Home Media Center News Releases

Washington, D.C.—The leader of the union representing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) employees today offered congratulations to new Chair Mary Schapiro on her Senate confirmation and said she is confident the agency head will find the workforce there “to be one of the most professional, dedicated, competent and hard-working of any public or private organization.”

In a letter to the chairman, President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said that despite the long list of challenges faced by the SEC and other federal financial regulatory agencies and their workforces, she believes “our collaboration—management and employees—can do great things for the SEC and the American public.”

President Kelley’s letter sought an introductory meeting with Schapiro, who previously had served as an SEC commissioner. NTEU represents more than 2,500 SEC employees.

The NTEU leader said that while “the current economic situation presents significant challenges to the SEC,” employees there “are strongly inspired by President Obama and the changes he is bringing to our nation.”

During the presidential transition, Kelley called for federal financial regulatory agencies to “refocus directly on their historic missions to ensure the integrity of our financial system and to bolster public confidence.”

That means, she said, ensuring these agencies have adequate staff and resources to meet their level of responsibility. Moreover, she said, they must have appropriate and sufficient authority to deal with wide-ranging changes in the financial industry, including increasingly-complex financial instruments and trading techniques.

Perhaps most importantly, Kelley has said, agencies like the SEC need to be led by people who are committed to their mission, and who give employees sufficient authority to perform their jobs effectively.

NTEU has been aggressive in pursuing sufficient resources and personnel for the SEC; for example, in the budget battle for fiscal 2009, NTEU succeeded in calling on the House Appropriations Committee to provide an additional $15 million in funding beyond the amount requested by the White House. Further, Kelley noted that NTEU’s efforts resulted in the Senate Appropriations Committee voting to approve another $25 million in SEC funding.

“Employees at our nation’s financial regulatory agencies can and will get the job done if they are given adequate resources, authority and committed leadership,” the NTEU leader said. She added: “I am very hopeful that under new leadership, we will see a significant shift toward policies that not only serve the public much better, but respect agency employees and recognize the value of their continuing contributions.”

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.