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Washington, D.C.—The nation’s largest independent union of federal workers and a non-profit organization devoted to helping civilian federal and postal employees today announced creation of an endowed college scholarship fund providing annual educational grants for federal families.

The initial contribution to the endowment by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) is $726,363—using remaining administrative funds after payouts to recipients in the union’s settlement of a class-action lawsuit against the federal government. The fund will provide, at the start of the 2007 academic year, five annual scholarships of $5,000 each, the highest merit-based scholarships the Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund (FEEA) awards.

NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley said the timing of the union’s contribution to establish the FEEA-NTEU Scholarship carries special meaning since 2006 marks the 20th year of FEEA’s founding in 1986. NTEU was one of the founders of FEEA.

“For two decades, FEEA has broadened the meaning of federal employees making a difference in the lives of their colleagues through merit scholarships to federal workers, their spouses and college-aged children, as well as emergency no-interest loans and grants to those in need,” President Kelley said.

Over that period, FEEA has distributed more than $6.5 million in scholarship assistance; the organization also has provided more than $5.5 million in emergency assistance, including $1.8 million to victims of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma last year. It also has provided assistance and scholarships to victims of the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, the World Trade Center/Pentagon attacks, flooding, tornadoes, wildfires and much more.

The new FEEA-NTEU Scholarship awards can be combined with local FEEA scholarships to provide recipients with even greater financial resources for their education.

“This donation, and the establishment of an endowed fund, is a wonderful opportunity for FEEA to continue its educational and emergency work for federal employees,” said Robert Tobias, President of the FEEA Board of Directors. “I am especially delighted that the donation to establish the FEEA-NTEU Scholarship Fund came from NTEU,” he added. Tobias is the former president of NTEU and headed the union when the lawsuit which generated the donation was initially filed.

That legal action—known as the special rates lawsuit—began in 1983. The suit encompassed a class of some 212,000 federal employees who were paid special salary rates but who may not have received pay raises to which they were due. After multiple court battles over 22 years, the case was settled for some $178 million.

The court-approved settlement of the class action suit provided for administrative expenses to be paid from the agreement reached between NTEU and the government. The settlement agreement also provided for any excess funds to be donated to the charity of NTEU’s choice. President Kelley said the selection of FEEA to receive these funds was an easy decision given NTEU’s long history with the organization and its outstanding work over the years.

“I have seen the difference that FEEA makes in the lives of federal employees caught up in a disaster or who need help paying for the ever-increasing costs of higher education,” Kelley said. “I am thrilled that this new scholarship will help federal families achieve their educational goals.”

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 federal workers in 30 agencies and departments.