Home Media Center News Releases

Washington, D.C.—The nation’s largest independent union of federal employees today extended its collective bargaining representation to the Washington headquarters of the Department of the Treasury with the addition of some 320 support employees there to be represented by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

The vote brings to 26 the number of federal agencies and departments, covering some 150,000 employees—including six agencies within Treasury—represented by NTEU. Today’s vote was 115 to 10 in favor of NTEU representation. The election was conducted by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), the body that oversees federal sector labor-management relations.

NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley said the favorable vote “serves as recognition among the key support staff at Treasury of the justifiable reputation NTEU has earned in the federal sector for providing a meaningful workplace voice for employees.”

She added: “I am looking forward to a positive and mutually productive relationship with the leadership of the Treasury Department,” including negotiating a collective bargaining agreement.

The newly represented Treasury employees work in a wide range of department operations, including financial management, public affairs, procurement, facilities management, asset management and much more.

The Treasury headquarters campaign was part of NTEU’s continuing effort both to organize federal employees in professional and support roles and to expand existing bargaining units.

In recent years NTEU added some 2,000 bargaining unit members in an organizing campaign at the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and sharply expanded its bargaining unit at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with a successful campaign involving more than 5,000 employees. FDA is an operating division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where NTEU has conducted other winning campaigns in recent years.

Other successes include campaigns to organize or expand units at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Office of Chief Counsel, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and in Treasury’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and U.S. Customs Service. NTEU also has successfully consolidated its bargaining units at the IRS and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)—steps that strengthen its ability to represent employees effectively.

At Treasury, in addition to ATF, Customs and the IRS, which is NTEU’s largest bargaining unit, the union represents the Bureau of Engraving and Printing; Bureau of the Public Debt/Savings Bond Marketing Office, and Financial Management Service.