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Washington, D.C.—Today’s signing at the White House of legislation that paves the way for improved pay and benefits for employees of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) is an excellent example of what federal employees can accomplish working together through their union, President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said today. NTEU represents some 2,000 SEC employees.

Kelley said that legislation containing provisions that could lead to pay parity with employees of other financial regulatory agencies for SEC employees “languished in Congress for a decade” before the active involvement of NTEU, which won an organizing election at the SEC in June 2000.

In addition to providing a mechanism for SEC employees to bargain over pay and benefits, President Kelley said the legislation, H.R. 1088, “will give the agency an important tool” to help it compete with the private sector for the employees it needs. SEC turnover, particularly among attorneys, accountants and auditors, has been triple the level of similar federal regulatory agencies in recent years—mainly because of the wide gap in pay.

NTEU currently negotiates pay and benefits at another key financial regulatory body, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Like the FDIC and other agencies covered by the Financial Institutions

Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), SEC is funded entirely by the financial services industry, with no taxpayer appropriations involved.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 employees in 25 agencies and departments.