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Washington, D.C.—For employees of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), little has changed among the key reasons that prompted them to vote to be represented by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) two years ago, the leader of their union said today in commenting on an upcoming follow-up election. NTEU successfully organized some 2,300 OCC employees in November 2002.

NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley said NTEU’s presence thus far “has had a measurable and positive impact” on the work lives of OCC employees. She expressed confidence that NTEU would prevail in a new election.

The Washington regional director of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) today ordered a new election and gave NTEU and the OCC 10 days to work up an election schedule for the agency’s nationwide workforce. It is likely that a mail ballot will be conducted among employees at OCC field offices, while those in its headquarters would vote in person on a single day.

“OCC employees originally voted for NTEU because they wanted a meaningful voice in their workplace,” President Kelley said. “Nothing that’s happened since that vote has changed that.”

She added: “NTEU remains committed to its basic goals for OCC employees,” including pay and benefits that accurately reflect the value of the work OCC employees perform; transparency in

establishing policy and work practices and accountability and fairness in management decisions; and additional protections and benefits on issues ranging from performance appraisals to promotions, work assignments and the opportunity for telework.

OCC’s principal mission is to examine federally-chartered banks for safety and soundness; it’s work that gives the agency’s employees, both professional and support staff, keys roles in generating confidence among the public in the nation’s banking system.

President Kelley noted NTEU’s lobbying with OCC management led to a positive impact on the 2005 compensation package for agency employees, including enhancements to the 401(k) program and an increase in employee Life Cycle accounts. She also pointed to a significant settlement with OCC on a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) reclassification and back pay grievance that will result in back pay and liquidated damages for as many as 500 OCC employees who were improperly classified by the agency as FLSA-exempt.

“These improvements would not have occurred absent NTEU’s work on behalf of OCC employees,” she said.

NTEU is engaged in efforts to negotiate a labor agreement at OCC, and Kelley urged employees to “keep a seat at the table.” That seat, she said, provides them with the right to have a binding contract covering working conditions, and guaranteeing rights and benefits; third-party independent resolution of workplace disputes; the right to be consulted about changes in workplace conditions; and expanded information about decisions affecting them.”

She noted, too, the importance to employees of having a collective and widely-respected voice, such as NTEU’s, during a period of political uncertainly affecting the agency. Less than a week ago, the agency head left his post when his term expired and the OCC is now being directed by an interim comptroller.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 30 agencies and departments, including other federal financial regulatory agencies—the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).