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Washington, D.C.—The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said today that the agreement to retain many of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) field offices is a positive first step but reiterated that it will continue to fight for an optimal modernization plan.

NTEU National President Colleen M. Kelley said the union will aggressively represent employees as the agreement between the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the FCC is implemented.

“Our goal is to make sure that FCC field staff can continue to do their valuable work in the communities where they now serve,” the NTEU leader said. “We believe the work of the field offices should be strengthened through an effective modernization plan.”

NTEU was a vocal opponent of FCC’s original proposal to close all but nine of the 24 field offices and gut staffing and enforcement.

The new agreement revises the plan and calls for keeping more offices open.

“I am glad that our message resonated with leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and with the FCC commissioners,” Kelley said.

But the new agreement does not go far enough and may still prevent the FCC from adequately safeguarding the radio spectrum and effectively serving various spectrum users and the public, according to Ana Curtis, president of NTEU Chapter 209 (FCC).

“Keeping 15 offices open is still not enough. The 24 offices each serve several states or large cities. They need to be modernized and fully staffed by compliance specialists and administrative assistants as well as engineers. Those who are served by these offices have testified to the value of the work of these field offices and the need to keep them open and fully staffed,” said Curtis.

When the FCC originally proposed closing Enforcement Bureau (EB) field offices across much of the country, NTEU mobilized opponents on Capitol Hill. Many House and Senate members learned about the ill-conceived proposal through the union’s efforts, Kelley said. NTEU also made its case for keeping the offices open during face-to-face meetings with all five FCC commissioners and worked with industry groups and others who would have been harmed if the plan had been implemented.

The EB’s main mission is to manage the use of the radio spectrum. Field staff ensure that spectrum users operate on the correct frequencies and wavelengths and comply with the terms of FCC-issued licenses or permissions. They also resolve issues such as interference and piracy.

The FCC's original plan would have eviscerated EB’s responsibilities, retaining just the job of responding to direct and specific types of interference complaints. The agency claimed—incorrectly, in NTEU’s view—that it could address complaints and continue inspections by creating a small, mobile team to handle those issues throughout the country.

NTEU, the nation’s largest independent federal union, represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.