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Washington, D.C.—The leader of the union representing tens of thousands of key frontline homeland security employees offered congratulations to and requested a meeting with newly-confirmed Secretary Janet Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS.)

In a letter to the secretary, President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) outlined some of the “daunting challenges” DHS employees face in seeking to protect the U.S. homeland with limited staffing and resources.

As examples, she cited the denial of basic workplace rights—including the right to bargain collectively—for employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the fact that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees have to “juggle the dual responsibilities of fostering travel and trade while at the same time protecting national security.”

“I look forward,” President Kelley said, “to speaking with you about these issues, among others, to foster needed positive change and improvements in the DHS workplace.” Among the other issues are a repeal of DHS’s authority to implement a new personnel system, and NTEU’s continuing efforts to establish a more collaborative workplace environment.

She noted the importance of the secretary’s understanding, expressed at her confirmation hearing, that while DHS employees are committed to their mission, morale overall is low. DHS consistently ranks at or near the bottom in virtually every important measure of employee workplace satisfaction in surveys by the Office of Personnel Management.

President Kelley also noted positively the secretary’s pledge to address DHS recruitment and retention issues, and provide department employees with a greater sense of respect and involvement for their contributions to the agency and the nation.

At the time of the secretary’s confirmation hearing, the NTEU leader welcomed her commitment to visit northern border points and speak with CBP employees working there. The lengthy U.S. northern border has for many years not gotten the same degree of attention, in terms of staffing and resources, as southern U.S. border crossing points.

“The best way to get a handle on issues at the border is to talk with those who are there every day, working to protect our country,” Kelley said.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments, including the entire 22,000-employee CBP bargaining unit.