual orientation. “These bills underscore the importance of these long-standing protections,” ...

Washington, D.C— In the face of a key Congressional subcommittee hearing about the safety of nation’s food supply, the leader of the union representing thousands of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employees criticized the agency for continuing to move ahead with its much-maligned national reorganization plan. The plan includes not only closing seven of 13 ...

Washington D.C.—When it comes to the best places to work among 30 large federal government agencies, as gauged by the employees who work there, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is right where it was last year—next-to-last, in 29th place—and that, said the leader of the union representing thousands of DHS employees, is “a ranking the nation can’t ...

Washington, D.C — The head of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) today again sharply criticized efforts by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to close seven of its 13 labs nationwide, this time after a tour of the FDA lab in Lenexa, Kan., with Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.). The Lenexa facility is one of the seven labs targeted for closure. “Rep. ...

Washington, D.C. — The deplorable conditions impacting outpatients at Walter Reed Army Hospital are a not-at-all surprising result of a federal contracting process that drives experienced federal employees from their jobs and seeks to replace them with unaccountable private contractors, the head of the nation’s largest independent union of federal workers said ...

Washington, D.C.—One of the leading House critics of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) use of private debt collectors today called the privatization program “a cash cow for special interests,” and promised to push pending legislation that would strip the agency’s right to engage in the program. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told a lunch meeting of some 350 ...

Washington, D.C.—The administration’s proposed 3 percent federal pay raise for 2008—coming in the wake of the paltry 2007 raise, which was the lowest in 18 years—will do nothing to close the continuing gap between private sector and federal pay, the leader of the nation’s largest independent union of federal workers told a House subcommittee today. “If we are ...

Washington, D.C.—Midterm election successes and progress on a number of legislative, legal and other issues in 2006 have set the stage for even further accomplishments this year on behalf of federal employees, the leader of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) told a large group of NTEU members from around the country today at the start of the union’s ...

Washington, D.C.—A senior leader in the U.S. House today promised to work for a fair pay raise for federal employees and in support of their efforts to rein in runaway contracting—not just because that supports federal workers, but because it is good for America. “The focus of the federal workforce is on service to the America people,” House Majority Leader ...

Washington, D.C.—A key congressional leader will join with President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) as opening day speakers next Tuesday as more than 300 NTEU members from around the country gather for the union’s annual three-day legislative conference. Along with President Kelley, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) ...

Washington, D.C.—The leader of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said today NTEU will push strongly in this session of Congress for passage of bipartisan legislation that would bring to an end the two-class status impacting federal employees who perform a wide range of law enforcement duties. Many of these employees have the early retirement right ...

Washington, D.C.—The White House proposal for a three percent pay raise for federal workers in 2008 is yet another disappointing reflection of the administration’s disregard for federal employees and their contributions to our nation. That is especially true coming, as it does, on the heels of the 2007 pay raise, which was the lowest in 20 years. “Federal ...

Washington, D.C.—The policies of the federal government in recent years—from contracting jobs to the private sector to a culture that stresses top-down management to a demonstrated lack of respect for employees—have contributed to a severe crisis of confidence in leadership at a number of agencies represented by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), ...

Washington, D.C.—It is shocking and discouraging, as well as a clear danger to the security of our nation, that its own employees have ranked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) near the bottom in four major categories identified by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from a recent government-wide employee survey, the leader of the union ...

As the president prepares to deliver his State of the Union address tonight, I would urge him to consider the state of our nation’s federal workforce. These 1.8 million dedicated federal employees contribute a great deal to the strength of our country and the ability of the federal government to deliver needed services to our citizens. Yet this administration ...

Washington, D.C.—As a result of the intervention of the National Treasury Employees (NTEU) on multiple fronts, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Social Security Administration (SSA) has withdrawn proposed fines of up to $3.5 million that it sought against four SSA employees, thereby completely exonerating them. At NTEU’s insistence, the OIG also ...

Washington, D.C.—A follow-up analysis by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of survey responses by agriculture specialists working at the nation’s border crossings underscores the argument by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) that efforts to consolidate multiple skills and experiences into a single front-line border security position simply ...

Washington, D.C.—Despite assertions to the contrary, the use of private sector debt collectors to pursue tax debts is a less cost-effective, less efficient and less successful method of collecting taxes than using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees hired for that inherently governmental function. That was the view expressed today by President ...