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Washington, D.C.—The leader of the union representing thousands of frontline homeland security workers today applauded the pledge of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary-designate Janet Napolitano “to recruit, train and retain the best and the brightest” and provide department employees with a sense of being an integral part of their organization.

“These are steps that make for good morale,” the Arizona governor said. Gov. Napolitano said she starts with the premise that the men and women who work at DHS want to keep this country safe and are committed to their mission. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today conducted a confirmation hearing on her nomination to lead the department.

Gov. Napolitano recognized that morale at the department is low and that a significant percentage of the workforce is contracted out. Those are among the issues President-elect Barack Obama has promised to address, she said.

“These comments are refreshing to hear from the person who would be the top leader of the department,” said National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen M. Kelley.

DHS has suffered from dangerously low employee morale since its creation by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, and consistently ranks at or near the bottom in virtually every key area in Office of Personnel Management surveys dealing with the federal workplace.

“It is critical for the nation that leaders at every level of this department, but particularly at the most senior levels, not only respect employees, but understand the key roles they play,” said President Kelley.

The NTEU leader said she also was pleased to hear Gov. Napolitano say she would visit the northern border and talk to employees to get a real sense of the issues that are specific to that vast area.

“I have long encouraged senior department leaders and members of Congress to visit any of the more than 300 land, air, and sea ports and talk to employees to get first-hand accounts of how homeland security works,” President Kelley said.

NTEU represents the entire 22,000-employee U.S. Customs and Border Protection bargaining unit within DHS, as well as thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees at eight major U.S. airports.

President Kelley said she is hopeful Secretary-designate Napolitano will move to ensure collective bargaining rights throughout DHS, and particularly within TSA, where the refusal of previous department and agency leadership to grant employees such rights has been a major factor in continuing turnover rates that are among the highest in the government.

Along with that issue, the NTEU leader said she will continue to press for a repeal of DHS's authority to implement a new personnel system and work to create a more collaborative workplace.

“NTEU looks forward to working with the incoming Secretary to improve the DHS workplace which, in turn, will improve and ensure the nation’s security,” she said.

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