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Washington, D.C.—The leader of the nation’s largest independent union of federal employees today held what she described as a “positive and productive meeting” with the new director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said her meeting with OPM Director John Berry touched on a broad range of issues, including the return of federal sector labor-management partnership; the importance of parity in military and federal civilian employee pay raises; the use of alternative pay systems by federal agencies; and the affordability and accessibility of coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

“Director Berry and I had a cordial, interesting and productive meeting,” President Kelley said. “The director is well-versed in issues of concern to federal employees and is determined to help make the federal government the employer of choice for all those who want to serve their fellow Americans. NTEU is fully committed to helping him reach that goal.”

The NTEU leader said she stressed the important role partnership can play in improving the federal workplace. She said she noted the enormous value to federal agencies—and thus to the public—of the broad expertise and deep institutional knowledge held by front-line federal employees.

“That expertise and knowledge, along with the employees’ commitment to their agency’s mission and their dedication to duty make up an array of invaluable tools,” she said. “It remains only for management to make full use of it, and partnership is an excellent forum that provides just that opportunity.”

On the matter of military-civilian pay parity, President Kelley underscored the importance to agency recruitment and retention efforts of maintaining that long-time practice. In its budget outline for next year, the White House has proposed a 2.9 percent raise for members of the military and a 2 percent pay increase for the government’s civilian workforce. Key members of Congress have indicated, on a bipartisan basis, their support for continuing the tradition of similar pay increases for both groups of key federal employees, who often work side-by-side on behalf of the public.

As the largest independent federal union, NTEU represents some 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.